Walt Disney Treasures – Zorro: The Complete First Season and The Complete Second Season[COLOR= black]
Directed by Robert Stevenson et al
Studio: Disney
Year: 1957-1959
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Running Time: 1121/1113 minutes
Rating: NR
Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0 mono English
Subtitles: SDH[/COLOR]
[COLOR= black]MSRP:[/COLOR][COLOR= black] $ 59.99 each[/COLOR]
[COLOR= black]
Release Date: November 3, 2009[/COLOR]
[COLOR= black]Review Date:[/COLOR][COLOR= black] November 5, 2009[/COLOR]
The Series
4/5
Other generations of viewers have had their own incarnations of Zorro, the masked “Robin Hood” of old Los Angeles: Douglas Fairbanks brought him to the movies with a silent screen manifestation and after some very popular serials, Tyrone Power introduced moviegoers to his matinee idol version of the hero in the early 1940s. More recently, Antonio Bandaras has put his stamp on the character, but for members of the Baby Boomer generation, Zorro will always and forever be Guy Williams, the star of a tremendously popular network television series produced by Walt Disney which ran from 1957-1959. His Zorro was suave and fearless and a great athlete but lacking in the braggadocio that other actors had given him, and the series made the unknown Williams a television star overnight. The two years of the series’ run have now become the newest releases in the Walt Disney Treasury of collectible tins, and it’s an undoubted pleasure to welcome this version of Zorro back into our midst.
The year is 1820 and California is still not a part of the United States. In the pueblo of Los Angeles, bandits and corrupt government officials are making the residents’ lives miserable. Wealthy ranchero Don Alejandro de la Vega (George J. Lewis) asks his son Diego (Guy Williams) to return from Spain where he’s currently enrolled in college to come back home and assist his father in helping put an end to corruption in the territory. Diego reasons that he’ll be more help to his father (and keep him potentially out of trouble) if he adopts the persona of a masked avenger who’ll deal in his own way with the dishonest and disloyal. Only his speech-impaired manservant Bernardo (Gene Sheldon) will know his secret. The current commandant Captain Monastario (Britt Lomond) is as vile as his predecessors though the fort’s Sergeant Garcia (Henry Calvin) is honest and well-meaning but a bungler and completely unable to see the dishonesty right before his eyes.
The seventy-eight episodes of Zorro which make up these two collectible tins reveal some surprises for those like me who haven’t seen the show in decades. The programs were serialized with the first thirteen episodes of season one given over to Zorro’s attempts to defeat Captain Monastario. Once he’s dispatched, a new organization headed by an unknown adversary known only as “The Eagle” takes over for the remainder of the season with various commandants coming into and out of the show, some more honest than others but always a threat in the capturing of Zorro. Only when Sgt. Garcia takes over as acting head of the soldiers does Zorro experience a little relief on that front though he’s in constant conflict with “The Eagle” and his henchmen until the season finale.
Season two of the series finds shorter story arcs than in season one, and there is more reliance on comedy with sequences featuring Garcia and his second-in-command Corporal Reyes (Don Diamond). The first third of the season’s episodes are set in Monterey instead of Los Angeles, and Zorro uses a different horse there. There is some light romance for Diego, and there are more guest stars in evidence: Cesar Romero, Annette Funicello, Patricia Medina, Lee Van Cleef, and Jonathan Harris, to name but a few. A few episodes into the season, the opening changes with a preview sequence from the episode to come added and the elimination of the Zorro theme song (replaced by a solo mention of the title of the show starring Guy Williams as he cuts the air with his foil in the letter “Z.”) The vocalized theme song is later added over the closing credits instead.
Sgt. Garcia serves as comic relief for the series for with all of the derring-do and swordplay on display (in every episode), he offers a light respite from the fighting. Henry Calvin, who had done Broadway musicals prior to appearing on this series, shows off his trained and quite impressive baritone voice several times during these episodes. In fact, being a Disney family series, there is a fair amount of singing (Guy Williams’ singing voice is dubbed on occasion by Bill Lee) and dancing on occasion, too. The twenty-five minute episodes are beautifully produced with great sets and costumes, well paced by its handful of in-house Disney directors, and wonderfully acted. And keeping in the spirit of movie serials and the serialized approach to the show’s storytelling, each episode concludes with serial-like previews showing tension-filled exploits one could look forward to in the next episode of the show. And now, thanks to this set, one doesn’t even have to wait a full week to experience them.
Here are the seventy-eight episodes contained in these two Disney Treasure tins with five discs in each set holding the episodes plus a bonus disc of special features.
