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The Shadow
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Real name Kent Allard (print), Lamont Cranston (radio and film)
The Shadow is a collection of serialized dramas, originally in 1930s pulp novels, and then in a wide variety of media. Details of the title character have varied across various media, but he is generally depicted as a crime-fighting vigilante with psychic powers posing as a "wealthy, young man about town". One of the most famous adventure heroes of the twentieth century, The Shadow has been featured on the radio, in a long-running pulp magazine series, in comic books, comic strips, television, serials, video games, and at least five motion pictures. The radio drama is well-remembered for those episodes voiced by Orson Welles.
Introduced as a mysterious radio narrator by David Chrisman, William Sweets, and Harry Engman Charlot for Street and Smith Publications, The Shadow was developed fully and transformed into a pop culture icon by pulp writer Walter B. Gibson. The character would go on to become a major influence on the subsequent evolution of comic book superheroes, in particular, Batman.
The Shadow debuted on July 31, 1930, as the mysterious narrator of the Street and Smith radio program Detective Story Hour. After gaining popularity among the show's listeners, the narrator became the star of The Shadow Magazine on April 1, 1931, a pulp series created and primarily written by the prolific Gibson.
On September 26, 1937, The Shadow radio drama premiered with the story "The Deathhouse Rescue", in which The Shadow was characterized as having "the power to cloud men's minds so they cannot see him." As in the magazine stories, The Shadow was not given the literal ability to become invisible.
The introduction from The Shadow radio program "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!", spoken by actor Frank Readick Jr., has earned a place in the American idiom. These words were accompanied by an ominous laugh and a musical theme, Camille Saint-Saëns' Le Rouet d'Omphale ("Omphale's Spinning Wheel", composed in 1872). At the end of each episode The Shadow reminded listeners that, "The weed of crime bears bitter fruit. Crime does not pay.
Played by the actors
Filmography of The Shadow (5 films)
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The Shadow (1994)
, 1h43Directed by Russell Mulcahy
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Thriller, Fantasy, Action, Adventure, Crime
Themes Superhero films, Super-héros inspiré de comics, Arme nucléaire
Actors Alec Baldwin, John Lone, Penelope Ann Miller, Peter Boyle, Ian McKellen, Tim Curry
Rating60%
In Tibet, following the First World War, an American named Lamont Cranston (Alec Baldwin), succumbing to his darker instincts during the war, has set himself up as a brutal warlord and opium kingpin under the alias of Ying-Ko (Mandarin Chinese for "Dark Eagle"). He is abducted from his palace by servants of the Tulku (Barry Dennen), a holy man who exhibits otherworldly powers and knows Cranston's identity. He informs Cranston that he is to become a force for good. Cranston objects but is silenced by the Phurba (Frank Welker), a mystical sentient flying dagger that assaults Cranston, wounding him. Cranston is unable to refuse and remains under the tutelage of the Tulku for seven years. He learns to "cloud men's minds," a form of mystical, psychic hypnosis that allows him to influence others' thoughts and bend their perceptions so he cannot be seen, except for his shadow (since light itself cannot be deceived), hence his new alias.
The Invisible Avenger (1958)
, 1h10Directed by James Wong Howe
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Action
Themes Superhero films
Actors Richard Derr, Helen Westcott, Jack Donner
Rating53%
Pablo Ramirez is an expatriate from the Caribbean nation of Santa Cruz that is under control of a military dictator called the Generalissimo. From New Orleans, Ramirez plots a revolution and his return to Santa Cruz. To assist in this and to protect him from the Santa Cruz secret police who are in New Orleans he seeks the help of Lamont Cranston through a mutual friend, jazz trumpeter Tony Alcade. In the midst of a telephone call to Cranston Tony is murdered by the secret police.
The Shadow Returns (1946)
, 1h1Directed by William Beaudine, Phil Rosen
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Crime
Themes Superhero films
Actors Kane Richmond, Barbara Read, Tom Dugan, Joseph Crehan, Pierre Watkin, Frank Reicher
Rating54%
Private detective Lamont Cranston steps in to solve a murder for the police with the assistance of his alter ego The Shadow.
International Crime (1938)
, 1h2Directed by Charles Lamont
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Crime
Themes Superhero films
Actors Rod La Rocque, Astrid Allwyn, Thomas E. Jackson, Oscar O'Shea, Wilhelm von Brincken, Nick Stewart
Rating54%
Lamont Cranston is an amateur criminologist and detective, who hosts a daily radio program sponsored by the Daily Classic newspaper. He has developed a friendly but occasionally terse feud with Police Commissioner Weston. Cranston complains to his managing editor, Edward Heath, about his incompetent new assistant, Phoebe Lane. Heath advises him that because she is the publisher's niece, she cannot be fired. During his radio broadcast, Phoebe gives Cranston a note that the Metropolitan Theatre is to be robbed at eight o'clock. Afterwards, he learns she got the information from a man she met in a café. Cranston goes to the theatre; Weston and his men have already arrived, but there is no crime. Across town, international banker Gerald Morton is killed and his safe is robbed.
The Shadow Strikes (1937)
, 1h1Origin USA
Genres Science fiction
Themes Superhero films
Actors Rod La Rocque, Harry Harvey, Sr., Walter McGrail, Cy Kendall, Kenneth Harlan, John St. Polis
Rating48%
Lamont Cranston assumes his secret identity as "The Shadow", to break up an attempted robbery at an attorney's office. When the police search the scene, Cranston must assume the identity of the attorney. Before he can leave, a phone call summons the attorney to the home of Delthern, a wealthy client, who wants a new will drawn up. As Cranston meets with him, Delthern is suddenly shot, and Cranston is quickly caught up in a new mystery.