Zorro (A Belated Centenary)

So, while I was busy with my annual visit to the Swanwick Writers' Summer School, I realised that I forgot it was a certain literary figure's 100th birthday last Friday. I consider myself a pulp writer, and one of my favourite books in that field is Johnston McCulley's The Curse of Capistrano. First serialised in All-Story Weekly on 9th August 1919, this story marked the debut of Zorro. This masked Californian swordsman combines two of my favourite sub-genres of historical fiction; the Western and the Swashbuckler. It's also an interesting study of adaptation.

The Curse of Capistrano takes place in California in the early 19th century, although it never establishes exactly when it's set (presumably when it's still under Spanish rule). There are several plot threads, so I'll try and introduce them through the characters:

• A masked swordsman known only as "Señor Zorro" has been striking at those who bully and abuse others. 
• The blowhard Sergeant Gonzales is eager to apprehend this outlaw, and boasts about it to his good friend Don Diego Vega, the lazy and foppish son of the wealthy and respected Don Alejandro Vega. 
• Don Diego is being pressured by his father to find a wife, and half-heartedly courts Lolita Purlido, whose aristocratic family are out of favour with the governor and have fallen on hard times
• Captain Ramon, the local garrison commander, also courts Lolita and is confronted by Zorro when he makes improper advances

The earlier instalments use the Point-of-View of Gonzales or Lolita rather than Zorro, allowing the masked hero to surprise the viewer. In fact, the book doesn't actually reveal Zorro's identity until the end of the penultimate chapter.

Not long after publication, the story was picked up by then-recently established United Artists and adapted into The Mark of Zorro, a 1920 silent film starring Douglas Fairbanks. One of the biggest changes made in the film was to Zorro's appearance. Zorro is described in the book as having "a black mask over his face that effectually concealed his features, and through the two slits in it his eyes glittered ominously." In the film, this was replaced with a domino mask which covers the top half of his face. As this was a silent film, this would have been a necessary change. After all, a Hollywood swashbuckler can't look dashing behind a veil. Especially when a lack of dialogue makes an expressive face essential. In fact, Douglas Fairbanks looked so distinct in the new costume that he would serve as the basis for all subsequent adaptations of Zorro.

The film was so successful that The Curse of Capistrano would eventually be republished as a standalone book in 1924 under the title of The Mark of Zorro. Furthermore, it ended up creating a demand for further stories. Which is interesting, because the book and the film both end with Diego's secret identity becoming public knowledge. So, McCulley changed this through retroactive continuity ("retconning"), and went on to write four more novels and 57 short stories, starting with The Further Adventures of Zorro in 1922, and ending with The Mask of Zorro, which was published posthumously in 1959. And that's not going into the various other adaptations on TV, film, and in print.

While often overlooked, Zorro could actually be regarded as a precursor to many superheroes. Batman draws many paralells with Zorro, with Bruce Wayne acting like a shallow millionaire while leading a double life as a masked vigilante. Bob Kane has cited Zorro as an influence. Some Batman origin stories have even alluded to this by having Bruce Wayne's parents being killed as they're leaving a cinema which was showing The Mask of Zorro.

Zorro himself could also be considered an appropriation of Baroness Orczy's The Scarlet Pimpernel. Sir Percival Blakeney is another affluent and foppish nobleman who secretly leads an organisation dedicated to helping refugees escape from Revolutionary France. 

The Curse of Capistrano is public domain in the United States, and available to read on WikiSource. However, I've found that Bold Adventure Press have gathered the old stories (many of which are hard to find) and have published a six-volume set. Having enjoyed reading The Curse of Capistrano, I'm looking forward to a chance to read some of the other stories.

Work Share - The Forbidden Mountain

This might be one of my strangest pieces, written for the Shaping Ideas module. This piece was a parody of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, featuring The Bayfalls, a dysfunctional family of Dungeons & Dragons-style adventurers. Heroic fantasy and comedy are not genres I usually write in, so this was way out of my comfort zone. Personally, I wasn't too happy with piece, and felt it could work better as a script rather than as prose.

