the Shadow; here's my review

[Lord Zombiac]

Still on the fence as to this movie is "so bad it's good" or merely bad!
It certainly had its moments, but this was not a satire, and many scenes were farcical.
Of the three major noir superheroes, Batman, the Green Hornet, and the Shadow, the Shadow has always been my favorite.
Of the three, only the Shadow has super powers, and of any superhero, only the Shadow's are plausible.
One of the things I loved was the film's opening, which featured James Hong as Li Peng (was this a deliberate tribute to Lo Pan?).
I was also shocked and delighted to discover that Johnathon Winters was in this-- I thought certainly he was a stiff by now!
Considering his brilliant role as Reverend Wilbur Glenworthy in "the Loved One," he was sadly under-utilized.
As was Tim Curry, in perhaps the most underdeveloped character of his career.
Alec Baldwin had his chance to convince me he's a great actor in this film. Suffice it to say that his puppet in "Team America" displayed exactly the emotional range as he does in the flesh.
The positives?
Visually appealing, especially the costumes and sets.
Fun! If I were an eight year old, I'd have called it top notch!

[aTOMiC]

Realizing it's obvious flaws from the very beginning I have always kind of liked The Shadow. Baldwin has an interesting take on the character, kind of a parody of a stereotype of an impression of a 1940's era performance but not deliberately played for laughs.
There is a certain level of quality to the film that nudges one to take it at least somewhat seriously and for the most part it helps distract the viewer from the absurd plot and somewhat uneven direction.
Being familiar with the opening scenes of The Shadow caused a bit of deja vu when I watched Batman Begins for the first time. The circumstances in each film are vastly different however the settings are similar and familiar enough to invite a comparison.

All in all I still occasionally pop in The Shadow when I'm in the right mood.

[danlo]

Wasn't as bad a Zane's The Phantom...

[Orlion]

Never saw the movie, though I used to listen to the radio program all the time as a kid.

[dANdeLION]

Good grief, you must be 100!

[Orlion]

Good grief, you must be 100!

Nah, my grandmother had a bunch of them on audio cassette and record. When we visited her, I was able to listen to the record ones and she lent me some of the cassette ones.

She also had Gunsmoke and Orson Well's War of the Worlds.

[Lord Zombiac]

hey, as bad as the movie was-- it was fun!

[Hashi Lebwohl]

Alec Baldwin was the perfect choice to play The Shadow and his characterization of a man who is afraid of himself help add extra depth to the character.

Yes, Jonathan Winters was extremely underused and Tim Curry's character didn't really add anything to the film at all--the script could have been written without Farley Claymore at all and it wouldn't have changed.

No, not a particularly great film but visually entertaining and definitely a good "popcorn" film for leisure viewing. I have heard rumors of another Shadow film being worked on but I would have to check IMDB for more details. I can't think of who they would get and whether it should stay in the 1930s or be updated with either Lamont Cranston's grandson or great-grandson or someone being trained by an extremely ancient Lamont Cranston.

Shadow Trivia question: we all know that the Shadow is Lamont Cranston. Unfortunately, that is not the Shadow's real name. What is The Shadow's real name? (don't cheat and look it up online yet; try to see if you know first).

[Orlion]

I always thought his name was Lupin... ah well, I always did have terrible hearing....

While we're doing trivia, the Shadow wasn't meant to have super powers originally. He was suppose to be good at hiding, casting his voice, and so forth, creating psychological trauma for his antagonists. However, they gave him mind powers, since all the above is pretty much impossible to do in the radio media.

[Hashi Lebwohl]

His mental abilities are the result of stuyding under mystics and being taught how to use abilities that are untapped in many people. Some stories seem to indicate that the gem in his ring helps focus and/or increase his mental abilities, as well. Other stories also have him being trained in the more esoteric secrets of the martial arts--hiding even in plain sight like a ninja, the ability to throw people as if he had superhuman strength like aikido, etc.

Yes, there were only certain things they could do on the radio show. Even after all this time, though, people still like The Shadow.