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Watching Any Good Serials?
Topic Started: Apr 12 2006, 09:28 AM (88,277 Views)
Laughing Gravy
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Flaming Frontiers, ch. 1: The River Runs Red

Johnny Mack Brown is Tex Houston(!) in this 1938, 15-episode Universal serial. Universal generally saved their 15-episode serials for something particularly special, and this one (chapter 1 anyway) fits the bill. Brown is an appealing hero, there's a lot of action (much of it from those endless silent film sequences of Indian attacks) and it's got a dog. I love dogs.

Tex and his pal Buffalo Bill Cody spot a wagon train that's been attacked by Cheyennes; seems like renegade chief Howlin' Wolf(!) is on the prowl again. Hmmm. The Injuns also got a Pony Express rider, so Tex delivers the mailbag and discovers a complicated plot involving a pretty girl, her blackmailed father, some missing money, and a long-lost brother who's struck it rich with a gold mine. Tex decides to help the pretty girl (no dummy he) and her dad and brother, to the villains' dismay, so they frame him for something or other. In the end, Tex and the girl go into a river when their wagon overturns, but it doesn't look very deep. I'm sure they'll be fine.

I liked this a lot, and I'm not a big fan of most Western serials or most Universal Western serials. Brown is very good, and the stray dog he finds and names "Sudden" walks off with the picture anyway. The print on the VCI DVD is terrific.

Next, ch. 2: "Death Rides the Wind!"

(Yeah, I'm back to watching serials for the summer. Been a long time since I've watched them with any regularity beyond our Friday night movies. Hence this one, and if you back up a page, the Houdini and Cap'n Africa serial. More to come.)
"I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley
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panzer the great & terrible
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So what's up with these three serials? Are they gone, like Mysterious Island?
Life is just a bowl of cherries, it's too mysterious, don't take it serious...
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Laughing Gravy
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The Mystery Squadron, ch. 1: The Black Ace

A 1933 Mascot serial. First episode was lotsa fun in that goony Mascot way. By "goony" I mean "nothin' but fun, nothin' serious goin' on here".

There's a big air show goin' on at Sebastian Field, and two of the flyers, Guinn "Big Boy" Williams as a guy named Jellybean, and Bob Steele as a guy not named Jujubes, surprisingly, are being criticized for flying dangerous stunts, which I kind of thought was the POINT of a big air show. Anyway, when he's not flying, Jellybean is stealing jelly beans from one of the Our Gang regulars (no, not Tommy Bond - the imdb is wrong - it's Leonard Kibrick), and in fact the big guy is hooked on the things. Well, they two pilots' old chum, Balcony fave Jack Mulhall, shows up. He's a former pilot who became an engineer(!) and now he builds dams, er, sorry, "darns" (this bein' a family website). It seems that a fleet of planes called the "mystery squadron" is harassing his latest damn project, and God, dams are hard to build when you're being harassed. A secret leader who signs his name with the Ace of Spades and calls himself the Black Ace ("Who's afraid of the big Black Ace?" Jellybean asks, and I'm beginning to be SO glad he's not played by Syd Saylor) is behind it all. Hey, asks Mulhall, would you guys like to come down and give us a dam hand? No sooner can they say, "Sure, pal!" when a black dart shaped like a li'l airplane comes whizzing through the air and just misses Big Boy, and how you miss THAT giant target I dunno.

The next day, they all go to San Juan to work on the dam mystery, and our two pilot heroes immediately show they're worth every penny they're being paid by shooting down the wrong plane, one belonging to beautiful aviatrix Lucile Browne, whom Jellybean refers to as a "blonde-haired bandit" for no reason whatsoever. In any case, vowing to make up for their error, within two minutes they're captured by the Mystery Squadron and taken to a secret cave with a door the size of the Taj Mahal and forced by the Black Ace (in best Mascot serial tradition, a voice over the radio) to fly missions to screw up the dam. And HOW do they do that? Why, the Mystery Squadron planes are equipped with (get this) FLAME THROWERS to set the buildings and trees on FIRE! Wow! Bob Steele is so impressed by this, he accidentally sets his OWN plane on fire and dies an apparent fiery doom! WOW again!

