Steineded How sad is this?

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

Tymon Sutton The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

Scarlet The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

dbborroughs 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)

tomwal 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.

beejer The first of the many serials based on the Zorro character released by Republic during the 30s and 40s.In this one John Carroll (before going on to bigger and better things) plays the hero and his mild-mannered alter ego James Vega. Noah Beery Sr. is wasted as the Marsden, the head bad guy trying to take over the California/Yukatan Railroad. He basically never leaves his office and only appears to radio instructions to his henchman led by Richard Alexander and Robert Kortman.As usual in Republic serials, the stunt work in this one is great. Yakima Canutt visibly doubles the hero and performs some dangerous horse to train transfers among others.All in all it isn't bad. The only problem I had with it was the inclusion of a couple of songs for Zorro to warble as he galloped across the range. A tip of the hat to the singing cowboys of the day, I suppose.

kelsci 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".