The BEST episodes of Zorro (1957)
Every episode of Zorro (1957) ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Zorro (1957)!
Zorro, which is Spanish for "fox", is the story of a masked rider who battles the unjust rulers of the pueblo of Los Angeles during the days of Spanish rule. His real identity is that of Don Diego de la Vega, the son of a wealthy landowner. Diego returns from his studies in Spain and discovers that Los Angeles is under the command of Capitan Monastario, a cruel man who relishes in the misuse of his power for personal gain. Knowing that he cannot hope to single-handedly defeat Monastario and his troops, Diego resorts to subterfuge. He adopts the secret identity of Zorro, a sinister figure dressed in black, and rides to fight Monastario's injustice.
#1 - The Flaming Arrow
Season 2 - Episode 11 - Aired 12/18/1958
Ricardo asks for Diego's help in winning Anna Maria's heart, for he feels Zorro is too much competition for the two men to overcome. If they can make it seem that Zorro is seeing another woman, Anna Maria will scorn him, thus dropping the field of suitors to a more manageable size. Ricardo plans to accomplish this by dressing as Zorro and serenading Anna Maria's cousin, Milana del Carmen. Diego sees this as a chance to cure Ricardo of his fondness for practical jokes. He arranges for Garcia to arrest his friend, and charge him with all of Zorro's crimes. The sergeant realizes Ricardo cannot really be Zorro, for he saw the outlaw and Ricardo side-by-side when the payroll was robbed. Unfortunately for Ricardo, the commandante chooses not to believe this, for Ricardo has angered him with his jokes. Also, killing the notorious Zorro would be a help to his career, so he orders Ricardo hanged. Aghast at this turn of events, Diego realizes he must save his friend from death. He does this in dramatic fashion by shooting a flaming arrow through the noose, which drops Ricardo to the ground. Before he leaves, Zorro forces Ricardo into a watering trough and warns the shaken man that he will punish anyone who impersonates him. In return for his humiliation, Ricardo swears vengeance on Zorro.
#2 - Presenting Senor Zorro
Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/10/1957
The story of the masked rider in Old California opens as Don Diego de la Vega is returning to California from Spain, where he has been studying for several years. He passes the time at sea by fencing with the ship's captain, who tells him that the Pueblo de Los Angeles is under the rule of a cruel dictator, Capitan Monastario. This helps Diego understand the meaning behind a vague letter his father sent, urging him to return home. Realizing that open opposition to Monastario and his troops would be fruitless, Diego decides to work in secrecy. He assumes the role of a foppish student more interested in books than in swordplay. To protect his true identity, Diego will become El Zorro - "The Fox". His servant Bernardo, a mute, also takes on a new role when he decides to pretend he is deaf, thus allowing him access to secrets he can share with Diego. Not long after they arrive in Los Angeles, the travelers are provided with proof of the capitan's cruelty. Don Torres, a neighbor of Diego's, is thrown into jail for treason, and others are jailed for taxes they cannot pay. Diego notes the injustices in silence before traveling to his father's hacienda. Diego's arrival first pleases then saddens his father, Don Alejandro. Diego decides not to endanger him with knowledge of his plans, and the older man's hurt at his son's seeming inaction provides even greater incentive for Diego to ride as Zorro. He takes Bernardo to a secret valley where a beautiful horse has been cared for while Diego was away. Tornado will remain hidden until Zorro is ready to appear. Zorro's first act is to save the life of Don Torres, whom Monastario plans to release and then kill, claiming the prisoner had escaped. Sneaking into the fort, Zorro cuts the saddle straps on the soldiers' horses so they can't interfere. He then frees Torres, who escapes while Zorro battles the capitan. With Monastario locked in one of his own cells, Zorro rides off without fear of the lancers while their leader
#3 - The Fortune Teller
Season 2 - Episode 37 - Aired 6/18/1959
Don Sebastian, a friend of the de la Vegas, is growing impatient at the delay of the stage to Monterey, for he is carrying a purse full of gold and is afraid it may be stolen. While waiting in the tavern with Diego, he makes the mistake of mentioning the gold and is overheard by three crooked entertainers. Diego asks Sergeant Garcia to place the gold in the cuartel's safe until the stage leaves, unknowingly presenting the thieves with a major setback. To overcome this, Lupita, one of the thieves, pretends to be a fortune teller. She gains Garcia's confidence by telling him she knows he is in possession of a large sum of money, then warns him that someone whom he least suspects will try to rob him that night. The sergeant reacts predictably by sending the lancers out of the cuartel. By now he trusts no one. When Diego tries to visit him, Garcia also sends him away, preferring to lock himself alone in the strongroom. Lupita and her comrades break into the cuartel, surprise the sergeant, and force him to open the safe. The fake fortune teller reminds Garcia that she did warn him he would be robbed by someone he didn't expect, then turns to leave. The escape route is blocked by Zorro, who was alerted by Garcia's strange behavior. Lupita pulls out a knife and tries to fight her way free, but Zorro locks the three villains in a cell. He unties Garcia and tells him a man's friends should be trusted over the word of strangers, and then leaves as mysteriously as ever.
