by Ted Davis

Original Air Date: June 19, 1958

Directed by: Charles Barton

Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains spoilers for this episode!

Synopsis: Power-crazed Jose Sebastian Varga (Charles Korvin), also known as The Eagle, continues his plan to rule California, incidentally commandeering the expansive hacienda rightfully owned by the de la Vega family, but Don Diego de la Vega (Guy Williams) discovers a considerable chink in the Eagle’s armor, and uses his Zorro alter ego to exploit the weakness.

Cat Burglar (Scene Stealer): Using secret passages to gain access to the hacienda, Zorro plays on Varga’s fears by pretending to be a phantom playing scattered discordant notes on the piano. Once Varga has reached his breaking point, Zorro performs a switch by placing a mildly curious tortoiseshell kitten on the keyboard and hiding in the nearby hidden gallery.

The hysterical Eagle orders his soldiers, led by Sergeant Demetrius Lopez Garcia (Henry Calvin), to kill the intruder, and they barge into the room only to find a harmless little cat performing the kitten-on-the-keys routine. (The piano sounds don’t match the kitten’s steps, which aren’t strong enough to play such solid notes anyway.)

Sgt. Garcia is particularly amused, gently carrying the kitten out of the suite, while commenting teasingly that the tortie doesn’t play badly enough to be killed, and that perhaps the guitar would be a better musical instrument for the young cat.

Final Mewsings: With diligent practice, kitties can become proficient piano players, but playing the guitar is a long shot.

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