The Shadow (1933) User Reviews

On a Foggy Night, a Murderer Lurks

[dbborroughs · 7/10 · 25 April 2004]

A black mailer known only as The Shadow is terrorizing the rich in England. If you don't pay him he'll ruin you or worse. When a police detective on his trail is killed he leaves behind clue. Things come to a head as suspects and uninvited guests end up at the home of the Chief Inspector of the police on a fog shrouded night.

This is an entertaining mystery from England that could complete nicely with many of the programmers that the American Studios were churning out. Granted one should not look at it too closely since the film doesn't play fair or logically, but one should look at it simply because it's a great way to spend a dark and stormy night.

For what it is, it's pretty good.

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 1 August 2014]

Despite this film coming out in 1933 when the Shadow was a popular pulp character, this movie has nothing to do with this American character that fights crime. Instead, the Shadow in this British film is a scum-bag that is an expert at blackmail as well as murder--and Scotland Yard is at a loss for how to stop him or as to his identity. The film has a few things going for it--though the middle portion of the film is a bit slow and a couple of the characters are too broadly written--especially that awful old woman who cries way too intently! Overall, however, it is better than you'd expect for a low-budget mystery film. I've seen an awful lot of films similar to this one but "The Shadow" is a bit better--thanks to some interesting plot twists and a great first portion. Worth seeing if you like old-time B-movies, like I do.

"A woman can shoot as well as a man"

[hwg1957-102-265704 · 6/10 · 20 April 2018]

The mysterious Shadow is a blackmailer and murderer being pursued by Scotland Yard. His capture eventually happens in the manor house of Sir Richard Bryant, head of the Yard after a few plot complications involving two burglars, the butler's son and various policemen. It is mainly set in the manor house but it is a good studio set with dark corners and lots of shadows. Not really thrilling but a not a bad movie though the identity of The Shadow is easy to spot early on.

In an early role is the magisterial Felix Aylmer as Sir Richard. Elizabeth Allan adds glamour as his daughter Sonia. Stealing the film is Henry Kendall as the bumbling Reggie Ogden, when he is pulling faces or babbling away silly nonsense he is quite entertaining.. His marriage proposal to the daughter is hilarious.

So a film strong on character but not on plot.

A Dark And Foggy Night

[GManfred · 1 August 2012]

The old cliché is 'a dark and stormy night', but here there is no storm - just fog. And old clichés are the order of the day in "The Shadow", a creaky antique that is really fun and absorbing in spite of itself. Motion pictures became far too sophisticated and technological for this one, unless you yearn for a time when movies, and life, were simpler.

The Shadow is one bad dude, a blackmailer Scotland Yard has been trying to nab for some time. He is responsible for some suicides and murders, and finally shows up at the home of the Chief Inspector, along with various and sundry guests and visitors (this, of course, creates a lot of suspects). This story was based on a play, and something must have been lost in the translation because, as reviewer dburroughs above states, there is very little logic and a great deal of contrivance involved.

Nevertheless, it is very enjoyable if you just go with it and don't ask questions. And Henry Kendall, who plays a silly-ass Englishman/friend of the family, is worth the price of admission.

Take a 'thriller' instead of a sleeping pill...

[binapiraeus · 4/10 · 16 April 2014]

This VERY British 'thriller', in the worst meaning of the word, is honestly one of the most BORING movies I've ever seen. The 'atmosphere' for the meager plot consists merely of some known ingredients for a good murder mystery, like an old house, a foggy night, and a mysterious masked man called 'The Shadow', a notorious blackmailer who's driven quite some prominent people to suicide for the most ridiculous reasons of 'honor' and 'fear of scandal'.

Those who manage to sit through the whole film (and its running time is only 70 minutes, anyway!) without falling asleep, will witness some very poor attempts to bring in some humor, and even poorer attempts to bring in some kind of action or suspense; the acting is awful (even by Elizabeth Allan, who a year later would deliver a wonderful performance in "Mark of the Vampire"), the direction as stiff as the dialogs... And to imagine that at the very same time, in the very same country, the great Alfred Hitchcock was already developing a new kind of thriller that would make even American audiences shudder...!