#4 - Zorro Takes a Dare
Season 2 - Episode 30 - Aired 4/30/1959
Humiliated by Zorro, Basilio gets his revenge by arresting Sergeant Garcia and hoisting him in the air in the public square outside the cuartel. A large sign dares Zorro to rescue Garcia, but Diego knows Basilio will have hidden lancers throughout the area. When night arrives, so does Zorro, using Bernardo to help create a diversion that draws the soldiers out of town. Bernardo lures Basilio out of his office by offering to take him to Zorro, but the waiting outlaw instead uses his rope to hang the politician upside down in the square. The lancers return to free Basilio and he rides to the de la Vega hacienda to arrest Bernardo. Basilio accidentally discovers one of the house's secret passages. As he begins to explore, he surprises Diego and knocks him unconscious. Having finally solved the mystery of Zorro, Basilio celebrates by donning the black costume and mask, then steps outside on the balcony to savor the moment. Capitan Mendoza, who is waiting outside on guard duty, sees the figure of the infamous outlaw and shoots Zorro dead. Much to his surprise, he discovers he has killed Basilio, thus unwittingly protecting Zorro's secret identity.
#5 - The New Order
Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/13/1958
Before he returns home, Sergeant Garcia angers Theresa, a tamale vendor, when he tries to carry out the orders of the acting governor. Luis Rico has decided that all of the vendors must be removed from the plaza despite their objections, and Diego promises Theresa he will try to help. She shows her appreciation with hugs and kisses, thereby angering her boyfriend, Joaquin Castenada, who was watching. Joaquin starts to say something to her but is knocked aside by Capitan Briones, leader of a band of soldiers named "Especials". The Especials have come to carry out Rico's orders and do not report to Garcia, who objects to their brutality. Joaquin tries to attack the soldiers but is stopped by Diego and Garcia, who know he would be killed. Briones arrests Theresa, and Bernardo must hit Joaquin with a mallet to keep him from sharing her fate. Diego tries to reason with Rico but he remains firm, for this is his first command and he wants an orderly city. He allows Diego to pay Theresa's fine and they head back to her stand. Joaquin has recovered and berates Diego for stopping him, but the Especials arrive again and the impetuous youth is arrested. Briones plans to beat him to death to teach the other peons a lesson and Zorro must free him. When darkness falls, Zorro sneaks into the fortress and tells Joaquin to insult the guards until they open his cell to discipline him. When they do, Zorro drops down on them and locks them inside, taking Joaquin into the hills to hide. The boy vows to return, and Zorro knows the matter is far from over.
#6 - Welcome to Monterey
Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/9/1958
The second season of Zorro opens with Don Diego and Bernardo visiting Monterey, California. They have been sent there by a group of Los Angeles investors to look over an import business. The visitors have barely arrived in town when two men burst into their room and demand the investors' money. Diego claims he doesn't have it and the men leave when the innkeeper investigates the disturbance. All they take is Diego's watch, but he suspects something more serious is wrong. Diego sets to work by visiting Señor Verdugo, owner of the business that's for sale. The merchant appears to be legitimate, but Diego tells him that several potential investors have been robbed on their way to Monterey so he must check before recommending the investment. He implies that the men who broke into his room are linked to Verdugo, thus angering the older man. Verdugo refutes his accusations by introducing Diego to Romero Serrano, a courier who has arrived safely from Santa Cruz. Diego also meets Anna Maria, Verdugo's daughter, who openly dislikes him for questioning her father's integrity. Later, Romero and Anna Maria see Bernardo carefully carrying a saddle bag into the inn, which makes them think Diego has brought the money after all. They accuse Diego and demand that he open the bag, but he refuses, for it contains his Zorro costume. Bernardo manages to confuse them, and switches the contents with some of Diego's clothes. Two men in the hotel lobby attract Bernardo's attention and he sees that one of them has Diego's watch. The servant tries to follow them but is taken prisoner, to be held hostage until Diego turns over the money. That night, Diego rides as Zorro and rescues his friend, barely escaping a shot fired by an unknown assailant. He returns the fire and wounds him, but the man escapes.
