"Zorro" (1957) TV series 1957-1959

User Rating:

8.2/10   

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3

Release Date:

10 October 1957 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Family | Western

Plot:

Don Diego de la Vega opposes the corrupt tyrants of Spanish California as the masked swordsman, Zorro.

Plot Keywords:

Zorro | Old California | Sword Fight | One Word Title | Swashbuckler

Cast

Guy Williams	...	Don Diego de la Vega / ... (82 episodes, 1957-1961)
Gene Sheldon	...	Bernardo / ... (82 episodes, 1957-1961)
Henry Calvin	...	Sgt. Demetrio Lopez Garcia / ... (81 episodes, 1957-1961)
Don Diamond	...	Corp. Reyes / ... (51 episodes, 1957-1959)
George J. Lewis	...	Don Alejandro de la Vega / ... (48 episodes, 1957-1961)

Runtime:

30 min | 30 min (82 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-7 (DVD rating) (2005) | Argentina:Atp

Filming Locations:

Bell Ranch, Santa Susana, California, USA

Company:

Walt Disney Productions

Trivia:

The Laurel and Hardy like teaming of Henry Calvin and Gene Sheldon (Sergeant Garcia and Bernardo) was such a hit that when production on this series ceased, Disney held on to the pair (in case this series would resume) by using them in two feature films, Toby Tyler, or Ten Weeks with a Circus (1960) and Babes in Toyland (1961).

Quotes:

Theme Song Singers: [theme Song] Out of the night/When the full moon is bright/Comes the horseman known as Zorro!/This bold renegade/Carves a "Z" with his blade/The "Z" that stands for "Zorro!"/Zorro!/The fox so cunning and free!/Zorro!/Who makes the sign of the "Z!"/Zorro! Zorro! Zorro! Zorro!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Alpha Dog (2006)

Soundtrack:

Theme from Zorro

Walt Disney's ZORRO!!!--STARRING GUY WILLIAMS!!!

What if an actor was tall, dark, and handsome? And what if the actor had learned to act in bit parts in movies with actors like Tyrone Power, Victor Mature, and Raymond Massey? And what if the actor could handle a sword???

It all adds up to Walt Disney's ZORRO!!!--STARRING GUY WILLIAMS!!! Guy Williams as both Zorro and alter ego Don Diego De La Vega is better than all the actors who played the role before and after him, taller than Tyrone Power, better looking than Douglas Fairbanks, and taller, better looking, and better with a sword than Antonio Banderas!

Walt Disney controlled every aspect of this 1950s black and white tv show--the black and white photography is the show's greatest weakness, and the new colorized versions on the Disney Channel are much better--and the result is an interesting departure from the standard 1950s westerns, with humor, adventure, and terrific sets and casting. Henry Calvin is sensational as Williams' chief foil, Sargent Garcia, and Gene Sheldon is very good as Williams' mute servant Bernardo. But it's Guy Williams, with his beautiful hair, his handsome face, his height, his well proportioned physique, and something about the way he walks, the way he talks, and some strange quality that he had--see Guy in CAPTAIN SINBAD!!!--some ability to convey to his audience, "Everything's going to be all right!!!"--that made Walt Disney's ZORRO the best ZORRO of all!

THERE WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER GUY WILLIAMS!!!