The Swashbuckling Press

Main Menu for The Swashbuckling Press:

Tyrone Power & Basil Rathbone in "The Mark of Zorro."

 

CLICK HERE to visit our Official Tyrone Power Store!

 

TYRONE POWER, Film Swashbuckler!

Highlights from Wikipedia:

"Tyrone Edmund Power, Jr. (May 5, 1914 – November 15, 1958), usually credited as Tyrone Power and known sometimes as "Ty Power", was an American film and stage actor who appeared in dozens of films from the 1930s to the 1950s, often in Swashbuckler roles or romantic leads such as in The Mark of Zorro, Blood and Sand, The Black Swan, Prince of Foxes, The Black Rose, and Captain from Castile.

Though renowned for his dark, classically handsome looks that made him a matinee idol from his first film appearance, Power played a wide range of roles, from film noir to light romantic comedy. In the 1950s, he began placing limits on the number of movies he would make in order to have time for the stage. He received his biggest accolades as a stage actor in John Brown's Body and Mister Roberts. Power died from a heart attack at the age of 44.

In 1940 the direction of Tyrone Power's career took a dramatic turn when his movie, The Mark of Zorro, was released. Power played the role of Don Diego Vega, fop by day, and Zorro, bandit hero by night. The role had been made famous by Douglas Fairbanks in the 1920 movie by the same title. Power's performance was excellent, and 20th Century Fox often cast him in swashbucklers in the years that followed. Power was actually an excellent swordsman, and the dueling scene in The Mark of Zorro is considered one of the finest in screen history. The great Hollywood swordsman, Basil Rathbone, who starred with him in The Mark of Zorro, commented, "Power was the most agile man with a sword I’ve ever faced before a camera. Tyrone could have fenced Errol Flynn into a cocked hat."

Despite being kept busy making movies at 20th Century-Fox, Tyrone Power found time to do radio and stage work. He appeared with his wife, Annabella, in several radio broadcasts, including the plays Blood and Sand, The Rage of Manhattan, and Seventh Heaven. He also appeared with her in the stage play, Liliom, in Country Playhouse, Westport, Connecticut, in 1941. He worked with other big names, in radio. Among those he starred with were Humphrey Bogart, Jeanne Crain, Loretta Young, Alice Faye, and Al Jolson.

Tyrone Power's career was interrupted in 1943 by military service. He reported to the U.S. Marines for training in late 1942, but he was sent back, at the request of 20th Century-Fox, to complete one more film, 1943's Crash Dive, a patriotic war movie. He was credited in the movie as Tyrone Power, U.S.M.C.R., and the movie served as much as anything as a recruiting film. Anne Baxter, would become a leading lady of his, both on the screen and on stage. Other than re-releases of his films, he wasn’t seen on screen again until 1946, when he co- starred with Gene Tierney in The Razor's Edge, an adaptation of Somerset Maugham's novel of the same name.

Next up for release was a movie that Tyrone Power had to fight hard to make – the film noir, Nightmare Alley. Darryl F. Zanuck was reluctant to allow Power to make the movie; his handsome appearance and charming manner had been a marketable asset to the studio and Zanuck feared that the dark role might hurt Power's image. Zanuck eventually agreed, giving him A-list production values for what normally would be a B film. The movie was directed by Edmund Goulding, and, though the film died at the box office (Zanuck did not publicize it and removed it from release), Power received some of the best reviews of his career. The film was released on DVD in 2005 after years of legal battles, and Power once again received favorable reviews from 21st century critics.

Power's venture into gritty drama was short lived, as he was next seen in a costume movie, Captain from Castile, directed by Henry King, who directed Tyrone Power in eleven movies. After making a couple of light romantic comedies, That Wonderful Urge (with Gene Tierney, his co-star from The Razor's Edge) and The Luck of the Irish (with Anne Baxter), Power found himself once again in swashbucklers – The Black Rose and Prince of Foxes.

In September 1958, Tyrone Power went to Madrid and Valdespartera, Spain, to film the epic, Solomon and Sheba, to be directed by King Vidor. He had filmed about 75 percent of his scenes when he was stricken with a massive heart attack, as he was filming a dueling scene with his frequent co-star and friend, George Sanders. He died enroute to the hospital. Yul Brynner was brought in to take over the role of Solomon. The filmmakers used some of the long shots that Tyrone Power had filmed, and an observant fan can see him in some of the scenes, particularly in the middle of the duel.

Tyrone Power's last movie, fittingly, was to be in a familiar role, with sword in hand. He is perhaps best remembered as a swashbuckler, and, indeed, he was one of the finest swordsmen in Hollywood. Director Henry King said, 'People always seem to remember Ty with sword in hand, although he once told me he wanted to be a character actor. He actually was quite good – among the best swordsmen in films.' "

 

WE HERE AT THE SWASHBUCKLING PRESS FEEL THAT TYRONE POWER STANDS SHOULDER TO SHOULDER WITH OTHER SWASH-FILM GREATS, SUCH AS ERROL FLYNN AND DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS (SR. AND JR.). IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN A POWER SWASHBUCKLER YET, THEN YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY MISSING OUT! I PERSONALLY HAVE SEEN ALL THE SWASHBUCKLERS MENTIONED ON THIS PAGE, AND THE TWO THAT ABSOLUTELY STICK OUT AS TO BEING SOME OF THE BEST SWASHBUCKLER'S EVER FILMED WERE "THE BLACK SWAN" AND "THE MARK OF ZORRO." NOT SAYING THAT THE OTHERS WEREN'T GOOD, IT'S JUST THAT THESE TWO STICK OUT MORE FROM THE REST.

THANK YOU TYRONE FOR GIVING US SUCH GEMS!

 

CLICK HERE to visit our Official Tyrone Power Store!