#7 - The Well of Death
Season 1 - Episode 34 - Aired 5/29/1958
Another shipment of stolen jewels arrives in the pueblo, and Dolores Bastinado unwittingly allows her brother, Pogo, to deliver the cargo to the Murietta brothers. The trunk slips and breaks open, and Pogo spots several of the gems. He realizes the men will try to kill him to protect their secret, but he is seized before he can flee. The Muriettas bind and gag him, then hide him when they hear Sergeant Garcia arriving.
#8 - The Cross of the Andes
Season 1 - Episode 32 - Aired 5/15/1958
Expecting another shipment of jewels, Murietta goes to inspect the tannery where they will be stored. There, he spots Pasqual, a peasant who lives there, and whips the old man until he leaves. The shipment arrives accompanied by Dolores Bastinado, recently arrived in the pueblo, who attracts the attention of Sergeant Garcia.
#9 - Zorro Lights a Fuse
Season 1 - Episode 30 - Aired 5/1/1958
Raquel's ambitious plans for her husband appear to end when she receives a letter from him. She had been promised by the Eagle that he would be made governor of California, but her husband wants her to join him in San Diego, for he plans to sail back to Spain. Realizing the Eagle will not let her go, she tries to sneak out of the pueblo, only to be caught by Quintana.
#10 - The Secret of the Sierra
Season 1 - Episode 23 - Aired 3/13/1958
Another stranger with an eagle feather spells trouble for Zorro when Perico, a recent arrival, sees a gypsy girl trying to pay for a purchase with several gold nuggets. Diego and Alejandro realize that news of a gold discovery will cause a rush of "gold fever" and their peaceful way of life will be threatened, so they try to suppress the news.
#11 - Agent of the Eagle
Season 1 - Episode 20 - Aired 2/20/1958
Don Alejandro tells Diego he's received a letter from a friend in the capital telling him that the new commandante, Capitan Juan Ortega, has the reputation of being an honest and fair man. When Ortega arrives, he doesn't act that way. He treats Sergeant Garcia with contempt and is openly arrogant toward the civilians. The reason for this is revealed when Ortega meets the magistrado and informs him that the real commandante has been ambushed and murdered, on orders of the Eagle.
#12 - Zorro, Luckiest Swordsman Alive
Season 1 - Episode 12 - Aired 12/26/1957
Faking Martinez's death, Captain Monastario again tries to use him to impersonate and disgrace Zorro by robbing a church, leaving Zorro confused as to who could be the impostor this time.
#13 - Monastario Sets a Trap
Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/21/1957
Learning that a group of disgruntled landowners plan to seize the cuartel and free the political prisoners, Captain Monastario sets a trap to capture them, including Zorro's father Don Alejandro.
#14 - An Eye for an Eye
Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/20/1958
Joaquin and several followers begin a series of raids against the Especials, which culminates with the beating of Capitan Briones. The soldier issues a death order for Joaquin and sends his men after Theresa, intending to force her to reveal his hiding place. She asks Diego to hide her, and with Garcia's assistance, he protects her from the searchers. The situation deteriorates further when one of Joaquin's men is killed, which prompts his threat to kill two soldiers in return. Briones sees this as an opportunity to increase the size of his forces as well as to remove two irritants, Garcia and Reyes. He orders the two soldiers to patrol the town, wearing the white armband of the Especials, in the hope that Joaquin will choose them as his victims. The evil plan seems to work, as Joaquin sneaks into the city and sees the unsuspecting soldiers. Zorro, who has followed Joaquin, sees that the Especials are massed within the fortress, ready to attack as soon as they hear the men killed. He stops Joaquin to tell him of the trap, then fires two shots into the air. The Especials rush out, only to find the street deserted except for a confused Garcia and Reyes. Joaquin, unfortunately, still distrusts Zorro's motives.
#15 - Zorro and the Flag of Truce
Season 2 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/27/1958
Capitan Briones escalates his campaign against Joaquin by ordering that a peon be whipped until he reveals the rebel's hiding place. Zorro uses his own whip to stop Briones, then frees the peon. Shortly after, the real governor returns and Rico explains that his harsh rule was only imposed to make the capital a well-run city. Rico then convinces the governor to offer the rebel a truce so he can explain his case, planning all the while to kill Joaquin as soon as the outlaw turns himself in. Meanwhile, Briones puts Theresa in jail until Joaquin surrenders. Diego intervenes and arranges for her to carry the truce offer to Joaquin, offering to go along to help convince the outlaw to surrender. Diego and Theresa succeed, but later, as Joaquin rides into the pueblo, the soldiers are lying in wait. Just as they are about to kill Joaquin, Zorro spots the hidden soldiers and narrowly rushes the outlaw to safety. Rico and the Capitan tell the governor it was Joaquin who broke the truce, and the angry official orders the troops to capture the rebel dead or alive.
