"It's a good thing for that carver of Z's that he keeps out of reach of my sword. I'll carve Gonzales all over his body"
-Gonzales
Gonzales (right) losing his cool while his friend Diego (left) tries to get out of the way
Pedro Gonzales is a Sergeant in the Spanish Army, first making his apperance in The Curse of Capistrano and The Mark of Zorro (1920). He functions as a secondary antagonist to Zorro, while adding more comedy to the story. This character was reworked and eventually became the character of Sergeant Garcia
Background[]
The Inn[]
Gonzales is first seen barging into the inn, which he is said to frequent. After bullying the local soldiers and the innkeeper, Gonzales's rude tendacies are tempered by a mixture of alcohol and by talking about ways he can slaughter Zorro. He brags and boasts about being able to capture or kill the outlaw, until he is frightened by knocking on the door, firstly by his friend Don Diego, then by a messenger who posts a bounty put on Zorro's head by Governor Alvarado.
Zorro escaping Gonzales
Gonzales continues his boasting, until a soldier points out that Gonzales can abuse a nearby Native to draw Zorro out. Gonzales takes his advice and begins to attack the innocent man, until Zorro appears and proceeds to duel and humiliate the Sergeant, before evading him and all of his men as soon as he arrived.
Chasing Zorro[]
Gonzales is later seen patrolling around the El Camino highway searching for Zorro, and has a conversation with Don Diego, not knowing that he is Zorro.
Later on in the film, Gonzales is seen leading his soldiers in chasing Zorro around the Pueblo, with him getting outsmarted multiple times. Eventually Zorro is cornered in the De la Vega Hacienda, with Zorro revealing himself as Don Diego, defeating Captain Juan Ramon in a duel and forcing Governor Alvarado to resign as governor. Gonzales cheers with everyone else at the scene of the duel, and tells his soldiers to side with Diego.
Personality[]
Gonzales is extremely prideful, being noted for his egotism, as he exagerates his skill with a sword, and brags about his copious intake of wine. He seems to revel in his level of physical power, taking joy in knocking soldiers over, hitting them, or yelling at them, although this could just be due to him being inebriated from the amount of wine he consumes. He also tends to unleash his antisocial tendacies on innocent people, such as the Innkeeper, although the abuse ends as soon as Gonzales is in possession of alcohol.
Gonzales is fascinated by Zorro, and is obsessed with the idea of hunting him down and defeating him, usually in a violent manner. When Zorro manages to arrive however, Gonzaes's demeanor shifts to the point where he seems terrified and flustered at Zorro's mere apperance, showing that Gonzales's talk is merely bravado
The one person Gonzales has any respect for is Don Diego, as he is not shown in any way to physically or verbally berate Diego, even when Diego openly mocks him to his face. This respect transfers over to when Diego reveals himself as Zorro, as Gonzales is willing to take Diego's side despite spending a large amount of time trying to defeat him.
Trivia[]
- Gonzales's actor, Noah Beery Senior, would later on play the villainous character Marsden in the 1937 serial Zorro Rides Again
- In the film, Gonzales's abuse of a Native man is done immediately before Zorro arrives to stop him, while in the Curse of Capistrano, the deed is performed a couple of days beforehand.