Zorro - The Legend Through The Years

   Zorro Rides Again - 1937
John Carroll is James Vega and Zorro John Carroll
is
James Vega and Zorro		 Helen Christian
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Joyce Andrews		 Helen Christian is Joyce Andrews
Reed Howes is Philip Andrews Reed Howes
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Philip Andrews		 Noah Beery
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Marsden		 Noah Beery is Marsden
Duncan Renaldo is Renaldo Duncan Renaldo
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Renaldo		 Richard Alexander
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El Lobo		 Richard Alexander is El Lobo
Theme Music
Chapter 1  "Death from the Sky"

A group headed by a man known as El Lobo works for a profiteer named Marsden.  Marsden is determined to gain control of the California Yucatan Railroad.  El Lobo and his men continually sabotage the railroad project for Marsden in hopes that the railroad will be sold to Marsden.  The railroad is owned by Manuel Vega and his partners, siblings Philip and Joyce Andrews.  Manuel Vega writes to his nephew James Vega and asks for him to come help; James is the great-grandson of Zorro.

They stop at nothing.  Destruction!  Sabotage!  Murder!  You are the last of the Vegas, a true descendant of the great Zorro . . . it is your fight.  Come!

Your loving uncle,

Manuel Vega

James agrees to come.  Zorro makes his first appearance the night before James is scheduled to arrive.  When James arrives the next day, Manuel is disappointed to see that James wears gloves and seems afraid of horses.  James is a very poor horseman and is thrown immediately after he gets on El Rey, who is descended from the horse owned by the original Zorro.  El Rey runs off, and Manuel doubts that he will ever come back.  Renaldo is the only person who knows that James has taken on the mask of Zorro and helps him.  Zorro speaks with a strong accent while James does not.
El Lobo ambushes the California Yucatan Railroad construction camp.  During the gunfight, Manuel Vega is shot.  Zorro allows for him to see the face beneath the mask just before he dies.

El Lobo plans to ambush the railroad's payroll which is being shipped by train.  Zorro boards the train in an attempt to stop the ambush.  A plane chases the train and drops a bomb on the train right where Zorro is.

Manuel asks to see the face beneath Zorro's mask.
Chapter 2  "The Fatal Minute"
El Lobo's men prepare to bomb the train. Fortunately, the bomb misses the train.  Zorro uses a rifle to shoot at the plane, and the damaged plane heads back to headquarters.  Joyce and Philip notice that Zorro rides El Rey, the horse that ran away from James.  When Marsden learns that El Lobo was not able to sabotage the payroll, Marsden tells El Lobo that most of the railroad's supplies are at Ocilla Junction.  If the railroad loses the supplies, it will be forced into bankruptcy.
James delivers a ledger to Philip and Joyce at Ocilla Junction.  Joyce tells James that Zorro saved the payroll.  James says, "Ah, Zorro.  Oh, well we can't all be dashing heroes winning the hearts of fair maidens."

Renaldo cries the alarm that El Lobo is coming.  El Lobo and his men attack Ocilla Junction.  One of El Lobo's men plants a time bomb in the warehouse.

James gives the ledger to Philip.
Zorro pursues the man who set the bomb while Philip, Joyce, and Renaldo quickly search the warehouse for the bomb.  Zorro captures the man who set the bomb and brings him back to Ocilla Junction.  Zorro enters the warehouse with the man and tells him that they will stay until either they are blown up or until the man tells him the location of the bomb.  The man tells Zorro that the bomb is in the stove, but when Zorro goes to get it, the man knocks Zorro unconscious.  The bomb explodes.
Chapter 3  "Juggernaut"

Zorro regains consciousness and jumps down into the cellar just as the bomb explodes.  Zorro rides from Ocilla Junction with El Lobo and his men in hot pursuit, but Zorro gets away.

