The Missing Lady

I have "The Shadow" radio series starring Orson Welles, so I was interested to see Lamont Cranston on film. This was my first one, and I have to say, I enjoyed it. I really liked Kane Richmond, who resembles the actor Donnelly Rhodes - very handsome with a nice quality. George Chandler plays his major domo Shrevvie, and Barbara Read is Margo - a much different characterization from the radio show. Read was married to William Talman of "Perry Mason" and committed suicide when she was 45.

This plot concerns murder and mayhem over the disappearance of a jade statue.

Unfortunately we didn't get to see much of "The Shadow." He appears very briefly only a few times.

Entertaining.

As a combination of poor lighting, poor scripting, and the poor print I watched (which did, however, bear the TCM logo, so there is probably none better available), "Missing Lady" is very hard to follow - in some instances, it is literally difficult to see what is happening on the screen. The film is half tough film noir (there is a gangster aptly named "The Ox"), half silly sitcom, with the exact same situations of the previous Monogram series chapters repeated (Margo being jealous of any woman Cranston meets, or even doesn't meet, the clueless police inspector shouting instead of listening to Cranston, etc.). There is also a bizarre duo of old ladies who race dual elevators and complete each other's sentences. Looking at this short-lived Monogram series as a whole, I would say Kane Richmond had potential as the Shadow/Cranston, but he needed to be surrounded by better writers, better supporting casts, and higher production values for the series to have any chance of lasting longer. ** out of 4.

The Shadow/Lamont Cranston, also known as Kane Richmond is in search of a missing lady. After doing one bit of investigation as the Shadow --a voice and a silhouette on the wall -- it turns into a noir pitched midway between MURDER MY SWEET and THE GANGSTER -- it looks like the same backlot Gordon Wiles shot that cheap classic on.

The problems with this movie are numerous, and they include a script that has been cut so severely that little makes sense, characters who are present simply because they're also in the radio show so they have to show up, and one of those endings where you gather the suspects in a room and lo and behold! There's your man! It's awful.

On the other hand, there's some nice camerawork, particularly in the sequence set on the Bowery, with the El going by. But it isn't worth it.

The Missing Lady (1946)

** (out of 4)

The third and final film in Monogram's The Shadow series has Lamont Cranston (Kane Richmond) being hired to try and track down the title item, not an actual person but instead a stolen jade statuette. If you read the review in Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide you'll see that this here actually got a fairly glowing review but I personally didn't think the film was all that good. Yes, it's about on pace with many of the mystery/crime pictures from its era but that doesn't mean it's a good movie. I think, once again, the biggest problem is that it was clear this film (and the series) was produced to cash in on the countless other studios who all owned their own crime fighters. The screenplay here is one that I'll at least give a little credit to because it does show that they were at least trying to do something that wasn't 100% routine like the previous film in the series. This one here at least tried to add a little more mystery and I do think they the producers went for more a film noir type of film rather than just your cut and dry mystery solver. I thought the screenplay did allow for a couple interesting characters and there was also some nice twists along the way. Another good thing the film has going for it is the supporting cast of players who actually make for some lively and fun character. Even Richmond has more life and energy than in the previous movie, although I'd still say he made for one of the least interesting heroes of his type. With a little style added in, there's no question that this is a step up from BEHIND THE MASK but it's still short of the best from the genre.

Starring - for the last time - Kane Richmond as Lamont Cranston/The Shadow, and Barbara Read as his girlfriend Margo Lane, this plays like a cheap version of The Maltese Falcon. The 'Missing Lady' of the title is a jade statue, stolen during a robbery in which an art dealer is killed. Cranston sets out to find the murderer and recover the statue, but whenever he thinks he's identified the culprit that person winds up dead as well, leading the police to suspect that he is behind the murders and the theft.

This final Monogram Shadow movie is the best of the three. The God-awful 'comedy' that plagued the second one is dialled right back, and whilst there's still light relief, it's nowhere near as insufferable as before. In fact the picture has a 'heavier' atmosphere throughout, and feels far closer to a straight noir mystery - Bogart and Cagney wouldn't look out of place! Like the last film the Shadow doesn't appear much, leaving Cranston to do the donkey work. But the solution is a satisfying one that makes perfect sense. 6/10.