Season One
1 – Presenting Senor Zorro
2 – Zorro’s Secret Passage
3 – Zorro Rides to the Mission
4 – The Ghost of the Mission
5 – Zorro’s Romance
6 – Zorro Saves a Friend
7 – Monastario Sets a Trap
8 – Zorro’s Ride into Terror
9 – A Fair Trial
10 – Garcia’s Secret Mission
11 – Double Trouble for Zorro
12 – Zorro, Luckiest Swordsman Alive
13 – The Fall of Monastario
14 – Shadow of a Doubt
15 – Garcia Stands Accused
16 – Slaves of the Eagle
17 – Sweet Face of Danger
18 – Zorro Fights His Father
19 – Death Stacks the Deck
20 – Agent of the Eagle
21 – Zorro Springs a Trap
22 – The Unmasking of Zorro
23 – The Secret of the Sierra
24 – The New Commandante
25 – The Fox and the Coyote
26 – Adios, Senor Magistrate
27 – The Eagle’s Brood
28 – Zorro By Proxy
29 – Quintana Makes a Choice
30 – Zorro Lights a Fuse
31 – The Man With the Whip
32 – Cross of the Andes
33 – The Deadly Bolas
34 – The Well of Death
35 – The Tightening Noose
36 – The Sergeant Regrets
37 – The Eagle Leaves the Nest
38 – Bernardo Faces Death
39 – The Eagle’s Flight
Season Two
1 – Welcome to Monterey
2 – Zorro Rides Alone
3 – Horse of Another Color
4 – The Senorita Makes a Choice
5 – Rendezvous at Sundown
6 – The New Order
7 – An Eye for an Eye
8 – Zorro and the Flag of Truce
9 – Ambush
10 – The Practical Joker
11 – The Flaming Arrow
12 – Zorro Fights a Duel
13 – Amnesty for Zorro
14 – The Runaways
15 – The Iron Box
16 – The Gay Caballero
17 – Tornado Is Missing
18 – Zorro Versus Cupid
19 – The Legend of Zorro
20 – Spark of Revenge
21 – The Missing Father
22 – Please Believe Me
23 – The Brooch
24 - Zorroand the Mountain Man
25 – The Hound of the Sierras
26 – Manhunt
27 – The Man from Spain
28 – Treasure for the King
29 – Exposing the Tyrant
30 – Zorro Takes a Dare
31 – An Affair of Honor
32 – The Sergeant Sees Red
33 – Invitation to Death
34 – The Captain Regrets
35 – Masquerade for Murder
36 – Long Live the Governor
37 – The Fortune Teller
38 – Senor China Boy
39 – Finders Keepers
Video Quality
4/5
The programs are presented at their original 1.33:1 aspect ratio. The transfers are for the most part beautifully pleasing representations of the series with sharp, vibrant black and white images with excellent detail (so sharp that it’s often easy to spot Williams’ stunt double Buddy Van Horn in some shots particularly during season one) and well balanced contrast that offers very good black levels. There are some age-related specks of dust on occasion, a bit of moiré from time to time, a little occasional flicker, and a little minor print damage in selected episodes, but nothing really mars the image quality for very long. The episodes have been divided into 5 chapters each.
Audio Quality
3.5/5
The Dolby Digital 2.0 mono tracks when decoded by Dolby Prologic place the sound into the center channel. Though the audio quality is very much typical of its era, there is only some occasional light hiss and a little flutter now and then to spoil an otherwise clear and exact sound design. Dialog is always precise though in certain episodes where a great deal of outdoor dialogue has been looped, the ADR work lends a dry, flat quality to the sound that is a bit off-putting.
Special Features
3.5/5 each
Each of the tins contains a collectible pin (different designs in the two cases), a lithograph, and a certificate of authenticity.
Leonard Maltin introduces each set on disc one in the tins. He gives background on the character, mentions some of the storylines and guest stars, and speaks briefly about the special features contained on disc six in each box.
Volume One
“El Bandito” is the first part of a 51 ¼-minute Zorro installment on Walt Disney Presents in 1960. Originally scripted to be part of the third season of Zorro which was discontinued due to a dispute with Disney over the series going to color, this episode features guest stars Gilbert Roland and Rita Moreno. The picture quality on this and the second half of the story is a little darker and less distinct than the season one episodes.
“El Cuchillo” concludes the story begun in “El Bandito.” It runs 49 minutes.
“The Life and Legend of Zorro” features historians like Rudy Belhmer and John Burlingame discussing the background for the previous Zorro films before delving more deeply with the television series. Some good information is imparted in this featurette, but it seems too brief at 12 ½ minutes.
Walt Disney introduced the national television audience to his upcoming Zorro series on his own program Walt Disney Presents on September 11, 1957. (Zorro premiered a month later.) Speaking to the Mouseketeers, he shows the main title sequence with the catchy theme song which would prove to be a #1 hit, and then gives a brief introduction of Guy Williams as Zorro. This excerpt from his show lasts 3 ¼ minutes.
Volume Two
“The Postponed Wedding” is another installment of Zorro on Walt Disney Presents presented some two months after the last hour episode aired. The 49-minute program guest stars Annette Funicello playing a completely different character from the one she essayed during the series’ second season. Concerning a mercenary courtier whom Zorro tries to unmask, the program’s picture quality is every bit as good as the season two episodes. Annette also sings two songs during the program, one as a duet with Henry Calvin.
“Auld Acquaintance” was the last Zorro special episode telecast in April 1961. It guest stars Ricardo Montalban and Ross Martin as bandits intent on stealing the army’s six months of back pay and runs for 49 ¼ minutes.
“Behind the Mask” is a loving tribute to star Guy Williams with cast and crew of the series praising his skill and character and his son speaking warmly about his father. It’s a wonderful 8-minute featurette, but one wishes it had been much longer.
“A Trip to the Archives” finds Leonard Maltin and Guy Williams, Jr. examining the Zorro costume as well as one of Don Diego’s suits and other costumes from the series as well as a table full of merchandise based on the series. This lasts 11 minutes.
In Conclusion
4/5 (not an average)
The two volumes representing the entire Guy Williams/Disney legacy of Zorro are beautiful packages with the episodes looking better than they have any right to look and housing some welcome bonus features. It comes highly recommended especially for fans of the character, the star, or the series.
Matt Hough
Charlotte, NC
