The Shadow Strikes

Former silent screen matinée idol Rod LaRocque stars as the famous radio detective The Shadow in The Shadow Strikes. Modern fans will remember the film with Alec Baldwin in the Nineties playing criminologist Lamont Cranston aka The Shadow.

The Shadow has a real bag of tricks and the power of illusion at his command. He's not a superhero as such with any real superpowers, but his knack for remaining inconspicuous while waiting to strike was what radio audiences thrilled to.

Unfortunately this film was made by the short lived Grand National studios, a B picture company with limited budget and consequently limited production values. At a major studio even in their B picture unit The Shadow would have fared better.

As it LaRocque is fine in the part and in this case as The Shadow he foils a robbery at a lawyer's office. When the police come he pretends to be that lawyer and the police captain accompanies LaRocque on an errand to a rich man's home who called and wanted the attorney to draw up a new will. But before that could happen John St. Polis playing the rich Mr. Delthern is shot by a sniper.

The plot gets thicker than an Irish stew. But the story was a serviceable murder mystery without the whole Shadow gimmick which wasn't utilized to the max. That must have disappointed fans back in 1937.

Always good is Cy Kendall who plays a gambler/racketeer who has a vested interest in that will. The heavyset Kendall is always playing bad guys in modern dress and in westerns.

Still bad production values from Grand National don't augur well for viewers who might want to see The Shadow Strikes.

I was drawn to this movie by it's attractive pulp 'Scourge of the Underworld' poster. The action surrounds the will of the eccentric Caleb Delthern who is seen at the beginning before he is shot dead through a window. Delthern's two nephews and a niece are the main suspects of his murder along with gang boss Brossett. One of the nephews is under the control of Brossett through gambling debts. There are plenty of added characters who flit on and off screen so the viewer is constantly whirled through this cast of suspects at speed. This was my double introduction to the actor Rod La Rocque and the shadow character of Lamont Cranston. Cranton (Rod La Rocque) is a will-o'-the-wisp character who has the ability to swiftly disappear when the police or other trouble arrive on the scene. He also has the mercurial ability to easily take on other peoples' identities and gain the confidence that he is who he says he is. I enjoyed the wily interactions between Cranston and his servant Hendricks. Hendricks (Norman Ainsley) is an apologetic slightly-built man in a bowler hat who is ever-alert to his master's thoughts and tricks. I enjoyed this gun-happy 1930s B-mystery and watched it for a second time to clear up some character loose-ends and I look forward to seeing it again.

I own a few of the old radio shows this is supposedly based on, and I find them delightful. The Shadow is that dark hero who gives up a personal life to lurk in the darkness. He understands the minds of criminals and is able to make his way into their lairs and root them out. His voice is one of threat and he strikes fear into criminals. This is just a police drama with a rather lame plot about a will and who will inherit a bunch of money. We know he is the Shadow, but instead of a wide network and reputation, he seems just like a guy in a coat. He has a sidekick who does a lot of his bidding, there are hidden microphones and unannounced entrances into rooms, but, overall, it's pretty dull. I would imagine the fans, who grew up with the radio character, must have been pretty disappointed.

Rod LaRoque is Lamont Granston in this B mystery that confounds more than it satisfies. We are introduced to Granston in an opening scene that establishes a few murky facts: his father was killed by a gang of crooks; his butler is his loyal assistant; he apparently fights crime in disguise as the Shadow. Who and what is the Shadow? Well, we viewers know him by reputation, perhaps, but whatever powers he may possess are never really on display in this film.

Granston, in costume as the Shadow, does indeed foil a burglary at a lawyer's office, thereby setting the plot in motion. When the police arrive, Granston quickly assumes said lawyer's identity and becomes embroiled in a family controversy that involves a will, a murder, several suspects in and near the family, and a gang of gamblers somehow also involved. It's a fair if standard B movie plot; our hero stays, for the most part, a step ahead of both cops and crooks as he zeroes in on the killer's identity.

LaRoque himself is fine—he plays Granston as cool and smooth and slightly amused. He's capable of a sharp glance and quick action as needed. (He's also capable of carelessness, such as allowing the police to walk in on him as he's sifting through the contents of a safe.) Wilson Benge tries his best to add a little lilt and humor as Granston's assistant, Wellington, apparently an English butler or possibly a distant relative to one.

Other cast members, though, don't fare well at all—much of the film's dialog is not only clichéd but delivered without obvious enthusiasm. Whether the cast were beaten by too slow pacing or lack of rehearsal or just unimaginative dialog itself, entire scenes come and go without so much as a spark between characters or a snap to a speech. An exception is Cy Kendall as a boss gambler—he at least radiates smugness, to the extent that his small part allows.

Part of the problem with this movie is that we don't know what we are supposed to take as understood about the Shadow—Is this the radio crime fighter? If so, why don't we hear any of his signature lines? If not, why bother putting "the Shadow" in the title at all? The Shadow Strikes is okay as an average B movie, but that title leads viewers to expect something much more Shadow-y. Honestly, it's mystifying what might have led to this half-baked mess....did the producers unexpectedly acquire the character name and rush to shove it into a picture that was already half-written?

Note on the name: The character in this picture is indeed Lamont Granston. Why not Cranston? Possibly you-know-who knows....

This is a fast-paced B feature with Rod La Rocque, in the role of "The Shadow", getting involved in a fairly interesting and unpredictable mystery. In several respects, it doesn't really have the expected feel that goes with "The Shadow", but in itself its not bad at all. La Rocque works all right as a mild-mannered, secretive hero, with his manner and even-toned voice conveying calm.

The story in this one starts with "The Shadow" breaking up what seems to be just another petty crime, but quickly becoming involved in a wider and more serious mystery. He must assume additional extra identities, playing a risky game with the various suspects and witnesses.

La Rocque's restrained style makes it come off naturally enough, and while the rest of the characters are mostly one-dimensional, there is enough going on to keep things interesting. While it has a noticeably different feel from the "Shadow" of stories or radio, in itself it's a fairly entertaining way to pass an hour for anyone who enjoys these old B-movies.