Next week, ch. 2: The Fatal Warning!
"I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley
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Pa Stark
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I just finished GANG BUSTERS, and it was one of the best Universals, with one of the best scripts of any serial, and many excellent performances. William Haade gives one of the most memorable performances of any serial, and really steals the show. Pa says check it out. 81/2 stars out of 10.
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The Master Mystery, ch. 2: The Iron Terror

Our story so far: Houdini is trussed up in a straitjacket (he's probably already out of it by the time I finish typing this sentence) and his girlfriend is being attacked in the bathroom by a robot with a big ass. (I forgot to tell you about the big robot ass last time.)

As predicted, Houdini gets out of the straitjacket as easy as you or I could get out of a baseball cap, and he rushes upstairs and shoots the robot in the back, which just annoys it. It punches Houdini, knocks him silly, and runs off. That's a joke, folks; if you've seen this thing, you know the robot "runs" slower than Lon Chaney, Jr., in a Mummy picture.

Well, eventually Houdini wakes up and figures out that the Madagascar Madness that has turned half the cast into drooling, giggling idiots is spread by a poison in the candles on the table, and sends a sample to his buddy, the chemist, to examine. Q, the robot in the basement, orders one of the partners to be captured and dragged down to his lair, blindfolded; he tells the guy to bring Eva (that's the girlfriend) to the waterfront at 8 pm, or else. I don't really know why, but I don't think it matters. They blindfold the guy again and set him free in the garden, but he forgets to take his blindfold off for a long time and stumbles amidst the azealeas for a while. Finally, he goes to Houdini and demands $5000 for the antidote to the Madness, but Houdini just calls him a "contemptible sneak" - it seems the chemist only needed about 10 seconds to figure out a cure. Before Houdini can get there to get it, though, the robot's henchmen beat him to it, capture the chemist, and jump Houdini when he comes . They tie Houdini to a coat rack and shake their fists at him. One of them slaps him, but good. And that's our peril.

Next week, ch. 3: The Mad Genius!
"I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley
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Laughing Gravy
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Belated response to Mr. Panzer: I got busy and found other things to watch, but have gotten back to the serials, easier to watch shorts on weekends than features these days. You'll note that Captain Africa is on hiaitus, though, probably until I'm dead. Yeesh, what a laughable mess THAT is. Anyway, it's been replaced in the schedule by The Mystery Squadron.

Flaming Frontiers, ch. 2: Death Rides the Wind

Our story so far: Tex and Mary fell in the lake.

Chapter 2: They swim out of the lake.

Uh-huh. Well, I guess I should mention their HORSE swims out of the lake, too.

Have I mentioned that for some reason, Universal lists the cast twice? And none of this "A Fine Cast is Worth Repeating" stuff, either... At the beginning, they list the cast twice. Watch it if you don't believe me.

Anyway, Tex, Mary & Horse get back to the wagon train, where Sudden (the dog that's my favorite part of the serial) is sure happy to see 'em. Y'know how dogs are. The rampaging Cheyennes are happy to see 'em, too, and they attack. We circle our wagons ("we" being the good guys, since we're Balconeers) but all looks bleak for our team when Tex has a "brilliant" idea: "Pick off the leaders," he says, "the ones with the war bonnets!" Well, that works, and the renegades flee in disarray for, oh, two minutes, just long enough for Tex to get a stagecoach full of dynamite and go riding off into the plain, with the Injuns in pursuit that sure ain't cold. He blows the coach and kills many braves, except for the ones that grab him and beat him senseless. They take him back to their village because, as Howlin' Wolf explains, "You die SLOW!"

The lovely Mary, concerned that Tex won't come back and she'll get stuck feeding that dog every day, sneaks out to see about rescuing him. She meets Buffalo Bill Cody, and the two of them hatch a really stupid scheme, but it's so dumb that it works. With Tex in tow, they hide in a trapper's cabin, and manage to hold off the Cheyenne just long enough to be flattened by a - get this - CYCLONE! No shit! What a good serial!