Philip informs James that the railroad is bankrupt unless they can get more supplies.  However, they have no credit so they can't get more supplies.  James heads to the city to see Marsden.  Marsden gives James a signed letter stating that he will pay James $200,000 for his 51% share in the California Yucatan Railroad.  James erases all of the ink from the letter except for Marsden's signature and types a message for supplies to be delivered to the railroad and charged to Marsden's account.  Marsden is infuriated when he discovers that his men blew up the railroad's supplies and then he was tricked into paying for them.

James buys a radio receiving set so that he can listen in on Marsden's communications with El Lobo.  James learns that El Lobo is expected to destroy the new shipment of supplies.  Zorro sees El Lobo rig the tracks so that the train will derail.  Zorro fixes the problem with the tracks, but El Lobo fights him.  Zorro's foot is stuck between the tracks as the train bears down on him.

Chapter 4  "Unmasked"

Zorro frees himself just before he would have been run over by the train.  The train gets through the junction safely.  El Lobo tells Marsden that the railroad has begun working once again.  El Lobo learns of an important delivery of some deeds.

El Lobo begins to remove Zorro's mask. El Lobo dresses as Zorro and steals the papers that were to be delivered to Philip.  However, another man, who realizes that El Lobo is not the real Zorro, steals the papers from El Lobo.  El Lobo's men catch up with the man who stole the papers, but Zorro frees the man who gives the deeds to Zorro.  Zorro delivers the papers to the authorities but is tricked because the men turn out to be El Lobo's men.  Zorro finds himself captured.  El Lobo reaches to remove Zorro's mask.
Chapter 5  "Sky Pirates"

Renaldo appears in time to prevent Zorro's mask from being removed.  The man who stole the deeds gives them to another man who delivers them to El Lobo.  Two of El Lobo's men are captured by Zorro and turned over to the Rurales.  Marsden tells El Lobo that they have got to get their man out of jail and that they have to get the deeds out of Mexico.

James disguises himself as one of El Lobo's men and rescues one of the men from jail.  He returns to El Lobo's headquarters with El Lobo's men, who think that James is one of them.  One of the men is told to fly the deeds out of Mexico.  James gets on the plane with the man and knocks him out.  James attempts to fly the plane to get away, but it crashes.

Chapter 6  "The Fatal Shot"
James escapes from the crashed plane with the deeds.  Joyce finds the deeds at the mailbox, left by Zorro.  El Lobo takes Philip and Joyce captive.  El Lobo tells Joyce to deliver a message to Zorro, stating that Philip is a prisoner and will die unless Zorro surrenders.  Joyce says that she doesn't know where Zorro is, but she rides away with the note anyway.  Joyce shows James the note and asks him what to do.  He tells her to ride down the road to find Zorro. Joyce is told to deliver a message to Zorro.
Renaldo loads a wagon with dynamite; Zorro hangs on underneath the wagon as it rolls downhill towards where Philip is being held.  Zorro lets go just before the wagon hits the gate and blows up.  Zorro climbs into the fort and aims a machine gun at the men in an attempt to force them to release Philip.  One of the men jumps Zorro, and they fight.  El Lobo prepares to shoot Zorro.
Chapter 7  "Burning Embers"

Renaldo appears and prevents El Lobo from shooting Zorro.  Zorro and El Lobo go to El Lobo's headquarters.  Zorro finds a paper which proves that Marsden is behind the plot and reveals that El Lobo's real name is Brad Dace.  Zorro brings the paper to Philip and Joyce.

Joyce hopes she will someday know who Zorro is. Joyce tells Zorro,"I hope someday I will find out who you are."

Zorro says, "The knowledge might be a disappointment to you, Señorita."

"Oh no, never.  The mask may disguise you but it will never hide that you are brave and a gentleman."

El Lobo's men attack Ocilla Junction once again.  During the battle, the building in which the deeds are located catches fire.  Zorro is attempting to get the paper with the evidence against Marsden from the burning building when the building's floor collapses.
Chapter 8  "Plunge of Peril"

Zorro tosses the box containing the important paper out the window and then hangs on to the window so that he doesn't fall when the floor collapses.  Zorro jumps out the window, but one of El Lobo's men has already retrieved the paper and ridden off with it.

