The Whispering Shadow

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

... and directors Albert Herman and Colbert Clark. Two-fisted shipping company foreman Jack Foster (Malcolm McGregor) is determined to avenge the murder of his brother, a delivery driver for the same company who was killed by agents of the Whispering Shadow, a mysterious figure leading a criminal gang who keep attacking deliveries made by the company. Company president Bradley (Henry B. Walthall) also enlists the aid of noted detective Robert Raymond (Robert Warwick) to assist Jack in his efforts. All signs point to the culprit being a creepy magician named Professor Strang (Bela Lugosi) who operates a wax museum out of his House of Mystery. Also featuring Viva Tattersall as Strang's lovely daughter and accomplice, Karl Dane as a goofy comic-relief radio operator, Roy D'Arcy and Lafe McKee as shady company employees, Ethel Clayton, Lloyd Whitlock, Bob Kortman, and Yakima Canutt.

The outlandish plot, wide variety of interesting characters, and incredible stunts all combine to make this a stand-out in the serial genre. It's still pretty dumb, and goes on longer than the story can sustain it, but it's silly fun. Lugosi, appearing in the first of several serials he would make, hams it up quite a bit, but seems to be enjoying himself. Dane, who struggled with his thick accent in sound pictures, makes his final film appearance.

Bela stars in his first serial. Bela's acting is great, and the serial itself is not bad, considering it was filmed in 18 days (6 days a week for 3 weeks). The exciting titles of the 12 chapters are: 1) The Master Magician 2) The Collapsing Room 3) The All-Seeing Eye 4) The Shadow Strikes 5) Wanted for Murder 6) The Man Who Was Czar 7) The Double Room 8) The Red Circle 9) The Fatal Secret 10) The Death Warrant 11) The Trap 12) King of the World. It is interesting to note that the name of Bela's character was Adam Strang, and the main ingredient of the story was a radio death ray. Perhaps this was fodder for the science fiction writer Gardner Fox when he wrote those "Mystery in Space" comics in the 1960s, with Adam Strange and the Zeta beam! A serial that fans of Bela will find entertaining.

Entertaining serial about a diabolical criminal mastermind known as the Shadow who uses his scientific genius to rob and kill while looking for stolen jewels. Notable for being Bela Lugosi's first serial. It's a fun, silly bunch of nonsense. Some cool action scenes, early sci-fi gadgetry, and Bela hamming it up are just some of the reasons to check this out. If you have a few hours to kill on the weekend, it's worth a look. Some chapters move along faster than others, but I was never really bored during any of them.

As serials go The Whispering Shadow is acceptable. Produced on a minuscule budget by Mascot Studios, an evil genius known as the Whispering Shadow - for he talks in a low voice and is ubiquitous it seems - is trying to get his hands on the famous jewels of the Czar. he will stop at nothing and his identity is not foreclosed until the final chapter. we are given several men as possible shadows. One is Bela Lugosi in his first serial. Lugosi plays the creator of waxworks out to get the jewels with the aid of his daughter - played by the perky and lovely Viva Tattersall. The leading man is the biggest problem as he has little acting ability. Malcolm McGregor plays jack Foster who is trying to find the Whispering Shadow to avenge his little brother's death. Foster feels guilt as he sent him on an assignment with peril. McGregor has no acting savvy whatsoever and he lunges in fight scenes with all the unbelievable gusto of fake wrestler. That notwithstanding the other actors are mediocre with some exceptions: Lugois makes every role of his interesting. Henry B. Walthall, the silent screen star, adds some credibility. Robert Warwick gives a workmanlike performance as a detective and Roy D'arcy plays an over-the-top radio scientist with glee and relish. The Whispering Shadow isn't as good as other serials of the time. it is undeniably cheap. Cheap special effects. Just get a look in Chapter One at the helicopter crash. How about Chapter 6 which is almost all flashbacks of previous seen footage. I must confess though that I wanted to see who was the Shadow and watched through with little problem. Some of the cheap effects, the shoddy acting, and the cheesy plot twists wormed their way into my heart. Lugosi would go on to several other serials, but this one gives him a primary role with some room to act. Let's face it a serial with death by rays given from a radio or a television cannot be all that bad. Good old-fashioned fun.