Next week, ch. 3: Treachery at Eagle Pass!

"I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley
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Monsieur X
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Laughing Gravy
Oct 7 2012, 07:58 PM
For some reason, Universal lists the cast twice. And none of this "A Fine Cast is Worth Repeating" stuff, either... At the beginning, they list the cast twice. Watch it if you don't believe me.


I remember that in a couple chapters. Don't remember it in this one tho. Now you've gone and done it - you've peaked my curiosity! Now I gotta go watch that!
"I would never want to belong to a club that would have someone like me as a member" -- Groucho Marx
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Pa Stark
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Most Universal serial listed the cast twice, first during or right after the credits with only the top billed stars, then later with the entire billed cast. Sometimes it was in a different order with the hero billed third.
Edited by Pa Stark, Oct 9 2012, 11:46 AM.
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Sgt King
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It's been about 8 or 9 months since I saw a serial, so I started watching Hawk of the Wilderness today since its been 10 years since I've seen it. And since my son and I met talked with and got photos with Herman Brix at Beverly Garlands old Holiday Inn Hotel in Burbank in 2002 - I really favor his movies!
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Clancy of the Mounted, ch. 2: Brother Against Brother

While Steve and Ann head for the waterfall, Sgt. Tom gets in a brutal gunfight with the Indians, which does no harm to anybody but which DOES frighten the stock footage of gazelles. Tom falls off his horse (not the last time we're going to see someone fall off a horse today) and the Indians, laughing, retreat. Tom hops up, annoyed, and grabs a rope (out of thin air) and tosses it to Steve and Ann, thereby rescuing them from the waterfall. Tom introduces himself to the soaking, shivering Ann by snapping to attention, saluting, and proudly announcing, "I'm Sergeant Clancy of the Mounties, at your service!" I think that's his way of flirting with her. With the help of Not Tonto, Steve escapes, and Tom goes after him after depositing Ann into the care of Mountie Ed Cobb (nice to see him along for the ride; I hope good ol' Stanley Price and Ernie Adams show up, too). We cut to McDougal's trading station, where he's amiably telling a Native American, "Of COURSE it's good tobacco. Too good for a dirty redskin like you!" before throwing him out of his store. Pierre shows up and tells him that everybody he wanted dead is dead, despite the fact that we out here in our living rooms know better. Realizing this scene's going no where, Ray Taylor takes us back to Ann, who falls off her horse and down a cliff, and Tom, who shows up at the cabin where Steve and Not Tonto are hiding and gets a face full of buckshot for his troubles, courtesy of the quick-triggered Injun. Next, ch. 3: Ambuscade! OOOH! I think Huck 'n' Tom are gonna show up next week!

A reminder to support this fine project by ordering the serial at http://www.hermitagehillmedia.com/clancy.html. Thank you.

The Mystery Squadron, ch. 2: The Fatal Warning

Bob Steele parachutes out of his burning plane. Jellybean's co-pilot cuts his parachute cord and says, "NOW let's see you jump!" We're hoping, too, but no way. Bob beats the crap out of several villains, but they're captured by Gray's men, who take them all to Mr. Gray for questioning as to the identity of the Black Ace. Instead, they're questioned by MISS Gray, who can scarcely conceal her loathing of Mr. Steele. She orders them all turned over to the sheriff, but Steele - using some very, very impressive stunts, I'm guessing maybe Richard Talmadge helped - escapes, steals a plane, and flies to San Juan. He's a lousy dam guard, but a great damn flyer, folks. Down there, Jack Mulhall, whom we all forgot was in this serial, clears his good name (such as it is) and makes it square with Miss Gray. Steele reveals that the Black Ace was wounded in the right arm during the dogfight (he was?) and that they but need to identify the dam worker with a hole in his arm. Of course, it turns out that half the guys on site suddenly have bandages on their arm, including foreman J. Carroll Naish(!). While Steele checks each arm carefully, another one o' them black plane darts hits the wall with a note that tells him to lay off the arms around the site, or "it'll be too bad for your partner" (that's an exact quote). Speaking of Jellybean, he uses his beans (so to speak) to escape his captor, steal a plane, and head off to warn Steele. Steele, of course, has HIS plane and is flying to save Jellybean. The two ace pilots, being the finest flyers in all of aviation, crash head-on and apparently die. Next, ch. 3: The Black Ace Strikes!

