Zorro (1957–1959): Season 1, Episode 29 - Quintana Makes a Choice - full transcript

♪ Out of the night when
the full moon is bright

♪ Comes a horseman
known as Zorro

♪ This bold renegade
carves a "Z" with his blade

♪ A "Z" that stands for Zorro

♪ Zorro!

♪ The Fox so cunning and free

♪ Zorro!

♪ Who makes the sign of the "Z"!

♪ Zorro!

♪ The Fox so cunning and free

♪ Zorro!



♪ Who makes the sign of the "Z"!

♪ Zorro, Zorro, Zorro

♪ Zorro, Zorro ♪

Who's there?

Sergeant! Sergeant Garcia,
there's a bear in the plaza!

Corporal, did you
say a bear there?

Si, si!

Oh, hello. What
are you doing here?

Oh, of course. I
keep forgetting.

Open the gates.
Let me get a shot.

Do not open the
gates until I say so.

But there's a bear out
there. He'll get away!

Where is he now?
He is over by the well.

Always I have
wanted a bearskin rug.



Corporal, open the gate.

Open the gate!

Stupid! Do not close
the gates with me outside.

Suppose I should miss?

If you'd rather have me do it...

Oh, no. I will shoot him, but you and
you get muskets and come with me,

just in case he should
move when I fire.

Open the gates.

Shoot him, somebody! Quick!

Open the gate!

Open the gate!

Twice I tried to shoot him, but
the stupid musket would not fire.

Neither would mine.
Something must be wrong.

This is always true. If something was
not wrong, things would not seem right.

Corporal.

Corporal, I have seen
one musket fail to fire.

I have even seen
two muskets fail to fire,

but never in my whole life

have I seen everybody's
muskets fail to fire at the same time.

Never did I hear so
many quiet noises.

Corporal, do you think our
gunpowder could have been wet?

It's not wet, Sergeant.

Then why did
they all fail to fire?

It's very peculiar,
but it's not wet.

Peculiar? In what way?

It does not look like gunpowder.

It does not smell
like gunpowder.

It does not act like gunpowder.

See if it tastes like gunpowder.

Well?

I'm not sure.

Try again. Try again.

Well, does it taste
like gunpowder?

I don't know, Sergeant. I don't
think I ever tasted gunpowder.

Of course, the muskets
would not fire. This is charcoal.

How could it be charcoal? I just
opened a new keg of gunpowder.

You must have opened a keg
of charcoal by mistake, stupid.

Do we have kegs of charcoal?

Kegs of charcoal? Of c...

No.

How could a keg of gunpowder
turn out to be a keg of charcoal?

I know. You do?

When I was a little boy
we had a barrel of cider,

but we let it stand too
long. It turned to vinegar.

What's that got to do with it?

Maybe the gunpowder stood
too long and it turned to charcoal.

Oh!

And such a big bear, Don Diego.

The others were frightened
and wanted to run to the cuartel,

but I said to them,
"Do not be afraid.

"I, Sergeant Demetrio
Lopez Garcia, will protect you!"

If you could have seen the way I chased
that bear, you would hardly believe it.

Well, just listening to you tell
it, Sergeant, I hardly believe it.

I always wanted a bearskin
rug for my floor, so I started out.

If only I could have
gotten my hands on him!

Why didn't you shoot him?

Shoot a hole in my rug?

I see what you mean.

Sergeant, you have a problem?

Oh, no, Don Diego. I...

Don Diego, do you think it's true
that gunpowder turns to charcoal

if it stands too long?

Of course not! Whoever
told you such a thing?

Nobody. Nobody at all.

Oh! That's what happened this
morning when the muskets would not fire.

You were using charcoal
instead of gunpowder?

It is not true that the
muskets would not fire.

And besides,

how did you find out about it?

Bernardo was there, remember?

Don Diego... I do
not know what to do.

Sergeant, just
what is the trouble?

Our gunpowder is
not gunpowder at all,

just charcoal ground up
to look like gunpowder.

You mean someone stole the
gunpowder from the cuartel and

substituted charcoal?

Shh!

