I've been continuing my hobby of watching old movie serials (the predecessor to TV, but shown in 13-episode weekly series at movie theaters), and "The Whispering Shadow" (1933) established itself as one of my favorites. This one was another Bela Lugosi star vehicle, but Lugosi himself was only one element among several that made this one a winner.
The Whispering Shadow essentially reimagines the pulp superhero "The Shadow" if he were a villain leading a criminal gang. This criminal is never seen directly by either his gang or his victims -- the Shadow uses the futuristic technologies of radio and television to make his demands known in an evil hiss. He and his gang have been targeting and robbing the Empire Transport and Storage Company, and in the process kill the brother of employee Jack Norton, who vows revenge. It appears the Shadow wants the jewels of the slain Russian czar, hidden somewhere in the warehouse. Empire's HR department has really been lying down on the job, because they employ a cadre of seedy characters who all seem to want the jewels for themself and might possibly be the Shadow. Joining the fray are Professor Strang (Lugosi) and his lovely daughter Vera, two suspicious foreigners who run a wax museum, and the escaped convict who stole the jewels originally. All of it adds up to a lot of cloak and dagger and one lingering, critical, all-important question: who *is* the Shadow?
There are a lot of things that make "The Whispering Shadow" appealing, but I think its best aspect is easily the fact that it's a whodunnit, and (more importantly) an actually *good* whodunnit. I found myself fooled multiple times when I thought I had the most likely culprit nailed down, a neat and refreshing feeling to have in the normally predictable and formulaic world of serials. I don't want to spoil anything, but the ultimate reveal was quite a thing.
I also thought that the "retro futurism" of this serial was really nice. The Shadow deals death from above with not only radio, but with electrical signals that can literally fry his own men or others who oppose or betray him. The action is good, the sets are neat and exude a 1930s noir atmosphere, and most of the acting is really solid. The serial did do a surprising amount of recap, which annoyed me a bit at first, but after I reflected on how dizzyingly chaotic it was as a whole, I decided that it actually felt nice to regroup.
In terms of negatives, I really only have two to mention, and neither are very damning. First, I found it unintentionally hilarious how much of a human dynamo Jack Norton was. The man spent the first five episodes of the serial practically running at a sprint. He was incredibly fond of reminding us that he was "after the Shadow, the man who killed my brotha!" and we'd be off the the races. If he'd been told that the Shadow was across the continent in Los Angeles, I'm fully convinced he would have run there on foot, passing many cars along the way. I also thought it was a bit of a shame that Lugosi himself doesn't have much actual acting to do, spending most of his time scowling down at a TV set and looking mighty suspicious, rather than delivering creepy or campy lines of dialogue. The actress playing his daughter also didn't do a bang-up job in the acting department and was really only notable for being willing to go along with her dad's shadier schemes, which was a nice change of pace and cast her as something of an anti-heroine.
All told, "The Whispering Shadow" was easily one of my favorite serials that I have watched, and probably exceeds even "The Phantom Creeps" as my favorite one starring Bela Lugosi, even if Lugosi himself wasn't a standout in this one. Like many other serials of the 1930s, this one is available as either a 12-episode serial or a highly condensed 60-minute movie. For anyone with even passing interest in the serial genre, PLEASE watch the full serial -- it's well-worth your time and tells the story in a much more organic and rewarding way. If you don't feel you can justify the 3+ hour commitment, though, the chopped down movie is an option. Just bear in mind that you're getting a highly abridged project that may feel like a hamburger reduced to just a meat patty.
The Whispering Shadow essentially reimagines the pulp superhero "The Shadow" if he were a villain leading a criminal gang. This criminal is never seen directly by either his gang or his victims -- the Shadow uses the futuristic technologies of radio and television to make his demands known in an evil hiss. He and his gang have been targeting and robbing the Empire Transport and Storage Company, and in the process kill the brother of employee Jack Norton, who vows revenge. It appears the Shadow wants the jewels of the slain Russian czar, hidden somewhere in the warehouse. Empire's HR department has really been lying down on the job, because they employ a cadre of seedy characters who all seem to want the jewels for themself and might possibly be the Shadow. Joining the fray are Professor Strang (Lugosi) and his lovely daughter Vera, two suspicious foreigners who run a wax museum, and the escaped convict who stole the jewels originally. All of it adds up to a lot of cloak and dagger and one lingering, critical, all-important question: who *is* the Shadow?
There are a lot of things that make "The Whispering Shadow" appealing, but I think its best aspect is easily the fact that it's a whodunnit, and (more importantly) an actually *good* whodunnit. I found myself fooled multiple times when I thought I had the most likely culprit nailed down, a neat and refreshing feeling to have in the normally predictable and formulaic world of serials. I don't want to spoil anything, but the ultimate reveal was quite a thing.
I also thought that the "retro futurism" of this serial was really nice. The Shadow deals death from above with not only radio, but with electrical signals that can literally fry his own men or others who oppose or betray him. The action is good, the sets are neat and exude a 1930s noir atmosphere, and most of the acting is really solid. The serial did do a surprising amount of recap, which annoyed me a bit at first, but after I reflected on how dizzyingly chaotic it was as a whole, I decided that it actually felt nice to regroup.
In terms of negatives, I really only have two to mention, and neither are very damning. First, I found it unintentionally hilarious how much of a human dynamo Jack Norton was. The man spent the first five episodes of the serial practically running at a sprint. He was incredibly fond of reminding us that he was "after the Shadow, the man who killed my brotha!" and we'd be off the the races. If he'd been told that the Shadow was across the continent in Los Angeles, I'm fully convinced he would have run there on foot, passing many cars along the way. I also thought it was a bit of a shame that Lugosi himself doesn't have much actual acting to do, spending most of his time scowling down at a TV set and looking mighty suspicious, rather than delivering creepy or campy lines of dialogue. The actress playing his daughter also didn't do a bang-up job in the acting department and was really only notable for being willing to go along with her dad's shadier schemes, which was a nice change of pace and cast her as something of an anti-heroine.
All told, "The Whispering Shadow" was easily one of my favorite serials that I have watched, and probably exceeds even "The Phantom Creeps" as my favorite one starring Bela Lugosi, even if Lugosi himself wasn't a standout in this one. Like many other serials of the 1930s, this one is available as either a 12-episode serial or a highly condensed 60-minute movie. For anyone with even passing interest in the serial genre, PLEASE watch the full serial -- it's well-worth your time and tells the story in a much more organic and rewarding way. If you don't feel you can justify the 3+ hour commitment, though, the chopped down movie is an option. Just bear in mind that you're getting a highly abridged project that may feel like a hamburger reduced to just a meat patty.