#16 - The Captain Regrets
Season 2 - Episode 34 - Aired 5/28/1959
Capitan Arrellanos refuses to help the Rebatos any longer in their attempts to kill the governor. Instead, he chooses another plan designed to make him the head of the government. He asks the governor's daughter to declare her father too ill to continue in office. Furious at this request, Leonar refuses to cooperate. She then tells her father of the aide's plot. The governor tells Arrellanos he is to be replaced, so the soldier decides to accept the rebels' offer of help. A Rebato agent provides a drugged bottle of wine to eliminate the governor's guards, so when Sergeant Garcia and Corporal Reyes accept the kind offer of a drink from the capitan, they are soon unconscious. Seeing that the governor is once again unprotected, Diego switches to his secret identity as Zorro to foil Arrellano's plot. The capitan and two assassins creep into the governor's room, but Zorro is ready. Arrellanos manages to escape by threatening to kill Garcia but he is stopped by Bernardo, who drops a large flower pot on the fleeing traitor. The governor doesn't believe his aide is guilty and thus his life remains in danger.
#17 - Manhunt
Season 2 - Episode 26 - Aired 4/2/1959
Don Carlos Fernandez decides to draw Joe Crane into the open by laying claim to the mountain man's furs and burro. Diego tries to end the feud by offering to buy the goods, but Fernandez refuses. Only Crane's death will satisfy him now. When Crane hears that Fernandez has his furs, he reacts predictably and goes to the man's hacienda to fight for his possessions. Fernandez is ready and his men are concealed throughout the grounds, waiting to attack Crane on his orders. Just as he is about to give the command to kill Crane, Fernandez is surprised by the arrival of Zorro, who has suspected a trap. Zorro blocks a cowardly shot at Crane, who then knocks Fernandez unconscious. Hernando sets Lobo after the mountain man, but Crane gives a long whistle to the attacking animal. Surprisingly, Lobo reacts by stopping his charge, then wags his tail as he approaches Crane. The episode ends as Crane heads back into the mountains, his furs safely aboard his burro, and Lobo happily following behind him.
#18 - Masquerade for Murder
Season 2 - Episode 35 - Aired 6/4/1959
Capitan Arrellanos continues his attempts to rule California by hiring Carmelo, a recent arrival to the pueblo, to kill the governor. Diego and Bernardo overhear the plan but don't act at once, hoping instead to learn who the other conspirators are. The governor has begun to recover and spends his time sitting outside on the patio, which prompts Don Alejandro to give a party to celebrate his better health. An unexpected danger arises when Arrellanos convinces Leonar to make the party a masquerade ball, for the capitan plans to sneak Carmelo into the party in a disguise. At the party, Diego sees that his father and someone else are both dressed as medieval executioners. He suspects the other man may be Carmelo, for this costume would enable him to come near the governor. Another costumed figure enters the ball, for Zorro slips in, determined to follow the executioners. One of them moves behind the governor and raises his axe, spurring Zorro into frantic action to stop the murder. The hooded figure escapes into the crowd, as does Zorro.
#19 - The Man from Spain
Season 2 - Episode 27 - Aired 4/9/1959
Another problem looms for Zorro when an arrogant stranger arrives in the pueblo and demands the help of Don Alejandro. Felipe Basilio has been sent by the Spanish government to sell bonds to the local citizens in order to help finance the Spanish war effort, but he gets off to a bad start by interrupting Sergeant Garcia's birthday party and throwing his pinata into the trash. Basilio also angers the townspeople by telling them they must buy the bonds, and a Capitan Mendoza arrives to enforce his order. The newcomers try to force Alejandro to persuade the peons, but they must resort to force when sales lag due to the unreasonable levies they have placed on their victims. One such person is the innkeeper, of whom they demand 250 pesos. Basilio is attracted to Moneta, the daughter of a wealthy landowner, and the two visitors temporarily delay their demands. Garcia draws Basilio's wrath by sneaking into the tavern to recover his pinata, and the visitor decides to make his strength known by placing the sergeant in the town stocks. Zorro avenges this humiliation by forcing Basilio to free Garcia, and then places him in the stocks instead.