The Road to Adventure

Arthur Bayfalls viewed the mountain enveloped in black cloud in the distance. His mail hauberk rattled as he marched along the dirt road.
“We’ll rest here.” He sat on a moss-covered rock and watched his family catch up with him. His wife, Jane, sat next to him and pulled a map from her satchel.
“We’ll be at the village of Allwood before sunset,” She said, “Then it’s another two days before we reach the mountain.”
“Looks like a cheery place,” His son Johnny walked a gold piece across his hand.
“It’s called The Forbidden Mountain, smart arse,” Arthur glared at him, “Were you expecting sunshine and rainbows?”
“Dad, tons of places have ‘Forbidden Mountains’ or ‘Forbidden Castles’ or ‘Forbidden Golf Courses’. They just do it to attract adventurers. There’s probably a gift shop at the summit. Why’d you have to drag me out of bed for this ‘heroic quest’ bullshit?”
Jane drove her staff into Johnny’s foot.
“Because I’ve been tasked by Wardale’s council to hunt down the Warlock who inhabits the dungeon beneath the mountain, and your father thought it would be a good way to spend time together as a family.” She said, “And don’t think I don’t know what you get up to when you ‘work nights’. We only allow it because your skills are of use in places such as this.”
“Alright,” Johnny winced as Jane twisted the staff, “But I won’t be of any use if I’m hopping.”
Johnny’s younger sister Alyn stepped forward.
“This is the first dungeon crawl we’ve been on in a while,” she said, “And it’s the school holidays, so it’s nice to get out and about.”
“Yeah,” Johnny said, “And since dad was caught brawling before dusk again, he was booted out of town.”
Arthur stamped on the ground.
“If you’ve finished quarrelling, we’ve got a quest to go on.” He said, “Yes, I’m only here because the council wanted me out of town for a little bit. But we can all get stuff out of it.”
He pointed at Jane.
“Darling, you’ve got a good head for riddles, and you can work your magic in these places. And taking down warlocks always sits well with your council of pointy hats.”
“The Wizard Council.” Jane said.
“Whatever,” Arthur pointed to Johnny, “What better man than Johnny Lightfingers to disable traps and open locked doors? And maybe there’ll be treasure. There usually is.”
“Which you’ll be asking for to pay your fine.” Johnny folded his arms.
“We’ll see…” Arthur pointed at Alyn, “And we’d be dead without your Thoughts and Prayers to heal our wounds. What do your gods say about people who sell their souls?”
“Nosenra says they can become a danger to the rest of us.” Alyn raised her crossed fingers, “But killing them is a last resort.”
“There is isn’t a first resort.”
“Your father’s right,” Jane said, “We all stand to gain from this quest. And it’s been a while since any of us have had a family holiday.”
Arthur drew his sword and held it aloft.
“Then let’s find this Warlock and kick his stinking magic buttocks!”
 

Allwood

The sun set as Arthur led the family into Allwood. He saw a mix of stone cottages with thatched roofs and timber buildings with wattle and daub walls. The smell of manure greeted him as local villagers walked past on their daily business. The first two-storey building in sight had a hanging sign depicting a muscular unicorn, captioned The Herculean Unicorn.
“Jane, what’s that word before the unicorn?” Arthur pointed at the sign.
“Herculean,” She said, “It means ‘strong’.”
“Why?” Johnny scratched his head, “Who came up with that?”
“They must have been someone from another dimension’s mythos.” Jane said, “I mean, we fight monsters from other mythologies, why not give the heroes a mention?”

