Zorro (1975)
Alain Delon is Don Diego, a man bound for Spain when he meets a friend he hasn’t seen in 10 years.
That friend is Miguel Vega de la Serna, and he’s bound for the province of Nuova Aragona to become governor with the dream of ending tyranny there.
Don Diego is skeptical when he learns Miguel will be taking the place of an uncle who died of malaria. There is no malaria in that region.
His concern proves well founded. Assassins show up to make sure a new governor never reaches the province.
They deal a fatal wound to Miguel before succumbing themselves at the hand of Don Diego, a skilled swordsman.
Don Diego pledges to take Miguel’s place and make his dream a reality in Nuova Aragona.
With his dying breath, Miguel gets his old fiend to pledge not to kill in doing so.
Once he reaches his destination, Don Diego passes himself off as an effeminate young man badly in need of protection.
Col. Joaquin Huerta (Stanley Baker), who had designs on the governorship, will be responsible for providing that protection.
How to fulfill his pledge to end Huerta’s tyranny over the residents? A young boy inspires Don Diego to become Zorro.
A pretty cousin of Miguel’s — Contessina Oretensia Pulido (Ottavia Piccolo), in trouble for speaking out against the government’s harsh treatment of peasants — provides a bit of inspiration as well.