The Shadow is a superhero film that has some of its pulp past, filled with clever twists, and a cast that has fun with their parts! This is before Batman introduced in 1939, The Shadow is a caped crimefighter, he knows their ways not because he studied them, he was like them! When I was a kid, I heard recordings by Orson Welles as The Shadow, his voice and laugh is haunting! The Shadow was of course the creation of Walter B. Gibson. His adventures were in the pulp magazine, The Shadow Magazine (1931), and then on radio in 1937. It was really Orson Welles playing The Shadow that made an impact about one year before his The War of the Worlds recording and four years before his cinematic masterpiece Citizen Kane (1941)! The character also started in movie serials beginning with The Shadow Strikes (1937). This film was directed by Russell Mulcahy who also directed Highlander (1986). The Shadow is also in a number of comic books, novels, a radio program, and now a movie! The screenplay was written by David Koepp who adapted Jurassic Park (1993) with Michael Crichton.
The film was unfortunately released, a very difficult summer to stand out, with Forrest Gump (1994) opening right after it and then True Lies (1994). There is mystery with the title sequence with the score by Jerry Goldsmith. Then, we get the “Opium Fields, Tibet” with a closeup of the poppy flowers lined up against the mountains. We follow a car up to a stronghold. A man, Li Peng (James Hong), is brought into the opium den. Hong is of course known as Lo Pan in Big Trouble in Little China (1986). Peng sees the leader in shadow. He has killed three of Yin-Ko’s men. Yin-Ko (Alec Baldwin) appears out of the shadows and confronts Peng whom he orders to be shot. This is four years after Baldwin starred in The Hunt for Red October (1990). At night, Yin-Ko is wakened by a vision, and then knocked out. He is taken by horse riders to a cliff, there is a temple, hidden by mists which sweep away to reveal a temple with a massive cobra head! Yin-Ko is taken into the hall of the temple and sees a figure behind a curtain.
The Tulku (Brady Tsurutani) suddenly appears, speaking in a deeper voice, knowing his real name is Lamont Cranston. Cranston is surprised and finds that the Tulku is elusive, he is also told that he has always struggled against his black heart. Cranston grabs for a dagger, and the dagger leaps from his hand. It is a living thing, the Purba, and stops at the command of the Tulku. This leads to a roll-up that explains that The Tulku trained Cranston to “cloud men’s minds”, but he always leaves behind his shadow which he can never escape. Cranston returns home to New York City, “Seven Years Later”, a foggy night with the Brooklyn Bridge. Duke and his men take out a man (Sab Shimono) with his feet encased in concrete. Shimono had appeared in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993). The men are about to throw him over the bridge when they hear a laugh. The voice seems to come from everywhere, he says, “The weed of crime bears bitter fruit”, and knows that Duke killed a police officer. The Shadow, only a blur, strikes Duke forcing him to confess. This is the power of The Shadow to find evil in the hearts of criminals and strike mortal fear into them.
Then, his men are swallowed by the darkness of The Shadow, and see his face, half-covered by his scarf and run. Dressed in black, striking fear in criminals, and having a wealthy secret identity, this is of course another inspiration for Batman. The Shadow takes out his silver pistols and fires at the man. He has blasted away the concrete and helps him up as a taxi cab drives up. They enter the cab and The Shadow knows the man is Dr. Roy Tam. The cab speeds away as The Shadow explains since he saved Tam’s life, he is know an agent of The Shadow. The cab driver is Moe Shrevnitz (Peter Boyle), he takes Dr. Tam to his apartment, and slips a ring on his finger. Boyle is known for the sitcom, Everybody Love Raymond, he provides comedy relief, but also his dedication as The Shadow’s most trusted agent. Cranston is tired shifting from The Shadow and asks Moe to drive to the Cobalt Club. Lamont Cranston, now in a tux, joins his uncle and police commissioner, Wainwright (Jonathan Winters). He is a comedian, Winters was in the live action The Flintstones (1994), but this is a serious part for him. This explains why the police are two steps behind The Shadow.
Then, a woman appears in a shimmering white dress (Penelope Ann Miller), catching Cranston’s attention. Her character is Margot Lane who was a wealthy woman and agent of The Shadow. Bob Ringwood is the costume designer, he designed the dynamic cape and vest for The Shadow and also the stunning dresses worn by Miller. He gets a note about The Shadow and wants to appoint a task force to hunt him down. Cranston leans back into the shadows to speak in The Shadow’s voice to change his uncle’s thoughts. Wainwright warns his nephew about Margot since she hears voices. The couple goes to a Chinese restaurant where of course Cranston orders in Mandarin. Margot replies to a compliment about her dress which he was only thinking. Cranston realizes that his secret identity might be compomised. Moe takes them back to her apartment and Cranston explains it is dangerous to see her again. In his loft, Cranston is asleep next to his fireplace when it explodes, there is a laughing face of an Asian man. The effects are at the level of Mortal Kombat (1995), but still has some visuals that are beautiful and hold up fairly well.
Night, at the Museum of Natural History, Isaac Newboldt (Joseph Maher) walks to the garage where there is a case from Tibet. Nelson (Ethan Phillips), the security guard, helps open the crate with the sarcophagus. Phillips was Neelix in the Star Trek: Voyager series. Newboldt leaves and Nelson is alone when the sarchophagus locks begin opening like hungry mouths. It opens to reveal a man in mongol armor, this is Shiwan Khan (John Lone). The actor has been in action films, but was also in The Last Emperor (1987). Shiwan Khan is The Shadow’s greatest nemesis, descendant of Genghis Kahn, his first appearance was in the pulp novel, The Golden Master (1939). Lone gives him style, the hint of a barbarian, and some funny lines. Then, we shift to the War Department and the office of Reinhardt Lane. Reinhardt is an eccentric scientist played by Ian McKellan, he is confused in simple things which is funny, but you can also see his brilliance. McKellan is of course known as Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings films, but he played Death in Last Action Hero (1993). He is busy working on the Beryllium Sphere while his partner Farley Claymore (Tim Curry). Tim Curry is a genre legend and he was Cardinal Richelieu in The Three Musketeers (1993).
Claymore is desperate for recognition and a threat to The Shadow. Shiwan is taken by a taxi cab to an empty lot, he suggests the driver fill up his gas tank, and he drives his cab right into a fuel tanker. The next day, Wainwright checks on the museum crime scene, an officer talks to him and then goes across the street to an empty building to deposit a letter. It goes careening through the city in a tube, finally to an operator who communicates to Cranston. He has Moe take him to the Sanctum. On a city street, Cranston goes to an alley and slides a secret panel to open a passageway to the Sanctum. He contacts the operator via a televised device who tells him about the murder. He then meets with Shiwman Khan who knows him as Lin-Ko and says he is in New York to fulfill his destiny. It’s funny when Shiwan asks Cranston where he got his tie and they go over New York streets. His plan is one of the greatest threats of any supervillian that The Shadow has to work out to understand through most of the film. He has take on henchmen, a death trap right out of pulp novels, and work with Margot to uncover the plans of Shiwan Khan. "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!" The Shadow is a clever, well written film with a very strong cast and some great adventure with an iconic hero!
Five Beryllium Spheres out of Five!
#TheShadow, #RussellMacahy, #AlecBaldwin, #PenelopeAnnMiller, #JohnLone
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