Walt Disney's Zorro, a television show originally airing in the U.S. on ABC, ran in half-hour episodes from 1957-1959, and in four longer episodes from 1960-1961. It starred Guy Williams as Don Diego de la Vega (Zorro), Gene Sheldon as his loyal servant Bernardo, George J. Lewis as Don Alejandro de la Vega (Diego's father), Henry Calvin as Sergeant Garcia, and Don Diamond as Corporal Reyes. This is a semi-review of the episodes from 1957-1959 as the later episodes are not available to me.
It is honestly far harder to review an entire television series than a film, so this will be another jumble of thoughts like my semi-review of Robin of Sherwood (q.v.).
Williams and Sheldon consistently deliver the best performances in both versions of their respective characters. It's gratifying to see a Don Diego who isn't a hopeless fop and a Bernardo who can assume swashbuckling responsibilities as needed. As I mentioned in my semi-review of The Sign of Zorro (which was composed of several episodes of the television show edited into a movie), "...Guy Williams was superb at imbuing his portrayal with subtlety and complexity. His Zorro is genuinely interesting and not a mere cliché." Calvin and Diamond are also consistent in their performances as Sergeant Garcia and Corporal Reyes respectively, but their roles are steadily reduced to comic relief with frequent forays into the maudlin. The guest appearances are often very good, although there are exceptions—all in the second season— for which the actors can probably share the blame with the writers (the most regrettable appearances being Cesar Romero, Jonathan Harris, and Jeff York as the especially egregious singing mountain man, Joe Crane).
The stunts and swordplay are considerably above average for a television show of any era and far above the quality of many swashbuckling movies and serials. Despite a few missteps, I think the Zorro of Walt Disney Studios remains the best of all Zorro adaptations for television.
Writing: GoodDirecting: Good
Acting: Good
Cinematography: Good
Stunts: Great
Swordplay: Great
Panache: Great
Overall Rating: Good/Great
Swashbuckling Rank: Great
Written by: various
Based on: The Curse of Capistrano by Johnston McCulley
Directed by: various
Performed by: Guy Williams, Gene Sheldon, Henry Calvin, Don Diamond, George J. Lewis, et al.
