THEY CALL HIM ZORRO...IS HE? is a stock spoof of the whole Zorro and swashbuckling genre of film-making, with a plot much like those Bond spoofs that they made back in the day. The real Zorro is incapacitated and tires of his crime-fighting deeds, so he appoints a successor who initially proves to be entirely unsuited to the job. A bit like when a super spy hangs up his boots and passes on his role to a callow newcomer.
Sadly, this film doesn't really have much to prove and thus goes for the low-brow approach from beginning to end. It feels very much like Richard Lester's THE THREE MUSKETEERS except made without that film's skill and finesse. Instead what we get is George Hilton as the autopilot hero, donning his mask and tackling the villains in various slapstick-infused fight scenes which feel like poor copies of those seen in the Hill/Spencer comedies. The only one who comes out of this with his reputation intact is the larger-than-life Lionel Stander playing the priest.
Sadly, this film doesn't really have much to prove and thus goes for the low-brow approach from beginning to end. It feels very much like Richard Lester's THE THREE MUSKETEERS except made without that film's skill and finesse. Instead what we get is George Hilton as the autopilot hero, donning his mask and tackling the villains in various slapstick-infused fight scenes which feel like poor copies of those seen in the Hill/Spencer comedies. The only one who comes out of this with his reputation intact is the larger-than-life Lionel Stander playing the priest.