#20 - Amnesty for Zorro
Season 2 - Episode 13 - Aired 1/1/1959
Ricardo leaves town but causes another problem for Diego before he goes. Still infatuated with Anna Maria, Ricardo tells her that Zorro would unmask himself if he really loved her. The problem is, Diego does love her, and thus begins to consider turning himself in. The governor offers the outlaw amnesty if he will surrender himself at a public ceremony.
#21 - Sweet Face of Danger
Season 1 - Episode 17 - Aired 1/30/1958
A quiet day in the pueblo is abruptly changed when a stranger is killed by an arrow, apparently the victim of an Indian attack. Diego helps Sergeant Garcia inspect the body for clues and finds another mysterious eagle feather, this time on the fake Indian arrow. Other than that, there is no hint as to who the stranger was or why he was killed.
#22 - Double Trouble for Zorro
Season 1 - Episode 11 - Aired 12/19/1957
Captain Monastario's latest plan is to discredit Zorro by having a prisoner who killed a man in a sword fight pose as the masked avenger and rob the local landowners at a dinner party.
#23 - The Iron Box
Season 2 - Episode 15 - Aired 1/15/1959
It is time to send the tax money to the governor, and Sergeant Garcia has a plan to thwart any attempt to steal the funds during the long journey. He orders the town blacksmith to build a huge iron box that requires a special key to open it. The money will be placed in the box and the key sent to the governor by a separate route. Two men, Nava and Crispin, learn of the plan and decide to make a duplicate key which will enable them to steal the money if they can intercept the box. They enlist the help of Moneta, a barmaid, by asking her to flirt with the blacksmith's son in the hopes he will supply a key. This plan fails when the box is completed ahead of schedule and Garcia orders the key sent on its way. During the loading of the tax money, Garcia accidentally snaps the lock shut and it must somehow be opened if the box is to be used. The blacksmith fashions a duplicate key and opens the lock, which is then placed on the box. Having seen this turn of events, Nava and Crispin try to steal the duplicate key, but Bernardo manages to keep it from them. The bandits surprise the small party of guards escorting the box, but the soldiers toss it over a steep cliff, hoping it will be inaccessible to the thieves. Undaunted, Nava and Crispin kidnap the blacksmith and his son and order the blacksmith to construct a new key right there in the ravine. Zorro had followed one of the bandits out of Los Angeles and sees the thieves standing guard over the unwilling blacksmith. The element of surprise lets him overcome the two armed men, and the box and the blacksmith are saved.
#24 - An Affair of Honor
Season 2 - Episode 31 - Aired 5/7/1959
Pedro Avila, recently arrived in the pueblo, earns a meager living by betting other men that he can beat them in a sword fight. He tries to talk Diego into betting, but Diego refuse, as Diego knows he must keep his skill a secret. This gives Avila and his friend Tony Pineda an idea about how to get rich. They plan to force Diego into a duel, then allow the frightened man to buy his way out of the situation. They begin their plan by mistreating Don Alejandro, and Diego comes to his father's assistance. Avila promptly challenges him to a duel as planned. Afraid that his friend will be killed, Sergeant Garcia kidnaps Diego and leaves him tied up in a deserted shed. As a result, Diego is unable to defend the family's honor and Don Alejandro decides to take his place. Garcia is aghast at this turn of events, for he knows that Don Alejandro cannot hope to defeat the much younger man. He rushes back to the shed, frees Diego and tells him of his father's determination to best Avila. Diego switches to his Zorro garb and rides to the field of honor, where Avila has begun to win the contest. The mismatched duel ends when Zorro defeats Avila and warns him never to return.
#25 - Senor China Boy
Season 2 - Episode 38 - Aired 6/25/1959
A Chinese boy escapes from a ship in San Pedro's harbor and tries to hide in Los Angeles. He is unable to seek help, for he speaks only his native language. Discovered hiding in Tomas Gregorio's warehouse, he is arrested as a thief. The boy's only hope is a scribbled message he gives to Diego. Not knowing Chinese, Diego sends it to the mission, knowing Father Ignacio can translate it. The reply has not yet arrived when a sailor claims that the boy is an escaped murderer being transported back to stand trial. Vinson, the sailor, convinces Garcia to hand over custody of the prisoner, and he begins the trip back to San Pedro. Father Ignacio then tells Diego that the message says the boy is actually a member of Chinese royalty and is being held for ransom by Vinson. Zorro rides after the seaman and the unfortunate boy, surprising them on a narrow cliffside trail. Vinson and Zorro fight hand-to-hand, and Zorro has to throw the kidnapper off the cliff to save his own life. The boy is taken to a ship that will carry him safely home to China.