The Shadow Strikes is a Shadow movie that was released on October 29, 1937 and starred Rod La Rocque as Lamont Cranston/The Shadow. The movie is based on the pulp story "Ghost of the Manor" that published on June 15, 1933 (it was the 32nd Shadow magazine published). The Shadow Strikes was the very first Shadow movie made.
Rod La Rocque stars as Lamont Cranston/The Shadow. In the film, Cranston is an attorney and amateur criminologist. This Lamont Cranston has more in common with the radio version of The Shadow than the version from the pulps (Note: The Shadow radio show first aired on September 26, 1937, approximately 4 weeks before the movie premiered.). We only see Cranston sneaking about as The Shadow a few times in the movie, and each time he is wearing a black cloak and short brimmed fedora - nothing like the cloak and slouch hat from the pulps. There are no agents, no sanctum and no disguises! But this Shadow does pack an automatic.
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| The Shadow |
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| Rod La Rocque |
I don't want to write extensively about the film, so here is a brief summary from IMDb: "Lamont Cranston assumes his secret identity as "The Shadow", to break up an attempted robbery at an attorney's office. When the police search the scene, Cranston must assume the identity of the attorney. Before he can leave, a phone call summons the attorney to the home of Delthern, a wealthy client, who wants a new will drawn up. As Cranston meets with him, Delthern is suddenly shot, and Cranston is quickly caught up in a new mystery."
Here are some of my observations and notes on the film:
- Lamont Cranston's father was a famous attorney who was murdered and Cranston is working to find the murderer (although this storyline does not play a part in the film).
- Cranston assumes the identify of attorney Chester Randall but there are no disguises, etc.
- At the end of the movie, Cranston explains what happened to the real Chester Randall.
- Cranston and his butler/chauffeur use some type of a radio device to listen in on the owner of a gambling joint.
The first time I watched this movie, I couldn't stand it and turned it off after five or ten minutes. I watched it again recently and found it was a bit more bearable. I personally don't care for the movie and am curious how well it did at the box office and how well it was received by Shadow fans.
Another interesting note is how the movie makes the Lamont Cranston character more like the radio character than The Shadow of the pulps. Although the movie came out a month after the radio show premiered, it may have been in production and may have been influenced by the radio show. That's my conjecture but I have no solid proof of it!
The Shadow Strikes was followed up a year later with Rod La Rocque once again playing Lamont Cranston in the film, International Crime. Fans of The Shadow may enjoy watching this film, but if you are looking for a movie that is like The Shadow of the pulps, then this isn't the movie for you. I really tried hard to like this move, but I just couldn't. If you haven't watched this movie you can find it on DVD and on streaming services such as Amazon. While it's not a great Shadow movie (in my opinion) it is the first Shadow movie made and was an attempt to bring the character to the silver screen!