*

The interior of The Green Dragon smelt of wood smoke. Arthur exchanged passing glances with the patrons at the tables, but heard the bards continue their piece. He noticed swords on their belts or axes resting by their stools, and saw Alyn grip the holy symbol around her neck.
“This must be an adventuring town,” Johnny said, “Your…quest may not as grand as you think.”
Arthur ignored his son’s remark, and approached the bar. A portly figure with a black beard stood in wait. A badge on his tunic said “I am Error.”
“Error?” Arthur raised his brow.
“It’s pronounced ‘E-roar’ actually,” The innkeeper said, “Welcome to Allwood. Judging by your attire, you must be adventurers. Have you travelled far?”
“From Wardale,” Arthur held up a purse, “We’re going after the Warlock tomorrow.”
The conversations fell silent. Arthur rested his hand on his sword as he felt everyone looking in his direction.
“I suppose someone’s going to tell us to stay away from the mountain,” Johnny said.
The entire inn erupted in a fit of laughter.
“I’m sorry to burst your bubble,” Error said, “But there is no Warlock inhabiting the Forbidden Mountain. The Reeve just made up that story to try and save the village economy. But if you do wish to travel there, they do have a lovely gift shop.”
“Called it!” Johnny clapped.
Arthur gaped at the innkeeper.
“So, there’s no treasure?” He said.
“Oh, there is treasure.” The innkeeper opened his tunic. Beneath it he wore a white t-shirt.
“I found the Treasure of The Forbidden Mountain.” Jane read the shirt’s slogan.
“That one was complementary for the shopkeepers.” Error knocked on the counter. The other patrons stood up and revealed their shirts, which bore the same slogan.
Arthur hunched on the bar.
“What’s the strongest ale you’ve got?” He said, “I’ll need more than Hell in a Handcart.”
“There’s Bubonic Damnation.” Error said, prompting a collective gasp from the patrons.
“Arthur, no!” Jane grabbed his shoulder, “Sorry, he was temporarily banished from our hometown for brawling before dusk. What other ales do you serve?”
“There’s Jolly Warlock,” Error pointed to a cask behind him, “That’s a local brew.”
“We’ll have three pints of that,” Jane said.
“And a glass of milk, please.” Alyn raised her hand.

*

Arthur hunched on the table and stared at the bottom of his tankard.
“You shouldn’t feel sad, father.” Alyn patted his shoulder, “It’s nice to get out and about, and anywhere outside Wardale is an adventure. I’m sure there are other evils we need to protect people from in the name of Nosenra.”
“Polish your halo,” Johnny leaned back and sipped his pint, “The call of adventure is like a stew; you prepare it, and then you go to the tavern while you let it simmer.”
“Or you burn the place down with a drunken fry-up,” Jane glared at him.
“You’re never going to let that go, are you?” Johnny looked away from his mother. He smiled as a barmaid arrived with a platter of bread and cheese.
“More ale!” Arthur raised his tankard, “A man could die of thirst in this place.”
“Manners, father.” Alyn pointed her mace at him, “Don’t make me smite you.”
“Another ale, please.” Arthur said to the barmaid.
“Same again?” The barmaid took his tankard, “Or do you want something stronger? It’s almost nightfall.”
“Then it’s almost my bedtime,” Alyn stood up.
“Johnny, take your sister up to the rooms.” Jane said.
“Fine,” Johnny stood up, “Something tells me you’ll need Thoughts and Prayers before the morning.”

Arthur watched his son and daughter go upstairs. He noticed Error duck behind the bar and pull a long cord. A bell chimed. Arthur rubbed his hands.
“Hear that, darling?” He downed his pint in one gulp, “They’ve just rang us in.”
“Oh no…” Jane massaged her temples.
“That’s right!” Arthur picked up his stool, “Tavern brawl!”

