The BEST episodes written by Lowell S. Hawley
#1 - Zorro, Luckiest Swordsman Alive
Zorro (1957) - Season 1 - Episode 12
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.
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#2 - Shadow of Doubt
Zorro (1957) - Season 1 - Episode 14
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.
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#3 - Monastario Sets a Trap
Zorro (1957) - Season 1 - Episode 7
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.
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#4 - Welcome to Monterey
Zorro (1957) - Season 2 - Episode 1
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.
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#5 - Finders Keepers
Zorro (1957) - Season 2 - Episode 39
Celesta Villagrana and her servant, Montez, are on their way to Los Angeles when a hooded robber stops them and steals her jewelry. The thief knocks the travelers to the ground then departs, leaving Celesta lying there unconscious. Bernardo rides by and sees a piece of jewelry glinting in the sunlight. He stops to pick it up but Celesta awakens and mistakes him for a thief. She screams, and Sergeant Garcia arrives in time to hear her accuse Bernardo, which leaves him no choice but to arrest the mute servant. The case appears to be a strong one and is further strengthened when Montez picks Bernardo out of a line-up. Diego is sure he saw a secret signal passed between Montez and a Señor Lopez who is watching the procedures, which has let Montez know whom to accuse. Hoping to clear his friend, Zorro confronts the two men as they talk that night in the tavern. He accuses them of being the real thieves, but they deny the charges. Zorro then uses his sword to slash open Lopez's coat and the jewelry falls to the ground, thus proving Bernardo's innocence.
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#6 - The Captain Regrets
Zorro (1957) - Season 2 - Episode 34
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.
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#7 - Spark of Revenge
Zorro (1957) - Season 2 - Episode 20
Los Angeles is suffering from a severe drought and tempers are fraying as crops and animals die from the lack of water. Most of the landowners are helping their neighbors by allowing them access to the few wells and springs that have not yet dried up. Don Hilario is an exception to this policy, though, for he fears his own crops will suffer. A neighbor, Miguel Roverto, a peasant with a small farm, begins to steal needed water. His orange trees are almost dead, and thus he ignores Hilario's warnings. The Alviso brothers, who work for Hilario, catch Roverto in the act and beat him severely, warning him never to return. Roverto's house is later burned to the ground and the angry man vows revenge on Hilario. When Hilario's home burns, suspicion naturally falls on the peasant. An inspection of the ruins yields Hilario's body, and Roverto's gun lying by his side. Zorro finds the hiding man, who tells him that the Alvisos took the musket when they caught him stealing water. Believing that Roverto was framed, Zorro decides to set a trap for the real killers. His plan works, and the brothers are caught and Roverto is cleared of both the murder and the fire. Roverto gets more good news when a sudden storm finally brings rain to the area.
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#8 - The Legend of Zorro
Zorro (1957) - Season 2 - Episode 19
Estevan still hopes to marry the wealthy Margarita but he knows that Zorro will continue to oppose him. Don Alejandro suggests that if Estevan were to settle down and begin farming, Zorro would realize that his intentions are honorable. He gives the visitor a small plot of land and wishes him well in his endeavor. The thought of working the land proves too much for Estevan and he announces he is moving back to Spain. His real plan, though, is quite different. He convinces Margarita to leave town with him and they head for the mission to be married, but their trip is interrupted by Zorro, who rides off in the carriage with Margarita. Estevan eventually follows them, but when he reaches the carriage, Zorro is gone. Margarita informs her suitor that she has just learned she can only inherit her father's fortune if she marries a California resident. She then suggests Estevan accept Alejandro's offer and become a farmer. Estevan realizes that his dreams of an easy and prosperous life will not come true in Los Angeles, so he tells Margarita he must return to Spain to fight in a war.
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#9 - Please Believe Me
Zorro (1957) - Season 2 - Episode 22
Anita is still hoping to find her father, but Sergeant Garcia has decided she is nothing but a liar and wants to send her back to Spain. Only Diego believes her story, and he tells her she needs to supply some proof of her father's existence. She mentions a package of letters her father sent to her, and Diego asks to see them. Anita goes to her room but quickly returns without them, claiming they have been stolen. When Don Alejandro again voices his doubts about her story, she claims the letters must have been taken by Rafael Gonzales, a driver who brought her to the city from her ship. This further angers Alejandro, who has known and trusted Gonzales for many years, and he arranges for her to leave on the next ship. Anita asks Ruiz, one of the de la Vega servants, to escort her to the mission so she can hide, and she offers to pay him in gold. He agrees and arranges for another man to accompany them, planning to rob the unsuspecting girl. Zorro saves her once more, this time using his rope to prevent her from falling to her death. This adventure makes Anita even more determined to stay in Los Angeles until she finds her missing father.
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#10 - Invitation to Death
Zorro (1957) - Season 2 - Episode 33
The governor of California is attacked during a visit to Los Angeles with his daughter and aide, and barely escapes with his life. Taken to the de la Vega house to recover, he is much too weak to travel for several days. The aide, Capitan Arrellanos, tells Diego he suspects the attack to be the work of the Rebatos, a group that wants to sever ties with the government in Spain. Arrellanos declares himself acting governor until the wounded man recovers and orders an armed guard placed around the house. Several days later a mysterious stranger tells the capitan that if the governor were to die, he would become the true ruler of all California. Arrellanos succumbs to the temptation and orders the guards removed. This makes Diego and Bernardo suspicious, so while Diego dresses as Zorro, Bernardo uses a secret passageway to keep watch over the ailing governor. This precaution proves wise when a stranger sneaks into the room and tries to kill the governor. Bernardo steps out and knocks the attacker unconscious. Zorro takes the governor to another room and puts the would-be killer in the sick man's bed in his place. Two more men try to kill the governor and Zorro fights them both, but one succeeds in plunging a knife into the covered figure on the bed. Not until the next day do the killers learn they have failed to assassinate the governor, and instead killed one of their own.
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