The Shadow

An old British Mystery movie that will keep the audience captivated right to the end, you will never guess the Shadows identity, the synopsis gives away a subtle twist to this mystery film.

Despite this film coming out in 1933 when the Shadow was a popular pulp character, this movie has nothing to do with this American character that fights crime. Instead, the Shadow in this British film is a scum-bag that is an expert at blackmail as well as murder--and Scotland Yard is at a loss for how to stop him or as to his identity. The film has a few things going for it--though the middle portion of the film is a bit slow and a couple of the characters are too broadly written--especially that awful old woman who cries way too intently! Overall, however, it is better than you'd expect for a low-budget mystery film. I've seen an awful lot of films similar to this one but "The Shadow" is a bit better--thanks to some interesting plot twists and a great first portion. Worth seeing if you like old-time B-movies, like I do.

Not THE Shadow (as in, the Lamont Cranston Shadow) but more of A Shadow - and this one is villainous. It is an enjoyable mystery that employs many of the clichès of the old-dark-house genre, but does it in a self-aware way (would you ever believe that someone is killed at the exact moment he is about to reveal the hidden identity of the Shadow?). Perhaps overly talky, but the mystery does sustain your interest. Henry Kendall steals the show as an intentionally stereotypical perfectly-jolly-old-chap-fellow - a direct precursor to Charters and Caldicott in "The Lady Vanishes" a few years later. **1/2 out of 4.

THE SHADOW is a British 'old dark house' production of 1933 which feels like it belongs in the silent era; indeed, all of the cast are still wearing clothing and collars belonging to the previous decade. The film pairs Henry Kendall and Felix Aylmer as two of the people gathered at a country abode who are shocked to discover that one of their number is a blackmailer known as The Shadow, and the rest of the film sees them trying to solve his identity. Kendall is a likeable lead here and an almost youthful Aylmer very good in support. Yes, it's very talky and rather slow by modern standards, but nevertheless this early talkie is a good product of its age.

This is a very English country house thriller as people gather at Sir Richard's mansion on a pea-souper of a foggy night. Sir Richard needs to safeguard his reputation by ensuring that the police catch a blackmailer known as The Shadow. Famous people have committed suicide because of the blackmailer. Then a man called Elliot gets killed when he tries to confront The Shadow and is left with a clenched fist design curio in his own clenched fist. This is thought to be a vital clue in finding the identity of the blackmailer.

There are some fairly interesting characters. There are the 'Silvertons' posing as brother and sister. We don't really know their motives clearly for engineering a stay at Sir Richard's house through the excuse of being caught on such a foggy night. There is a dotty aunt in the person of Mrs Boscomb who has some funny lines to say. But the fooling Reggie might be a challenge for you to take as a character.

Suspense grows after we realize The Shadow is in Sir Richard's house and the killings look set to continue. This mystery should keep you guessing. I admit I did actually guess The Shadow's identity shortly before the reveal at the end after an hour of wondering. But I still reckon it's a fairly-well disguised whodunit for fans of the genre.