I made the men promise
to keep it a secret.

It would not do for
enemies of the king

to find out we are
without gunpowder.

That was very wise.

Sometimes it is not easy to be
an acting Comandante, Don Diego.

I know what you mean,
Sergeant. Oh, tell me,

who has access to the gunpowder?

Well, there were
only four of us.

Capitan Toledano,
Corporal Reyes and myself.

That is only three.
Who is the fourth?

That is what I do not know.

He is the one who
took the gunpowder.

Sergeant, it might be a good idea
to question everyone in the cuartel,

find out if anyone's
seen anything suspicious

or has any idea when and
how the switch was made.

You are right, Don Diego. I will
return to the cuartel immediately

and begin the questioning.
Gracias, Don Diego.

Corporal Reyes, come in, please.

Sit down.

Corporal,

where were you last night between
the hours of 7:00 and 10:00 p.m.?

I was with you.

No alibis. Answer the question.

We went to the bakeshop,
and I talked to the baker

while you sneaked up...

Shh! You have to tell
everything you know?

But you asked me.

So I did.

But couldn't you just lie
a little, like a gentleman?

Did you learn
anything, Sergeant?

I have learned a great deal.

I have learned that Private Mendoza
lost 14 pesos in a game of bruja,

Private Morales
talks in his sleep,

and poor Private Sotello,
he gets no sleep at all,

listening to what Private
Morales has to say.

What does this
have to do with it?

Baboso, don't you know anything?

These little things, taken by
themselves, may not seem important,

but put them all together,
then you get the whole picture.

It's good to have
the whole picture, no?

Corporal, I do not
know what to do.

We are almost defenseless
without gunpowder.

Capitan Toledano told me that
there are enemies of the king

just waiting to attack
us at any moment.

It is a big responsibility to
have on one's shoulders.

I thought it would be very
pleasant to be a Comandante, but...

Maybe you will learn
who took the gunpowder.

No. You are the last soldier
on the post to be questioned.

Have you asked the questions
of the Senora Toledano?

Of course not! She is
the Comandante's wife.

You said you were to ask the
questions of every person in the cuartel,

and she is a person.

She is a person, that is true.

I think I will go now.

Yes?

I am sorry, Senora, but as
acting Comandante, I must

question everybody in the
cuartel, even including you, please?

What is it you wish to know?

Do you know anything about...

Well, something that you
have maybe seen sometime,

if you happened to notice it?

I mean, just anything
you can think of offhand.

I do not understand
the question. Like what?

Well, for example... Do
you know how to play...

No. Do you ever talk in...

Just anything.

I can think of nothing.

I have been thinking hard about how
the gunpowder got out of the cuartel.

The only things that have gone out
of the gates at all are those big boxes

that you had brought
in, then sent out again.

I told you, those were
my husband's effects.

There is not enough room
for them in my small quarters.

I sent them to the inn
to have them stored.

Oh, I understand that, Senora,

it is just that nothing
else has left the cuartel.

You dare to question the
wife of the Comandante,

accuse me of being
an enemy of the king?

Oh, no. I did not mean that.

If you are all through with
the questioning, Sergeant,

I shall go over to
the inn to make sure

my husband's effects
are properly stored.

I do not care.

The Sergeant will
soon be convinced

that those boxes
contain gunpowder.

We can't take chances. If
anything happens to this batch...

Have you heard from the Eagle?

Si. He knows that the other
shipment got back to the presidios.

Is he angry about it?

Did you expect him to be happy?

Plans were all made to attack
these presidios within a few days.

Now they again have
gunpowder, it is a different matter.

It means delaying operations
from Monterey to San Diego.

That's all we needed,

that Sergeant asking
questions, stupid questions.

At least I have never failed in
my job, and the Eagle knows it.

I will get rid of this
fat Sergeant for you.

Do you have to kill him?

There's no other way.

That is my specialty,

taking care of people who
get in the way of the Eagle.

There is only one little
problem that I can see.

Yes?

This one may not fit
into a shallow grave.

Make no move, Senor, except to
raise your hands over your head.

