The BEST episodes of Zorro (1957) season 1
Every episode of Zorro (1957) season 1, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Zorro (1957) season 1!
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 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.
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#2 - 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.
#3 - 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.
#4 - 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.
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#5 - 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.
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#6 - Adios, Senor Magistrado
Season 1 - Episode 26 - Aired 4/3/1958
Capitan Toledano plans to interrogate two prisoners who were seized when the gunpowder was recovered. The prisoners warn Figueroa, one of the magistrado's men, that they will talk unless someone helps them escape. Instead, they are found dead in their cell the next morning. A doctor examines the bodies and suspects murder, but the magistrado announces that it was suicide.
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#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.
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#8 - Shadow of Doubt
Season 1 - Episode 14 - Aired 1/9/1958
No sooner does the honest new commandante arrive than he is assassinated by a mysterious stranger who frames an elderly beggar for the crime and appears to be part of a larger conspiracy.
#9 - Zorro's Ride into Terror
Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/28/1957
After Zorro hides his wounded father in the secret cave, as Don Diego he must divert Captain Monastario and his soldiers who are searching for the old man.
#10 - 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.
#11 - Zorro's Secret Passage
Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/17/1957
It is a calm morning in Spanish California, and Sergeant Dimetrio Lopez Garcia is putting up posters, with another soldier, which are asking for reward money for Don Ignacio Torres and the now famous Zorro. After putting up all of the posters, Garcia reports to Captain Monastario, telling him all the posters have been put up. Though the Sergeant suggests that they wait for someone to capture Zorro and claim the reward, the Captain has other ideas. He says that the military will find Zorro themselves, so starting a campaign to search all around the pueblo. Meanwhile, back at the hacienda, Bernardo is shocked to find Diego in his room, when he slept outside of his door all night. Diego explains that, returning from his first ride as Zorro, he remembered a secret passage that he used to explore as a child, and takes the frightened Bernardo inside of it. It leads to a cave, where Tornado is staying, which leads out into the open. Diego tells Bernardo that soon ""You shall know it as well as
#12 - Zorro Springs a Trap
Season 1 - Episode 21 - Aired 2/27/1958
The fake Ortega and the magistrado announce they have captured Zorro, and a cart holding a masked man is dragged into the town square. A public unmasking will be held at noon, and Diego fears that an innocent man will be charged with Zorro's "crimes". He also realizes it may all be a trap, so when he dons his costume and rides into the square to free the prisoner, he watches carefully for soldiers.
#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 - 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
#15 - Zorro Rides to the Mission
Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/24/1957
Finding that Don Torres is in hiding at the Mission, Monastario forces the local Indians into hard labor until the Padre agrees to surrender the fugitive.
#16 - The Eagle's Flight
Season 1 - Episode 39 - Aired 7/3/1958
Bernardo, who is keeping watch over Varga, is disturbed to see Garcia leading a patrol of lancers out of the cuartel. Even more disturbing is the sight of several strangers who drift into the Eagle's headquarters. When he tries to look inside, the gates are locked, so he rushes to warn Diego of the threat.
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#17 - Garcia's Secret Mission
Season 1 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/12/1957
Captain Monastario orders Sergeant Garcia to pretend to have been dishonorably discharged, so that the people of the village will take him into their confidence and reveal Zorro's whereabouts.
#18 - The Ghost of the Mission
Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/31/1957
After failing in his attempt to sneak food to the fugitive in the Mission where Captain Monastario has laid siege, Zorro tries to scare the soldiers away by spreading a rumor about the mad monk who supposedly haunts the place.
#19 - Zorro's Romance
Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 11/7/1957
In order to help the escaped fugitive Torres elude Captain Monastario's surveillance of his home, Don Diego decides that he must propose marriage to Torres' daughter.
#20 - Death Stacks the Deck
Season 1 - Episode 19 - Aired 2/13/1958
Ramon Santil has just inherited his father's ranch and holdings, and some bad news. The magistrado tells him there's a high tax that must be paid at once or he will lose the land, and Ramon doesn't have the money to pay it. In desperation, he sells all of his cattle to Carlos Urista, a recent arrival in town whom Diego suspects as another of the Eagle's men.
#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 - Quintana Makes a Choice
Season 1 - Episode 29 - Aired 4/24/1958
Sergeant Garcia and the other soldiers are amazed one morning when every musket seems to misfire. When they check their gunpowder, they realize it has been replaced with charcoal. A search of the cuartel reveals that all of the gunpowder has been stolen, leaving the post defenseless.
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#23 - The Eagle's Brood
Season 1 - Episode 27 - Aired 4/10/1958
With the death of the magistrado, the Eagle takes a more active role in his conspiracy to rule southern California. He sends two of his men, Quintana and Fuentes, to Los Angeles with a load of gunpowder for the weapons previously smuggled into the pueblo. The two men earn the wrath of the Eagle for suggesting that Zorro may upset the plan, and they fearfully head off on their mission.
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#24 - Bernardo Faces Death
Season 1 - Episode 38 - Aired 6/26/1958
Another stranger arrives in the pueblo and travels to the de la Vega hacienda, intending to meet with the Eagle. Diego recognizes the visitor as Count Kolinko, an ambassador from an Eastern European country that has long been interested in controlling California. Since the Eagle has left for the pueblo, Diego manages to convince Kolinko that he is also part of the conspiracy. He almost succeeds in gaining necessary details of the plot.
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#25 - The Sergeant Regrets
Season 1 - Episode 36 - Aired 6/12/1958
An emissary from a foreign power has arrived in the pueblo to discuss plans to help the Eagle in his rebellion. George Brighton, the agent, warns Varga that there must not be any open resistance. His government wants an obedient colony, not one torn apart by internal battles. Varga promises to deliver control as planned, but he continues to worry about Don Alejandro and the other landowners who have pledged their allegiance to the King.
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