A cheer rose from the other patrons. Stools scraped and battle cries drowned out the music. The bards on the stage began playing with a faster tempo.
Arthur smashed the stool into a warrior who advanced on him.
“Care to join the fun?” He turned to Jane.
“Ferrum Deflectere!” Jane gestured and tapped her staff against the floor. A flying tankard curved around her.
“I’ll take that as a no,” Arthur clotheslined a charging elf, “Good night dear.”
He watched her shove and weave through the crowd and run upstairs. Another fighter charged after her. His battle cry came to a higher pitched crescendo and sudden stop before he tumbled back down.
“Oi! That’s my wife!” Arthur charged through the melee and grabbed the man before he reached the bottom of the stairs. He threw him into the people he’d charged through. They cleared the way for a shirtless figure, who cracked his knuckles.
Arthur charged again. The man grabbed his arm and swung him around. Arthur yelled as he crashed into a table.
“What just happened?” Arthur spat out broken teeth
“The aggressor’s down!” He heard Error’s voice above the ringing in his ears, “He gets the bill!”

Andrew Roberts, 2018

A Study of Adaptation - Octopussy and The Living Daylights

Well, it's the final stretch. Octupussy and the Living Daylights was the final entry in Fleming's book series, published posthumously in 1966. However, like For Your Eyes Only, this is a short story collection rather than a novel. So, I'll go through them in turn again. This may take a while.

The first story, Octopussy, follows Bond as he's sent to Jamaica to bring in Major Dexter Smythe, who had murdered an Austrian mountain guide (and childhood mentor of Bond) in order to steal a cache of Nazi gold. The story is mostly told in flashback, and has Smythe as the main point-of-view character, who has been drinking heavily since his wife's suicide and is taking care of an octopus which gives the story its title.

Octopussy was the title of the thirteenth Bond film, released in 1983. However, it's not really a direct adaptation, but uses the events of the short story as a backstory. Bond is sent to investigate a smuggling ring in India, where he meets a smuggler known Octopussy. It's then revealed that Octopussy is Major Smythe's daughter, who is indebted to Bond for allowing her father to end his life on his own terms rather than go back to England and face a court martial.

Next, we have The Property of a Lady, which was originally written in 1963 after being commissioned by Sotheby's, and first published in their annual journal, The Ivory Hammer. Bond is sent to Sotheby's to attend the auction of a Faberge egg, which is being used to pay a known KGB double agent in London. Bond's mission is to identify the agents handler, who may be deliberately underbidding in order to drive up the price.

The events of The Property of a Lady were used in the film adaptation of Octopussy, and expanded upon. In the film, Bond attends the auction of the Faberge egg after a counterfeit one was found on a dead British agent who had arrived at the British embassy in East Berlin. The title is also referenced in the lot title. Instead of a KGB agent, Bond identifies the exiled Afghan prince Kamal Khan, and travels to India to investigate him further.

It's likely that the filmmakers felt they didn't have enough to work with in both those short stories. A similar thing happened with For Your Eyes Only, which used events from the short stories For Your Eyes Only and Risico, along with an unused element from Live and Let Die.

In The Living Daylights, Bond is assigned to assist a defector in Berlin, providing sniper cover as he crosses a No Man's Land. He's also assigned to eliminate a KGB assassin known only as "Trigger", who will try and kill the defector. Bond then discovers that Trigger is a cellist from an all-female orchestra he'd seen travelling to rehearsal, and disobeys orders by disarming her instead of killing her.

The Living Daylights was the fifteenth film in the series, released in 1987. Again, this one tried to expand the story. The setting is moved from Berlin to Bratislava, but pretty much follows the events of the short story. While the short story implied that the cellist was an assassin, the film makes Bond suspect that she wasn't an assassin and that the defection was staged. So when the defector, General Koskov, is seemingly abducted by the KGB from the MI6 safehouse, Bond seeks out the cellist, Kara Milovy. What follows is a story reminiscent of The Third Man.

Finally, we have 007 in New York. Which is just a travel journal with a recipe for scrambled eggs. Go figure.

Well, that about wraps it up. Looking over these, I'd say that there were plenty of reasons for making changes in the film adaptations. This could be from having little material to work with, or the need to sanitise the stories.

Happy writing.