Otto Brower infuses The Gay Caballero (20th Century Fox, dir. Otto Brower) with bold action sequences and a moving opening in César Romero 's third Cisco lead.
Fred MacMurray plays Gil Farra, a misfit in the U.S. Army who seeks adventure with his buddies George Bird (Albert Dekker) and Sierra (Gilbert Roland) in Rangers of Fortune, Paramount Pictures' big-budget Western (dir. Sam Wood).
Tyrone Power stars in 20th Century Fox's The Mark of Zorro (dir. Rouben Mamoulian), a remake of Douglas Fairbanks's swashbuckling thriller. The movie is a huge success, and critics praise Power's performance.
Produced to take advantage of the popularity of Hollywood Zorro films, El Zorro de Jalisco starred Pedro Armendáriz and "El Indio" Fernández.
1941
In Romance of the Rio Grande (20th Century Fox, dir. Herbert Leeds), Cisco (César Romero) learns he has a look-alike who is about to inherit a ranch and all its holdings.
César Romero portrays Cisco for the last time in Ride on Vaquero (20th Century Fox, dir. Herbert Leeds). Cisco Kid movies cease production until World War II draws to an end.
1942
A remake of 1931's The Avenger, Vengeance of the West (Columbia Pictures, dir. Lambert Hillyer) features Bill Elliot as Joaquín Murrieta, who in this story dons a black mask and calls himself Grey Shadow as he seeks revenge on those who stole his property.
1944
Republic Pictures Corp. releases Zorro's Black Whip (dirs. Spencer Bennet and Wallace Grissell), a serial that has no original Zorro characters but keeps the Zorro name to ensure audience enthusiasm.
20th Century Fox sells independent producers Philip N. Krasne and James S. Burkett the rights to the Cisco Kid. Krasne convinces Monogram to invest in new Cisco features.
1945
The Cisco Kid's sidekick sports the moniker Pancho Gonzales for the first time in The Cisco Kid Returns (Monogram Pictures Corp., dir. John P. McCarthy). Duncan Renaldo and Martín Garralaga star.
In Old New Mexico (Monogram Pictures Corp., dir. Phil Rosen) offers Cisco Kid fans better action sequences and more story complexity than the other Cisco features starring Duncan Renaldo and Martín Garralaga as the bandit duo.
South of the Rio Grande (Monogram Pictures Corp., dir. Lambert Hillyer) has a script based on a Johnston McCulley story. It is the last pairing of Duncan Renaldo and Martín Garralaga as Cisco and Pancho.
1946
The Gay Cavalier (Monogram, dir. William Nigh) is Gilbert Roland's first role as the Cisco Kid. Martín Garralaga, who usually plays Cisco's sidekick, is recast in a different role.
Adrian Booth and LeRoy Mason star in Daughter of Don Q (Republic, dir. Spencer Gordon Bennet), a twelve-episode serial about feuding cousins
1947
Republic Pictures releases Son of Zorro (dirs. Spencer Bennett and Fred Brannon), a 13-episode serial about a post-Civil War descendent (played by George Turner) of the Legendary Zorro.
1949
In The Daring Caballero (Inter-American Productions, dir. Wallace Fox), the Cisco Kid (Duncan Renaldo) and Pancho (Leo Carrillo) thwart a murderous thief's attempt to see an innocent man hanged.
In Satan's Cradle (Inter-American Productions, dir. Ford Beebe), Cisco (Duncan Renaldo) and Pancho (Leo Carrillo) match wits with a savvy-but-misguided saloon girl (Ann Savage) and her wicked lover (Douglas Fowley).
The Valiant Hombre (dir. Wallace Fox) pairs Duncan Renaldo with Leo Carrillo in Inter-American Productions' first Cisco Kid film.
Phillip Krasne's second Cisco feature, The Gay Amigo (Inter-American Productions, released by United Artists, dir. Wallace Fox) offers audiences a shorter film and a faster-paced story than was usually expected. Duncan Renaldo and Leo Carrillo again play Cisco and Pancho.
Republic Pictures releases the 12-episode serial Ghost of Zorro (dir. Fred Brannon), starring Clayton Moore, who later will play the Lone Ranger.
1950
Duncan Renaldo and Leo Carrillo begin their stints on The Cisco Kid television series, the first television show to be shot in color. The show airs until 1956.
Produced by Lippert Pictures Inc. and distributed by Forgotten Hollywood, The Bandit Queen features an athletic yet beautiful female Zorro-type character played by Barbara Britton.
The Girl from San Lorenzo (Inter-American Productions, dir. Wallace Fox) is the last Cisco feature film of the era, beginning the storyline for the upcoming television series.
1951
After losing the rights to Zorro, Republic pictures creates a similar character and uses old Zorro footage to create Don Daredevil Rides Again (dir. Fred Brannon) starring Ken Curtis, who later plays Festus on the popular television series Gunsmoke.
1952
Viva Zapata! (20th Century Fox, dir. Elia Kazan) stars Marlon Brando as Emiliano Zapata and Anthony Quinn as Eufemio. It is nominated for five Academy Awards.
1954
Zorro-like serial The Man with the Steel Whip (Republic Pictures, dir. Franklin Adreon) has the hero posing as a legendary friend of local Native Americans to win them over and foil a plot to steal their land.
1957
Walt Disney begins its television series Zorro, starring Guy Williams. The series is a huge hit, but legal wrangling between Disney Studios and ABC, the network airing the show, leads to its cancellation; n 1959.
Director Stanley Kramer's The Pride and the Passion was a box office smash hit and won critical acclaim for its cinematography. Kramer spent two years on location in Spain and worked with 300 cast- and crewmembers and more than 9,000 extras.
1958
University of Texas Press (Austin) releases Américo Paredes's With His Pistol in His Hand": A Border Ballad and Its Hero, an expansion of the scholar's doctoral dissertation.
1959
Eric Hobsbawm publishes an essay on social banditry, sparking controversy and research. Ten years later he would expand that essay into the book Bandits, which has been revised several times and translated into various languages.
