The Shadow Returns (1946)

I love this movie so much

Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

It's rather odd that the Shadow films weren't all that good. The Shadow was a very popular character on the radio and in magazines yet the film versions of the character were, for the most part, a big failure. You would have expected more films in the series as well as better films but this is not the case--they are often pretty limp mystery stories. "The Shadow Returns" is yet another attempt to re-introduce the character--and this time Kane Richmond stars as Lamont Cranston/The Shadow. Richond was the most successful of the actors who played him, but this was only for three poor to mediocre films.If you are unaware of The Shadow, Lamont Cranston supposedly learned some amazing hypnotic techniques in 'the East' that allow him to cloud the minds of people. He can either seem invisible or make people confess to their crimes. However, oddly, this incarnation of the character hides a lot and doesn't use his cool skills to get to the heart of matters. In many ways, he's not a lot different from The Saint or Charlie Chan--other than his cool voice and great wardrobe! The story is an odd one. As the mystery unravels, each time the police or The Shadow try to question a suspect, the suspect throws himself off the balcony to their death! Soon Cranston realizes that someone else has Shadow-like powers and they are making people kill themselves rather than confess. BUT, and this annoyed me, no one thought about just interviewing people on the first floor!!! Or, taking them into custody and handcuffing the suspects to the cops so they cannot jump. Or, handcuffing them to a heavy table or knocking them out first! Duh.An even bigger duh is Cranston's man-servant, Shevvie. Shevvie might just be the most annoying and stupid sidekick ever. Heck, he makes Birmingham Brown (Mantan Moreland) from the Charlie Chan flicks seem like a rocket scientist by comparison! Shevvie just talks and talks and talks and cannot seem to shut his yap and most every minute he's on the film seems to last an eternity. So, while Kane Richmond didn't do a bad job, Shevvie (as well as Cranston's fiancée) were too annoying and steal all the focus of the film.To make things worse, some of the story elements are just plain dumb--such as Mr. Yeoman (who OBVIOUSLY is wearing a disguise) and the use of the whip near the end of the picture. All in all, the film's dumb writing and bad writing make you wonder why anyone would have approved of making two more films in this incarnation!

Lamont Cranston and Margo Lane have sneaked into a darkened office. Lamont puts his ear to the safe dial but fears that it's too old and rusty for him to crack. Margo suggests that perhaps it's not locked, if it's such an old safe, which comment prompts a dirty look from Lamont. Undeterred, she reaches past him, turns the handle, and... bingo! opens the safe. With a sweet smirk, Margo then neatly sums up everything you need to know about this film: "Not a profound piece of deduction, but...cute, don't you think?" Well, Lamont Cranston is not particularly impressed, and for all I know neither will true fans of the Shadow be amused. But...that's about what we get from this movie. I suspect that my own minimal knowledge of the Shadow and his various incarnations only increased my capacity for enjoying this film. And enjoy it I did--while it's no great shakes, it's fast moving, has some humor, and has enough plot to at least carry the jokes and various relationships."Enough plot," I say--which I guess really isn't much, since it struck me during the final suspect-gathering scene that I really barely recognized any of the roomful of suspects. However, Lamont knew them all, and he pointed the inspector in the right direction, and he also maintained the secret of his other identity. And importantly: Kane Richmond does make it all look like fun.

The Monogram series is usually panned and rightfully so, but it is not without some interesting pieces. The change in characterization of Lamont and Margo is somewhat shocking. From the all business approach of the radio serials, we now have the couple engaged to be married and trading wise cracks. This Thin Man/Nick & Nora Charles approach falls somewhat flat as writer George Callahan is no Dashiell Hammett. Shrevvy is a comic character with little intelligence. Burbank operates a detective agency and opens the films giving The Shadow a tip about a possible crime. I would have liked to have seen more of his character as the interpretation is very straight, without comedy, but he has a very minor part in the Monogram series.The mystery elements of the film are pure George Callahan. As in his Charlie Chan screenplays, the actually mystery is not important. Callahan's screenplays contain wacky gadgets and fun settings, but the mystery is an after thought and not played on the square. Here, a businessman has smuggled jewels into the country in a casket. Crooks gather at his estate to buy the jewels. Before a sale can be made the police and The Shadow arrive on the scene. Right before their eyes, the businessman jumps from a balcony to his death. The Shadow knows the man did not jump, but was murdered. Now he sets out to learn how he was murdered and by whom? Of note, the filmmakers decided to show The Shadow as a shadow on the wall. He is never seen in costume, only as the shadow. This works well for me. The largest detriment to the series is the abundance of comedy. Add to that Shrevvy's characterization which is very poor and hurts the film because he is in it so much.

Of all the heroes and superheros of the thirties and forties, the shadow is the most intriguing. In his (Orson Welles-created) radio incarnation, he had a strange superpower. He could be invisible and apparently enter and leave any room effortlessly. On the radio, this was a great effect because of course we listeners couldn't see anything at all. So when one of the characters couldn't see another, it was a sort of narrative fold that drew us in.Another device was a sort of demonic laugh, a sort of devilish celebration of justice.How to transport that to cinema? The 1994 version was something of a miracle, one of the best designed movies ever. In that interpretation, the girl was decorous, the bad guy evil and the shadow genuinely invisible as well as having other superpowers.This one is horrible in all ways except for the effort put into the comedy. The mystery isn't, though it has an interesting device, more improbable than most.Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.