Zorro Rides Again (1937)

First Zorro serial is one of the best. It's a modern story with planes and trains and cars and horses all being used to great effect to tell the story of Zorro (James Vega) trying to stop the villain from blowing up the railroad he own stock in. Its one of the large scale serials that Republic did in the late 30's and early 40's before budgets got tighter thanks to wartime austerity. The large cast of characters is nicely handled and it doesn't have the round and round feeling that later Zorro serials engendered. This has spectacular effects that help elevate things a couple of notches- Where else are you going to see a train try to out run a plane that is trying to bomb it?. If there is a flaw it's that there is a few musical numbers that don't really fit (Most musical numbers don't fit in serials since they slow the serial down too much)

A good effort from Republic,with exciting effects including a horse to train transfer by Yakima Canutt, concerns Noah Berry's efforts to take over a railroad and John Carrols[as Zorro] heroic efforts to stop him. Good location photography,and supporting acting adds to the excitement. Whitney and English direct in fine style.The primitive musical score [used in earlier serials],detracts. Though not the same caliber as Zorros Fighting Legion, this is still a top notch serial,well worth viewing.

This was one of the best early serials filled with action furnished by Yakima Canutt on the horse. Although later serials would improve the mask it was also unique in it's scripting. It was well written as serials go. It was mentioned somewhere that a serial was silly. True perhaps but we didn't get that serious with them and enjoyed anyway. This Zorro was entertaining and interesting. One of the best cliffhangers endings was with the train, early in the serial.

I first saw this serial on TV in the 1950s in New York. It was my first exposure to the "anachronistic westerns" that republic pictures produced at that time. Six Guns, railroads, airplanes horses,gunfights,a machine gun and automobiles; what a combination in a western serial. One would probably have thought seeing this and other republic features made along these lines that people walked around with six guns like the old west in modern times living in California. This formula however in my opinion worked very well. Republic's music scores of that time were wonderful with basically the same themes used in this and other films of 1937. The casting was fine for this serial. John Caroll made a wonder modern Zorro. In a change of pace, Richard Alexander, the unselfish prince Barin of Flash Gordon,1936, makes a marvelous villain as the character, El Lobo (Brad Dace). Kudos to the rest of the cast especially Duncan Renaldo. There is no question that the production company knew how to put together a rousing actioneer of all the components I mentioned above. The closest of films that we see today that even approach the mood and mystique of this serial would probably be the Star Wars epics. This is one of my favorite serials because it has "entertainment value"; one to pop on a vcr to enjoy and relax more than "once a year".