The Whispering Shadow

I enjoyed this old serial, the older they are usually the better they are. Its always fun watching Bela do his thing. I felt like this afternoon epic had a bit more plot than most and the action is there like you expect. There are some annoying bits like the overuse of flashbacks in the later episodes. On the other hand the repeat footage does help the viewer to make sense out of all the craziness.

There seemed to be an excess of rad old cars...that's always cool. The leading lady was very pretty also which was good because there were only two women in the entire thing! There are lots of gunfights but almost no one ever got hit except for those nasty "flesh wounds".

I really enjoyed the look of Whispering Shadow, the old clothes, pencil thin mustaches, and the motorcycle scenes were all wonderful. There were lots of truly dangerous stunts too and a few effects (like a helicopter crashing into a radio tower).

Overall this is a very vintage but rather cool old serial. I got a kick out of it and it managed to build some real suspense in the last three or four chapters despite all the money saving flashbacks. Fun stuff for serial or Lugosi fans. Bela looked great and his expressions were a riot like always.

The Whispering Shadow (1933)

** (out of 4)

A mysterious figure known as The Whispering Shadow uses his gang to try and track down some famous and priceless jewels. The Shadow's power comes from being able to communicate through rays created by radio and television. Soon a number of suspects are believed to be The Whispering Shadow.

This 1933 film was the first serial that Bela Lugosi ever appeared in but my review is for the feature version. Back in the day a lot of serials were turned into feature movies and some like Lugosi's THE RETURN OF CHANDU had two feature versions. Obviously, by watching this version you're going to be missing out on a lot of the fun including all of the cliffhangers. Whereas the original version ran 225 minutes this one here clocks in at just 60.

As far as the feature goes, it's simply okay. Again, you can't judge the serial because I personally don't know what is missing from it but this feature really lacks much action. It seems that the majority of the running time here is just introducing the various red herrings and this leaves very little time for the action. There's a nice action sequence at the very start but that's about it. The ending, which I won't spoil here, is somewhat of a letdown.

Lugosi is in fine form here as he was able to pick up the biggest paycheck of his career. I thought he was believable whenever the spotlight was on him as the guilty party and he also manages to bring some fun to the part. The supporting cast also includes D.W. Griffith regular Henry B. Walthall in a supporting part.

In my youth (1980 or thereabouts), I was a projectionist at an art-movie cinema (remember those?). Anyway, one summer we showed an episode of "The Whispering Shadow" before each week's feature, and all can say is that it was great cheesy fun. My favorite episode was the one that ended with our hero and heroine trapped in a room--AND THE WALLS START MOVING IN TO CRUSH THEM TO DEATH! And as the walls move in, they wibble and wobble, because they are obviously just two muslin-covered stage flats being pushed in by a couple of stagehands, and all the while the hero and heroine roll their eyes and cling to each other and scream and scream and scream! Too funny for words. All joshing aside, the final episode does have an interesting twist that made my twelve weeks in the projection booth worth the while.

In THE WHISPERING SHADOW, Bela Lugosi is Professor Strang, a magician and owner-operator of Strang's Wax Works And House Of Mystery. The question is: Is Strang also the notorious figure of the title? Lugosi is quite enjoyable in his role.

Someone has stolen the priceless jewels of the Czar, and everyone's looking for them. Jack Foster (Malcolm McGregor) witnessed his brother being murdered by The Shadow and his thugs, and wants revenge.

Keep your eyes glued to those jewels! They jump from person to person, box to box, like a crazy shell game! Almost everyone involved is in possession of them at least once!

At nearly 4 hours in length, this movie version of the original serial is quite a chore at times. Still, there are enough shootouts, explosions, truck hijackings, and fisticuffs to hold our interest...

While "The Whispering Shadow" may not be a masterpiece nor Bela Lugosi's best film it's still quite fun to watch never-the-less. Who is The Whispering Shadow? Professor Strang is suspected by Jack Norton... but is he? How does he commit his crimes by TV and radio - and why? This is a fun little crime-mystery... it is worth a watch.

I have to admit the fight scene on the roof of a skyscraper with the helicopter coming in was one of my favorite scenes... pretty scary stuff. I also like the idea of hiding behind a wax museum.. all to lifelike are the wax figures.

I got this in my Bela Lugosi Scared To Death collection... one of several rare Lugosi films. I'm not disappointed the the collection nor this film. 7/10