Season 3, Episode 3 - THE SHADOW (Film Serial) & THE LONE TIGER

 

The Shadowcast · The Shadowcast 21 - The Shadow 1940 Serial

 

 

 

"Me? The Shadow? 
Why, Vincent... The Shadow doesn't exist."

—Lamont Cranston

(The Shadow Serial, 1940)

Veda Ann Borg (Margot Lane), Jack Ingram (Flint) and Victor Jory (The Shadow)

Reputed to be the most faithful film adaptation of the pulp incarnation of The Shadow, today's episode reviews the entire series in FULL! In the early '40s, Columbia were still cutting their teeth on episodic Serials, overspending on properties like Shadow imitator, THE SPIDER, and losing money as a result.

 

By 1939, the new head of Columbia Serials had a fresh idea:
Spend less money on the serial itself... and more money on a popular license!

And so, to kick off the 1940 Serial season, THE SHADOW (1940) hit American theaters. 

A massive success, and one that features perhaps more direct elements of Gibson's original Shadow stories

than any other adaptation to date!

 

But it didn't come from a vacuum... 

 

The Agents of The Shadow pose for the cover of 'The Lone Tiger' (1939)
 

 Like 'The Shadow Strikes' before it, 'The Shadow' (1940) drew explicit inspiration from The Walter B. Gibson pulp novels: Namely, the trio of 'The Lone Tiger', 'The Silver Skull', and 'The Green Hoods'!

But The Shadowcast has noted similarities between this serial and at least one other story in The Shadow's late-'30s pantheon! Find out which one it is in our full review of this action-packed pulp classic!

 

Artwork by Edd Cartier
 

...REPORT!

Season 3 PREMIERE - The Shadow (1994) Film!

 

 

"I saved your life, Roy Tam... it now belongs to me."

—The Shadow
(The Shadow [1994] - Universal Pictures)

 

The theme of season 3 of The Shadowcast is "The Shadow on Film",
to some outward appearances, perhaps not the richest vein of
source material, but as eagle-eyed agents of the Shadowcast are
well aware, The Shadow was fortunate enough to be the subject
of no fewer than six feature films—and one film serial—by the time
Universal at last produced the 1994 film, starring Alec Baldwin. 

 

Alec Baldwin as Lamont Cranston 

 

In today's episode, we review this cult film in detail, from the plot to
the cinematography to the costumes, and discuss the troubled circumstances
of its star-crossed birth. In retrospect, it's something of a miracle the film was
released at all. Yet for its multifarious flaws, The Shadow (1994) remains the

introductory media for many a longtime Shadow fan (your intrepid host included).

 

 

The Shadow (Movie Adaptation) artwork by Mike Kaluta 

 

Yet perhaps the most fascinating peculiarity of The Shadow (1994)'s release
are the many and varied versions of its script (as will tend to occur, when a movie
takes over a decade to produce!) none rendered more beautifully than Dark Horse
Comics' 1994 film adaptation, written and illustrated by longtime Shadow luminary,
Michael W.M. Kaluta!

How does it differ from the final product?
Is there a proper pulp film adaptation of The Shadow hiding in plain sight all these years?
Listen and learn, fellow agents!

Report!