O Filho do Zorro

Typical 40's cowboy shoot 'em up action. Guess Clayton Moore would not give up the Lone Ranger mask and so the name Zorro was used. Nothing Zorro about this one, just trying to cash in on a legend. Here he is running around in a black outfit, in the same basic cut of the Lone Ranger, used a gun (and not a sword or whip) and bad guys kept on getting the better of him. Maybe it's the lack of a cape.... Still it was a fun serial....

Growing up in the 40's, especially before TV, meant the week's best entertainment was the Saturday matinee at the downtown theatre: a western feature with Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Hopalong Cassidy or some other cowboy hero; 5 cartoons; a comedy short featuring the 3 Stooges, Edgar Kennedy or some other slapstick comedian; and, of course, another thrilling chapter of a serial--all of this for only 15 cents. "Son of Zorro" was my first introduction to this great fictional character of the old west, even before Disney's popular characterization by Guy Williams. Though this is not the original Zorro, the hero of this piece, Jeff Stewart (George Turner) is a decendent and the story line is similar. Stewart is returning home after serving his country in the Civil War about 1869, only to find while he and the other able-bodied males were away, crooked politicians got themselves illegally elected and are abusing Box County citizens with their unfair taxes, high tolls, and acts of terrorism against any who dare resist. Though initially trying to settle matters peacefully, Stewart is forced to assume the role of his ancestor to battle the evil that has disrupted his hometown. The only people who know Jeff Stewart is Zorro is Pancho (Stanley Price), his faithful ranch foreman and pretty Kate Wells (Peggy Stewart) Box County's postmistress. Kate becomes the perfect "Damsel in Distress", week after week getting knocked unconscious or tied up, only to be rescued by Zorro. Don't let anyone kid you, Peggy Stewart is an excellent horsewoman and did all of her stunt riding herself. She still rides today, even at 77, though she is retired from acting. The Box County bandits' top heavy, Boyd (Roy Barcroft) was constantly in Zorro's hair. Was Barcroft the movies' all-time best bad guy or what. The other crooks who ran the town were Sheriff Moody (Edward Cassidy) and Judge Hyde (Ernie Adams). But, who was the real brains behind the gang? Well, you'll have to see chapter 13 to find out, though I'll tell you it's one you might least expect. Over 40 years after seeing "Son of Zorro" in the theatre, I have to admit I still loved it and found it just as exciting as it was when I was a kid. Zorro became a favorite with Republic's cliffhanger serials, producing no less than 5 episodic adventures featuring the masked avenger. I was a real fan of the serials during that time period and this is still my favorite. If you are nostalgic about this part of Americana, give it a look. It will bring back memories.

I would like to comment on Ed Jones assumption that Clayton Moore went from being the Lone Ranger to Zorro. He had been a serial star at Republic for some time, prior to getting into television. Actually, it was the other way around. In his book, "I was the Masked Man," Moore tells how his agent used his performance in Ghost of Zorro, released in 1949 before the Lone Ranger TV series but in the same year, to get him the job. I believe it was the way his eyes looked behind the mask. Moore always had that intense look. However, in 1952, Moore did take a hiatus from the TV series (for reasons which were never quite made clear) and returned to Republic to make Zombies of the Stratesphere, one of the Commando Cody serials. He also made Son of Geronimo at Columbia.

Hero returns from the Civil War and finds his home county over run by crooked politicians who are taxing everyone out of existence. Run of the mill western is pretty good but what is Zorro doing in all of this? Clearly it was time to crank out the old cliffhangers and use them again. Give Republic points for turning out well done action chapter plays but take a few simply because we've seen it all before, in the B westerns they and other studios were producing. It suffers from being too much the run of the western serial mill. However if you haven't seen many serials or B-Westerns, this is a good little time killer.

6 out of 10 simply because its so by the numbers