The Master Mystery, chs. 3 through 6 (each available only in fragments; we'll manage)

We begin with a 6 min. fragment of episode 3; Houdini chokes his captor into unconsciousness with his iron-strong thighs, and then uses his feet to remove his own shoes and socks, takes the door key out of the man's pocket, unlocks the door with his toes, opens the door, and "walks" up it so that he's now hanging half from the coat rack and half from the door. Thusly, he can hoist himself over to untie one hand with his teeth and then free himself. Wow, this Houdini is quite the escape artist. He ends up captured again, though, wrapped in chains, and tossed into the ocean. Well, THAT ain't a-gonna stop 'im. The rest of today's viewing is a few scattered, nitrate-decomposed clips, with intertitles to explain what we're missing. Houdini poses as a prison inmate to get information, is locked in a cell, and escapes; Houdini is captured by the gangsters, suspended over a vat of acid, and escapes; Houdini wears an experimental diving suit and battles another diver underwater, but the assailant cuts off Harry's air. Well, he escapes anyway. Then, we have some very nice footage of Houdini being chained up, stuffed into a shipping crate, and thrown into the water (there's a convenient hole in the box for his arm to fit through and wave at us so we know he's really in there; he escapes, but is captured again, bound, and tossed into a tank filling with water; Houdini escapes again, though, but is captured again and strapped to an electric chair by the slow-moving robot gang boss! Wow, this is actually a terrific serial, missing footage notwithstanding (in all, today's show ran 9:26).

Flaming Frontiers, ch. 3: Tragedy at Eagle Pass

The cyclone passes, having scared off the Indians, and destroys the cabin, although it miraculously doesn't harm Tex, Mary, Cody, Sudden the dog, or any of the horses, thank heavens. Mary's dad is sure concerned about her, and he vows that nothing, neither wind nor hail nor sleet nor Injuns nor God himself will stop him from going out and finding his beloved daughter; within 4 seconds, he collapses and is put to bed. Mary and her friends are riding along looking at the scenery and the mountain lions(!) and at this point, let me say that the print on the DVD from VCI is really gorgeous, one of the best serial prints I've ever seen. Buffalo Bill says goodbye, he has other adventures to find, I guess, or maybe he just got a hunch that the Indians were about to attack their band (he was right!). The Redskins cause a buffalo stampede, so Mary naturally falls off her horse (I warned you that this sort of stuff was coming up) and Tex has to risk life and limb to save her. Meanwhile, the bed that her dad was in is in the back of a wagon, see, and in all the hubbub the villains have rolled it down a mountainside. Seeing it, Tex leaps onto the wagon just in time to go over the edge of a cliff in it with Mary's dad, and I'm thinkin', "Golly, WWHD?" (What would Houdini do?). Next, ch. 4: A Night of Terror!
"I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley
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panzer the great & terrible
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Good on ya, Sarge. Hawk is in my top ten.

And, Mr. G., nobody but a rat would fault you for blowing off Captain A.
Edited by panzer the great & terrible, Oct 21 2012, 01:25 PM.
Life is just a bowl of cherries, it's too mysterious, don't take it serious...
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Clancy of the Mounted, ch. 3: Ambuscade!

Ann survives her fall off the horse, so Corporal Ed Cobb swaps horses with her. Apparently his saddle is stickier and she’ll be less prone to tumble off it, but we don’t want to think about that (too much). Meanwhile, Sgt. Tom was only pretending to take that shotgun blast in the face; he dropped like a stone last week, grabbed his head and screamed in agony as part of an RCMP ritual, I guess. He enters the cabin, disarms Bordeau (a/k/a “Not Tonto”, I finally paid attention) and discovers the half-breed has been hastily covering up a trap door under the floor. Well, calculating the odds in his brilliant Canadian mind, he deduces that his brother Steve, whom we recall is his quarry, has used the passageway to escape. Tom descends into the passage, and then of course Steve jumps out from the kitchen cupboard in which he was ACTUALLY hiding, hops on a horse, and drives off. Doh!

