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.

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.

When art collector James Douglas is found dead, the police notice his statue "The Jade Lady" has disappeared. It appears the missing piece of art is coveted by a lot of people that, at first, seem to interest a lot of people. After all, this statue is worth a quarter million, and it's easy to see the interest everyone shows. Lamont Cranston, better known as The Shadow, is investigating Douglas' murder and he becomes involved in trying to solve the mystery.

The last sequence of the film gathers all the people that want to have "the lady", as it is known. They are a motley crew, indeed. But never fear, The Shadow knows who the culprit is and almost has to pay with his own life, except that he is faster than the would be assassin.

"The Missing Lady" was one of those B pictures that are a lot of fun to watch. It doesn't pretend to be anything else than entertainment. Directed by Phil Carlson, the film is dominated by Kane Richmond who was the hero in the series. Fans of this genre will have a good time with this movie. Almira Sessions and Nora Cecil play a pair of spinsters that are a hoot to watch.

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.

Various shady characters seek a mysterious one-foot high statue and are willing to kill for it! However...Bogart, Greenstreet, Astor and company are nowhere to be found. Instead we have Kane Richmond in another go around as Lamont Cranston, assisted by Barbara Read as Margo Lane.

At times this picture really does want to be The Maltese Falcon; at other moments, it lurches abruptly into unapologetic silliness. (For example: the hotel is owned by two elderly sisters who bought the place solely so that they could race the twin elevators up and down.) Most of the jokes are at least funny, which makes it easy to enjoy the picture, even if it does sometimes confuse in its unevenness. Cranston's assistant, Shrevvy, is goofy; Inspector Cardona is blustery; Margo and her own sidekick Jenny have ongoing jealousy issues over Lamont's and Shrevvy's involvements with various female suspects. However, the film's serious scenes are indeed strong enough to make those sudden shifts into slapstick somewhat disappointing as well as jarring.

Oh, the Shadow? Cranston's alter ego does pop into action occasionally, but frankly, the Shadow's appearances seemed almost obligatory on the film's part...maybe that's a reason the series kind of faded away after this entry. In any case, at this distance from the film's context and its character's place in pop culture, The Missing Lady is entertaining for an hour. But warn away the purists!