English country house thriller

[greenbudgie · 6/10 · 6 February 2021]

This is a very English country house thriller as people gather at Sir Richard's mansion on a pea-souper of a foggy night. Sir Richard needs to safeguard his reputation by ensuring that the police catch a blackmailer known as The Shadow. Famous people have committed suicide because of the blackmailer. Then a man called Elliot gets killed when he tries to confront The Shadow and is left with a clenched fist design curio in his own clenched fist. This is thought to be a vital clue in finding the identity of the blackmailer.

There are some fairly interesting characters. There are the 'Silvertons' posing as brother and sister. We don't really know their motives clearly for engineering a stay at Sir Richard's house through the excuse of being caught on such a foggy night. There is a dotty aunt in the person of Mrs Boscomb who has some funny lines to say. But the fooling Reggie might be a challenge for you to take as a character.

Suspense grows after we realize The Shadow is in Sir Richard's house and the killings look set to continue. This mystery should keep you guessing. I admit I did actually guess The Shadow's identity shortly before the reveal at the end after an hour of wondering. But I still reckon it's a fairly-well disguised whodunit for fans of the genre.

Dull Mystery

[view_and_review · 5/10 · 19 November 2023]

In 1994 The Shadow was a superhero who could cloud the minds of people so that they couldn't see him, only his shadow. In 1933 The Shadow was a criminal who kept hidden in the shadows so that he couldn't be identified.

"The Shadow" was a rather weak mystery that largely took place at the home of Sir Richard Bryant (Felix Aylmer), a chief, or some sort, of Scotland Yard. One of his men was closing in on The Shadow then The Shadow killed him.

Richard Bryant had a gathering at his home at a time that one of his men said he needed to be extra careful because The Shadow knew they had a bead on him. Sir Bryant was anything but careful, which bothered me. His guests consisted of his servants, his daughter, and a couple of family friends. That wasn't that big of a deal, but when two strangers wandered up to his doorstep he allowed them to stay because they were smartly dressed.

Doh!

The night was full of sneaking around by various people, strange behavior, and even gunshots. An inspector was killed right when he was about to give Sir Bryant the name of The Shadow. The inspector was killed by someone in the house and the residents couldn't have been more calm! I don't know if it's a British thing or what, but by the way they were behaving you never would've guess a gun was fired on the premises and you certainly wouldn't have guessed that someone was killed.

Shots were fired once again, and again people behaved like someone simply dropped a tray of dishes. It was like they were raised in Iraq.

To me the behavior was very atypical and out of place. Proper people are violently stirred by any mishap, so a gunshot should've had them all in a tizzy.

And even when they discovered The Shadow it was rather tame. The "clues" used to identify him were nothing special and even when he was fingered, again, everyone behaved casually.

If they're going to be that lazy with their murder mysteries and have tepid reactions to them, then I likewise am going to have a tepid reaction.

Free on YouTube.

The Shadow review

[JoeytheBrit · 6/10 · 18 April 2020]

In an old dark country house the police search for a killer known as The Shadow. A creaky old British drama starring stage revue artist Henry Kendall as the kind of bumbling upper class twit that must have been something of a cliche even in 1933. It's passable entertainment more because of its archaic attitudes ("As far as cunning is concerned, women... well you're all married," a police officer warns his colleagues at one point) than the quality of its plot. A young Felix Aylmer plays one of the suspects, and looks just like an old Felix Aylmer with dark hair.

Enjoyable British antique

[gridoon2024 · 6/10 · 12 February 2024]

Not THE Shadow (as in, the Lamont Cranston Shadow) but more of A Shadow - and this one is villainous. It is an enjoyable mystery that employs many of the clichès of the old-dark-house genre, but does it in a self-aware way (would you ever believe that someone is killed at the exact moment he is about to reveal the hidden identity of the Shadow?). Perhaps overly talky, but the mystery does sustain your interest. Henry Kendall steals the show as an intentionally stereotypical perfectly-jolly-old-chap-fellow - a direct precursor to Charters and Caldicott in "The Lady Vanishes" a few years later. **1/2 out of 4.

Who is the Shadow?

[Drcharles2059311 · 10/10 · 26 December 2020]

An old British Mystery movie that will keep the audience captivated right to the end, you will never guess the Shadows identity, the synopsis gives away a subtle twist to this mystery film.