Tom eventually figures out what’s going on, gives chase, and catches up to Steve, whose heart just ain’t in a-fleein’ from his brother. Steve promises not to escape again, and they shake on. “The word of a Clancy is good enough for me!” Tom Clancy says to Steve Clancy as this scribe wipes a tear from his eye.

After this tender moment, Ann – whose father Steve is accused of killing - decides to go out to Steve’s ranch, meet his wife and baby, and assure them that she’s convinced of Steve’s innocence. The bad guys see this as a grand opportunity to get rid of her. Meanwhile, Tom has his own troubles, as the mob in town decides to break into the jail and get Steve, not because they think he’s guilty and wanna string him up like Roger McGuinn’s guitar, oh no – they think he’s innocent and wanna RESCUE him a-fore he gets hung. What’s the opposite of a lynch mob, anyway?

So this volatile mix comes together and results in Ann and Tom’s wagon running off the edge of a steep cliff. Ouch!

Next, ch. 4: The Storm

The Mystery Squadron, ch. 3: The Black Ace Strikes

I’m quite excited by this fun, entertaining serial. After only two chapters, it's become one of my favorites! So last week, we saw Bob and Jellybean crash head-on and their mountains tumble down the mountainside. Well, this week… WTF??? Bob is FINE, and Jellybean is merely unconscious and has a minor sprained ankle? From TWO PLANES CRASHING HEAD-ON AND TUMBLING DOWN THE MOUNTAINSIDE? Oh, sweet Jesus. You know, serials are like politicians… once they appear to be STUPID, they can’t go back. I mean, tomorrow Dan Quayle could patent a perpetual motion reactor that runs on used tin foil to meet all of the world’s energy needs and he’d still be “the guy who can’t spell potato.” So this serial is officially STUPID and I HATE it. Jesus.

Christ, I hardly want to continue writing about this piece of shit. Still, you demand your money’s worth, so I’ll try. Our moronic heroes see the villains coming and (get this) Bob snaps his fingers and says, “I’ve got it! Get out of that flight suit!” “What good will that do?” Jellybean asks. “Before we die, I want to see your nipples,” Bob doesn’t say, to my surprise. “You’ll see!” is all he says. Well, he stuffs them full of leaves and sets them and the planes on fire (oh, yeah, the crash didn’t do it, but a Bic lighter turns ‘em into the Hindenburg).

Bob and Jellybean hitchhike back to town and get picked up by Collins, the foreman they think is the Black Ace (he’s one of the many, many cast members with a bullet hole in his right arm). They find a cache of stolen guns in the back seat and order him to the sheriff’s office. God DAMN I hate this serial. Where’s Captain Africa? I’m gonna go back to that one, I swear. Anyway, at the sheriff’s, they accuse Collins of being the Ace, and he says, “If you’re silly enough to believe such nonsense, it’s useless for me to try and reason with you!” in what I think should’ve been the TITLE of this serial. Look, let’s just skip to the end. The doctor helps Collins escape, and so it appears that HE’S the Black Ace now, despite the lack of a hole in his arm. A fight ensues. There’s a secret panel. A girl screams. Somebody gets shot. And I don’t care anymore. I mean, really? They survived a head-on plane crash? Shit, somebody better get out to that Iowa cornfield pronto and see if Buddy, Ritchie and the Big Bopper are out there playin’ canasta, waitin’ for the rescue wagon.

Next, ch. 4: Men of Steel. Men of STUPID, it should say.

