THE SHADOW
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 1994 Mark R. Leeper
Capsule review: The sumptuous and fun new film
version of THE SHADOW is faithful to the letter of the
canon of the old radio hero but adds a lot that is new.
What they have changed makes for good storytelling. This
is a very enjoyable fantasy film and could well be this
summer's JURASSIC PARK. This one is a lot of fun.
Rating: high +2 (-4 to +4).
Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? Now let's not always see the same hands.
Back in the 30's and 40s, before there was television, one of the great super-heroes of the radio-ways, pulps, and comics was Lamont Cranston. He was a variant on H. G. Wells' INVISIBLE MAN. Cranston could not actually make himself invisible, but using techniques he learned in the orient he could "cloud men's minds so they cannot see him." With adventures that began in 1931, he was one of the earliest popular American superheroes, and was perhaps the most popular superhero on the radio. The Shadow had already been a household name more than seven years when Superman first appeared and more than eight years when Batman was first introduced. To the radio's sinister strains of Saint- Saens's "Omphale's Spinning Wheel" the invisible Shadow would stalk the night looking for evil-doers to scare the bejeezus out of. Over the years there were many cast changes and many voices to The Shadow and his sidekick, "the lovely and talented Margo Lane," including at one time respectively, Orson Welles and Agnes Moorehead.
Even though The Shadow lasted on radio twenty years, until 1956, there was never (until now) a memorable version of The Shadow on TV or in the movies. Somehow the combination of atmosphere and special effects necessary would have never been possible. Also unlike other superheroes, The Shadow had to be played by someone ugly. The pulps, which started publishing the character in 1931, always portrayed him as a tall man with a long crooked nose, a fedora, and the lower part of his face covered. He was more frightening when you could see what he looked like. Victor Jory was nearly ugly enough and starred in a 1940 serial, but could not match the phantom with the disembodied voice of vengeance on the radio. Today special effects are much more articulate on the screen, even if actors often are not. The menace of The Shadow is now very possible to show on the screen. In fact, while on the radio The Shadow could only cloud men's minds and in later years read what he clouded, the screen's new Shadow has an arsenal of psychic weapons, and so do his enemies. This provides opportunity for more visual excitement. But what current actor is ugly enough to play Lamont Cranston, The Shadow? Would you believe Alec Baldwin? I would not have, but this film manages to have a handsome Shadow without compromising on the menace or the image.
As far as I know, the radio plays never gave you much of a history of how The Shadow got his peculiar talents. I have been a fan of the radio plays and they never went into any detail on the origins of The Shadow except that in the Orient this hero learned the ability to "cloud men's minds." The film goes into much more detail.
Our story begins in Tibet with Lamont Cranston anything but heroic. As his first alter-ego Ying Ko, he is a mysterious drug lord of American origin. It is hard to believe that this villain will one day be the great crimer-fighter I know from the radio series. Seduced by the light side of the force he goes to New York to make amends for the evils he did in the East. He gets one opportunity after a priceless sarcophagus is sent, un-requested, to the New York Museum of Natural History. The coffin leads to murder and The Shadow finds himself fighting Shiwan Khan, the last descendent of Genghis. Khan is portrayed by John Lone who played THE LAST EMPEROR and Khan is now determined to become the next one.
THE SHADOW probably does not use Baldwin to the fullest it could since the demands of playing a superhero fall well short of those of being one. It at least gives him a chance to play someone a little sinister and helps to shake off his clean-cut family man image. Perhaps out of place are his humorous one-liners after action scenes. They were funny when James Bond delivered them in the 60s, but they have become much too common in action films and it is all wrong for the somber Shadow to be making "Bondisms." Penelope Ann Miller is attractive in dresses featuring low cuts in front and lower cuts in back. She has a little more to do than the original Margo Lane--the original was little more than a sounding board so the audience knew what The Shadow was thinking--but still this is not a role that stretches someone's acting abilities. One way to tell this film had serious financial backing is the name actors in parts that could have gone to unknowns. Jonathan Winters, in his most reserved role in memory, plays the police commissioner actually fairly well. Peter Boyle has little to do and seems along only for the ride. Andre Gregory is completely wasted as a minor functionary in The Shadow's network. Tim Curry makes a weird villain, but doesn't that go without saying?
But the real star of the film is New York City of the 1930s. Not New York as it was then or ever, but a beautiful, idealized, Art Deco 1930s New York City. Director Russell Mulcahy, who gave us the great- looking HIGHLANDER, gives us a stunningly idealized Manhattan of the mind's eye. In addition he give us small gratuitous surprises for the camera including one subjective shot that is almost a roller-coaster ride in itself. And a Jerry Goldsmith score is always a plus.
This may not be exactly the classic radio version of The Shadow, but it may be more fun. For the most part it does not contradict the canon, but it places it in a larger context and fills in many of the blanks. There are some changes but there is a lot of filling in of gaps in some very unexpected ways. Lamont Cranston is given an evil past that certainly casts The Shadow in a whole new light. In fact it adds complexity to his character over the one-dimensional do-gooder. While Batman is essentially out for vengeance against criminals in general, Lamont Cranston had committed terrible evils and was driven by the need to make amends. I am not sure that this is what Walter Gibson had in mind for his character, but it certainly works.
The Shadow on radio was a little different from The Shadow in the pulp magazines and The Shadow in the film is different from either. I do not remember any radio references to The Shadow having a network of agents--I think there was more about them in the pulps. Even on the radio he did have his faithful cab driver Shrevie. The Asian mysticism that plays a big part in the film version was not usually apparent in the radio series, though some of the pulps drew heavily on the Asian origin of the The Shadow's powers. Perhaps the most interesting revision to the Canon is to give Margo psychic abilities also. While never explained it really adds interest to her relationship with Lamont.
This may well be a piece of summer fluff, but I found it far more engaging than the usual superhero film. For once the power of the mind, both psychic and reasoning, are as important to a hero as are his physical powers. And the image of the tall, crooked-nosed in Fedora and cape whipping out guns will thrill rather than disappoint fans of The Shadow. This is the most I think I have ever enjoyed a "superhero" film. I give it a high +2 on the -4 to +4 scale. (Oh, by the way, my contact with The Shadow has been almost entirely in radio revivals of the old series. I am too young to have heard original broadcasts.)
Mark R. Leeper
mark.leeper@att.com
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