The Shadow

Typical Columbia missed opportunity. Silly plot, director more at home in comedy shorts (and it shows), and a ludicrous villain with all the real menace of a banana; but it could have been bearable if they hadn't changed the Shadow himself so much. Victor Jory makes the most of the material, but now he's just a criminologist who tosses on a cloak and hat and goes around fighting evil. No invisibility (although the bad guy CAN), hardly any mocking laughter, just explosion after explosion trapping him, only to have him rise from the debris, dust himself off, and head out the door to the next explosion. Turn off the lights and go back to the radio...

This is an exceptional serial for one reason: the excellent performance by respected actor Mr. Victor Jory. Certainly the script and direction offer Mr. Jory little to work with but his talent and dedication to his craft as an actor provide enough energy and enthusiasm to overcome all production obstacles. Jory is amazing with that renown voice, those darting black eyes, and clear enjoyment that shines through his most expressive face as he chuckles at the inept antics of the villain's pitiful henchmen. An imaginative, humorous, and superb interpretation of the character of The Shadow make this a real treat for anyone who appreciates the work of this actor, the entertaining genre, and the pure joy of 1930's cinema.

Anyone a fan of the classic radio series will be mightily disappointed by the movie serial version. Columbia made the error of adapting the pulp fiction Lamont Cranston/The Shadow rather than the more exciting radio incarnation. Absent are such famed taglines as "Who know where evil lurks. The Shadow knows." Even the legendary laugh rings hollow.

The radio Lamont Cranston learned in the orient the power of clouding men's minds thus becoming invisible. That was the key ingredient. The serial Lamont Cranston is a scientist (not a wealthy man about town) wearing black mask and cape engaging in fisticuffs. Nothing special. Instead the evil "Black Tiger" is invisible. "The Shadow" is routine serial running too long at 15 chapters instead of the standard 12.

The thing I remember most was the deep, resonant voice of Victor Jory, who played The Shadow and Lamont Cranston. "What evil lurks in the hearts of men, the Shadow knows..." He kept me and my friends spellbound. We went to the theater every Saturday, never missing a single episode of that wonderful potboiler serial. We didn't care what the feature was, we were there to see The Shadow! All for dime! What memories... Ah, those really were the days!

Personally, being such a radio fan, I have come across some information that other reviewers do not seem to be aware of. First of all is the fact that the portrayal of the Shadow in this film predates, for the most part, the characterization of the Shadow in the radio series. There are a few differences between the original version of the Shadow and that of the radio show.

Originally, the Shadow was a mysterious host of a show called "The Street and Smith Dectective Story Hour." He had no character. However, the sponsor of the program eventually noticed that the host of the series was more famous than the series itself.

Thus, a series of "Shadow" novels came out. The Shadow, while lacking the ability to make himself invisible, managed to steal other people's identities. He would run around, pretending to be someone else, while not having an identity of his own.

Originally, the identity of Lamonte Cranston was just a stolen identity. Some time after the Shadow had been spun off into a comic book series of his own, Margo Lane met a man named Lamonte Cranston on a cruise. On the way back, the Shadow masqueraded as Lamonte Cranston and Margo Lane got the two confused.

This is more or less the version of the Shadow that the serial bases itself upon. The radio series started with a Shadow who had all kinds of abilities. However, the series gave the Shadow the power of invisibility and toned down all the other powers to the point that the radio version of the Shadow practically had no other abilities.

Needless to say, saying this version of the Shadow is disappointing just because it is not the Shadow of the radio series is not fair. The serial would have very likely been based on the Shadow of the pulp novels, comic books, etc, of the thirties. The radio series, which did not become popular until some time later, gave the Shadow his powers of invisibility and pretty much got rid of the rest of his abilities. This is something other reviewers do not appear to be aware of.