The Master Mystery, ch. 7: Barbed Wire

Okay, I’ve calmed down. A bit. After last week’s piecemeal episodes, we’re glad to get back to a full 21 min. of fun and non-stupidity for this week’s episode of the Houdini serial. So let’s see… Oh, right. Harry’s strapped to an electric chair. The thug goes to throw the switch, but trips over a door stop and knocks himself unconscious. Now, normally, I would find that to be rather stupid, but after the previous chapterplay, it seems like brilliant, Hemingway-type writing to me now. In any case, pay careful attention, because Houdini then shows you exactly how to slide out of the straps and wires of an electric chair. If you’re ever in an electric chair, you’ll need to know this if you hope to escape. Houdini then runs off and rescues his girlfriend from the evil robot guy. They discover a hidden microphone in the lamp, and Houdini points to it and whispers to her to pretend to quarrel with him. "One moment, Mr. Locke, I wish you to know that I am exceedingly displeased with you,” she says. Strong language for 1920! In any case, she pretends to fire Houdini and tells him that she’s going to marry Paul. Paul dumps Dora. Dora isn’t fooled by the charade. She tricks Houdini, who is captured again, wrapped in barbed wire, and deposited in the path of a bath of flowing acid! Wow!

Next, ch. 8: The Challenge

Flaming Frontiers, ch. 4: A Night of Terror

Okay, I have to give THIS serial some props: As you’ll recall last week, Tex and Mary’s father went over a cliff in a runaway wagon. Well, none of this “slightly sprained ankle” crappola here, nosiree bub. Mary’s dad is KILLED! YEAH! Woot, woot! Um, I mean, I’m sorry for the old coot and for Mary, naturally, but I’m more happy for myself that they didn’t try to pass off “the fall down the cliff actually cured the old man of his bad cough” nonsense.

After that, not a lot happens, actually, besides a ton of silent stock footage of Indians attacking. Eventually, we make our way to the saloon in town, where henchman Roy Barcroft says, “Hey, boss, I got some wages comin’ and I sure would like to spend ‘em in here!” He then gets drunk and starts a fight with Tex and in the ensuing melee, Mr. Houston, our hero, gets a piano dropped on him(!). I've been in bars like that.

Next, ch. 5: Blood and Gold Oooh! Good chapter title!
"I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley
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Monsieur X
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I totally agree with you on MASTER MYSTERY and FLAMING FRONTIERS - MM is one of my all-time favs and that cliffhanger of FF is one of my favorite cliffhangers ever. Have to disagree with you on MS tho - I really enjoy it. I love Mascot serials and that one held my interest all the way through.
"I would never want to belong to a club that would have someone like me as a member" -- Groucho Marx
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Rewatched the first 13 episodes of Disney's "Zorro" series, which comes close to a serial. Yes, there's a more leisurely pace and a lot of comedy. And they actually develop the characters. But in the beginning it really plays like a serial.

"Zorro" never had cliffhangers, but story arcs initially ran for several episodes. Zorro would confound his adversaries the end of each episode, but there'd usually be a bigger issue left unfinished for one or more upcoming weeks. Episode 13 ends with the corrupt Commandant exposed and arrested, and a natural ending. The next week brings the first hints of a shadowy figure called The Eagle, who will lurk behind all the shorter arcs for the remainder of the season, building to his scheme to take over California. The season ends with several episodes of The Eagle front and center, climaxing in a battle for the pueblo.

The second and final season seemed to pull more towards freestanding episodes, with standard criminals in place of tyrants and masterminds. A persistent evildoer or a troublesome friend would hang about for a few weeks, and pretty much the whole cast relocated to Monterey for several episodes (the Los Angeles sets slightly redressed), but longer, higher-stakes story arcs were gone. While season one closed with a big finish for a long arc, season two signed off with a one-episode story.

When "Zorro" went off the air because of issues with ABC, Disney turned what were meant to be eight episodes of the third season into four episodes of the Sunday night show. These are on the Treasures DVDs and you can see how each hour very easily breaks into two parts.

If "Zorro" had stayed on the air, I suspect it would have gravitated even more towards stand-alone episodes that could play out of sequence in syndication -- like all the other shows. Outside of soaps, were there that many 50s shows that weren't firmly self-contained each week?
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Laughing Gravy
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None come to mind, but Guy Williams did get involved in cliffhangers a few years later - Lost in Space, of course, ended each episode with a cliffhanger in the first season.
"I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley
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