I warn you, my husband has taught
me to be an expert with a pistol.

So, this is El Zorro,

caught like a mouse in a trap.

You, like the Sergeant, are a
little too curious for your own good.

Do you think this
is the only place

where gunpowder can be hidden?

You think you can pull the
same trick twice in a row?

Permit me to reach
into my pocket.

I have the clipped feather of an
eagle which I'd like to show you.

I believe your
attitude will change.

You are not really Zorro?

At least allow me to
offer my identification.

If this is a trick, Senor, I warn you,
you will soon join the fat Sergeant.

I do not know how or why
you became involved in this,

but it is a treacherous plot, hardly
befitting the wife of a Comandante.

You should be helping
us, not fighting against us.

Everything we do we do
for the good of California.

Murder, treason, spreading
misery in every way possible?

This is for the
good of California?

The people are lazy, lethargic,

contented. They are like sheep.

Our only hope for California
is for a strong man to take over.

If you believe this, then you
let someone make a fool of you.

Now if you value your life, explain
that remark about the fat sergeant.

What remark? You do not
deny the Sergeant is fat?

What have you done wi...

What's going on down there?

Listen, I could bind and gag you
to prevent you from calling out.

If I do not do this,

will you promise to keep
silent until I am away from here?

Your word of honor?

Very well. I accept the
word of a Spanish lady.

Help! It's Zorro. He's going out

the window in the
wine cellar! Help me!

Make no sound,
Corporal. This is Zorro.

Zorro?

Where is Sergeant Garcia?

He's not here. Where is he?

It is a matter of
life and death.

He left with Quintana
and Fuentes.

They were going to help
him get back the gunpowder.

How long ago?

Maybe an hour,
maybe a half-hour.

I do not know.

All right, Corporal, put
your face against the wall.

Do not turn around until you have counted
to 100, or I will cut off your ears.

Uno...

Dos...

Tres...

Cuatro...

Whoa.

Is this the place? Is this
where we get the gunpowder?

This is the place, Sergeant.

Is it hidden somewhere
in the rocks?

It will be here soon.

Take up a position where you can watch
the road. Probably back here somewhere.

Oh, then someone is bringing
it here? Is that it, Senores?

That is it. Ah.

This should do it, Sergeant.

Sit down here and
have your rifle ready.

Do not take your
eyes off the road.

How long must I not look away?

Just you keep watching. Let us know
when you see a wagon approaching.

A wagon filled with
kegs of gunpowder?

That's right.

Do you think this is far
enough from the road?

It is all right.

We will report that the
last time we saw him,

he was heading into the
hills in pursuit of Zorro.

Will people believe that Zorro
would shoot him in the back?

They can believe what
they want to believe.

He is a big man.

One shot may not do it. Be
ready to act quickly if necessary.

Si.

Zorro?

Sergeant, it is a trap! They
brought you here to kill you!

No, Senor Zorro. You do not
understand. These men are my friends.

They brought me here to
get the stolen gunpowder.

Don't move around so
much! You're too big a target!

Stay where you are!

I've got his powder!

Enrique, I'm...

Sergeant, what I do
not understand is this.

With three of you there, why
did you permit Zorro to get away?

We did not mean
to do it, Don Diego.

Would you believe it, I was
this close to catching him.

What happened? I
honestly do not know.

I was closing my hands on him,

and the next thing I knew I was
back in the plaza on a wagon,

and Corporal Reyes was
pouring water over my head.

Do you know what
that rascal told me?

He tried to tell me that my good
friends Quintana and poor Fuentes

were trying to
shoot me in the back.

He should have known I
wouldn't believe anything like that!

Next week, Zorro is
faced with certain death.

It's all right, Senor.

This is perhaps the greatest
service she could have done us.

She has put Zorro in a room
without any way of escape.

No windows, this
is the only door.

I will give you one minute to
leave the building, Senores.

Or I will blow it up.

He's done it.

It's about to blow up.

You have ten seconds
to live, Senores.

Eight seconds...

For spine-tingling suspense,
be with us next week

when the Walt Disney
Studio presents Zorro!