Joyce hears James singing a love song.  She tells him that he doesn't sing as well as Zorro.  James begins singing Zorro's song, "Zorro rides again into the night, riding along, singing a song . . . "  Joyce is impressed but still tells him that he is no Zorro.

Marsden tells El Lobo to take out the Perdida dam so that the railroad won't be able to get across the desert.  El Lobo first shuts off the water supply to the railroad and then he opens the floodgates of the dam so that the valley will flood.  Zorro overpowers some of El Lobo's men and then closes the floodgates.  Zorro escapes by jumping on a cart which rolls down a steep track.  Zorro appears to crash into the ground.

Chapter 9  "Tunnel of Terror"

Zorro jumps off right before the cart crashes.  El Lobo's men flee as the Rurales arrive.

Philip wants James to come inspect the railroad with him.  When Joyce tells James, he protests, "I've got a lot of reading to do."  Joyce tells him that he is either lazy or afraid.

Zorro learns that El Lobo's men are going to blow up a tunnel.  Zorro boards the train in an attempt to warn the engineer. The train travels through the tunnel, and as it exits, there is a large explosion.

Zorro boards the train so that he can warn the engineer.
Chapter 10  "Trapped"

The explosion causes some damage to the train and blocks the tunnel.  Philip is badly injured and unable to work.  Zorro takes Philip's place and helps get the tunnel reopened.

Joyce is forced to sign over her share of the railroad. El Lobo and his men force Philip and Joyce to sign over their share of the railroad.  James travels to the city to recover the paper.  Renaldo keeps a watch on Marsden's office and sees where Marsden hides the paper.  Zorro sneaks into Marsden's office after the building is closed for the night.  Zorro retrieves the paper, but the night watchman has spotted him and reported to Marsden.  A couple of Marsden's men pursue Zorro.  Zorro tries to escape across the rooftop but loses his balance and falls.
Chapter 11  "Right of Way"

Zorro uses his whip to swing across to another building.  Renaldo and James escape by car.

Philip decides to move all of the railroad's records to Mexico City, where they will be safe.  El Lobo learns of his plans and several of his men board the train.  Zorro attempts to overtake the train in a truck.  El Lobo and his men pull the records up out of the train car to the roof of the car.  The truck races to catch up with the train.  It appears that the truck and train will crash at the crossing. Zorro tries to catch up to the train in a truck.
Chapter 12  "Retribution"
El Lobo tells James that he will sign over ownership of the railroad. Both the truck and the train stop at the crossing.  El Lobo and his men surround Zorro.  El Lobo pulls off Zorro's mask.  El Lobo takes James and all of the railroad's records to his hideout.  Marsden tells El Lobo to get James Vega's signature on a bill of sale for the railroad.  El Lobo tells his men to bring Philip and Joyce to the hideout.
Renaldo believes he knows where El Lobo's hideout is, so Philip and another man head for that area.  Meanwhile, El Lobo's men arrive at the Vega hacienda; Renaldo hides Joyce in Zorro's cave.  Joyce is surprised that James is Zorro.  Renaldo and Joyce listen on James's radio and learn that El Lobo is heading to Eagle Cliff.  Joyce rides to the junction and tells the workers while Renaldo informs the Rurales.

James manages to escape El Lobo's men as the battle unfolds between El Lobo's men and the railroad workers.  James overpowers two of El Lobo's men and then uses their cannon against El Lobo.  James is shot in the arm by El Lobo and then cornered by El Lobo.  As El Lobo prepares to shoot James, El Lobo is trampled by El Rey.  Finally, the plot against the California Yucatan Railroad is over.

Later, Joyce and James are at the hacienda.  James is standing close to her and says, "Joyce, I, uh . . . I . . . uh . . . " and the horse El Rey runs up and knocks James into Joyce's arms.  James and Joyce smile at each other. El Rey pushes James and Joyce into each other's arms.
Comments:

  • Noah Beery, who appears as Sergeant Gonzales in the 1920 film, also appears in this version of Zorro as Marsden.

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