The Shadow Strikes 1937 Movie Review Finale

THE BUTLER DID IT?!? AGAIN??? DAMMIT MOVIE!!!
Sigh. After dragging this story out for about 40 minutes? The remaining 20 is told in a series of fast cuts and fades.

So try to keep up because the great and brilliant Lamont Cranston’s plans are about to fall apart. Yet he’s the main character so… He still gets out of this ok.

Pa Bell sends a man to fix the mansion phones. Remember when the Shadow’s butler pulled the line? His “fix” was to stick it back in with chewing gum. Instant fail.

Captain is there to learn this. He goes right to the Attorney’s office, talks to the secretary, and finds out that she didn’t talk to Cranston after all. Suddenly they know he’s not the attorney.

The monster finds out his men were arrested. Again. This time for murder. He sends the mob lawyer to free them. They tell him about the murder spree going on at the mansion.

Our lovely niece refused to tell the Captain that she has a direct line to Lamont. She instead grabs him off the street to earn him that the cops know if his decepgion.

He won’t stop though. Determined to see this through to the end. We suddenly have a touching Alfred to Bruce talk between Lamont and his aide. And we find out something you might already know.

The Shadow was born to help Cranston solve the murder of his own father, a brilliant attorney. Well… Golden Age so everyone lost one of two parents before becoming a vigilante. That the Golden Age.

As opposed to the Rule34 Age, which involves the character’s mother… OWW!!… ??… Oh. Sorry. My Guardian Wolf wants me to shut up now… Anyway nobody likes the Rule34 Age. Right?

Our monster finally puts it all together, and the mischief going on at the mansion of the guy who owes him big. He decides to tempt fate, and the present killer already at the mansion, to steal the will.

Remember the re-written will? He figured if he sells it to the gambler he can get more than 11K from the transaction. Forgetting that the house is already stalked by a killer.

Doesn’t matter. The Shadow bugged his office. And he easily stops the gangsters attempt to steal the will. Suddenly realizing that the fix is in? The monster uncovers the bugging device in his office. If course. It’s about the size of a thick box of matches!

Suddenly the mobsters knows that he’s been in contact with The Shadow all this time. Probably because he did the drop in and visit one too many times. That makes sense. The rest? Not so much.

Suddenly the Niece no longer wants to marry her fiancee. He lets get go, and this leaves the butler with the wrong impression that she loves Cranston. Does she? Probably not.

So despite the fact both the butler and monster know him as the attorney? They both show up at the Cranston place! Butler first, then mobster. Cranston tricks them into shooting each other.

Since the mobsters knows Cranston is The Shafow? He probably died… So butler can stop holding a gun on a dead guy. Also? Suddenly everyone in this movie can shoot a gun and NOT kill anyone! Cop disarmed by crook in will theft attempt, and here.

So why did the butler kill two people? All so that his secret son… The guy trying to marry lovely niece only to be dumped… Would inherit money from his boss’s estate. Anyway that’s that.

Newspapers report that the crime is solved, and illegal gambling operations crash… After the probable death of the mobsters leading it all. Cranston meets the attorney he played as and explains everything off camera. He’s awfully chill about it.

The end. A disappointingly dry average murder mystery for the pulp hero icon The Shadow. Find slow for 40 minutes, then rushed to the end in the last 20. Not my cup of Golden Age. Pass.

Still I got cut for $3 from Amazon Prime. Maybe you might like it more than me? The choice is yours. Anyway it’s time to start April Madness off with the first Case Closed movie. The Bomb Something Skyscraper.

Oh joy. Another incident where Conan gets his John McClaine on. Like that Shop Hard incident at the high box shopping store in a previous review I did. Anyway that starts tomorrow. See you.

The Shadow Strikes 1937 Movie Review Part 4

It’s Come To The Point Honest Mob Henchmen Can’t Extort Without Stumbling Over Someone Else’s Murders!
So the job boss, in the end, might just be here to add Red Herrings to the hunt for the mansion murder… I mean murders. Now plural.

While The Shadow goes with the Captain to help him full out an affidavit on his present suspect? The butler stays behind to intercept any call incoming from the Attorney’s secretary.

Nothing happens. Butler meets The Shadow back at the Attorney’s office. Why? To return the affidavits they took earlier. The papers not being as useful as they thought they would be.

However they find that the Secretary keeps meticulous notes. Like the fact the mob boss her boss is investigating? Is trying to hide him for something. Switching roles into that of another attornry, The Shadow directly questions said boss.

While there he finds out what we already knew. One of the dead man’s nephews is in deep with the mob. To the tune of 11K (,in 1937 monry, far more in 2024 conversion money).

Deciding that he had enough of loaning money to the guy, the mob tells him to pay back tonight. The Shadow tries to talk reason to him as he and the butler drive him back to the mansion.

Strangely enough the mob sends two henchmen after them, to I guess rough him up for the money. However apparently they aren’t too wide as they’re walking into an active murder scene.

Our guy in debt, with the house crawling with police and departing need media, tried to get 11 thousand from the next heir to the estate after that previous guy’s death. But that’s a no go.

The monsters arrive and set up outside. Just in time it seems to maybe watch someone kill the next heir of the estate. Their response? Ditch their guns and run for it… Like the cops can’t just dust them for fingerprints and the them to the crooks.

But it doesn’t matter. Butler, having borrowed a shotgun from the mobsters car… Really? They locked the doors but left the windows side open? And an easy to access shotgun loaded for bear? Sheesh.

So they find our in debt guy with a gun, the same one proven earlier to have a missing bullet but didn’t kill anyone. He tried to threaten the now dead guy for money. That didn’t go well.

He’s brought in under suspicions of murder. As is the two mob guys… Wait! Weren’t they previously arrested after failing to steal the Attorney’s affidavits?!? They suck at their job!

So the head of the estate is dead. One person in the line of succession to inherit an estate and a buttload of 1937 era cash is dead. Suspects are few… Mostly family, and one would be fiancee.

So? As The Shadow leaves the revised will with the niece that the guy wanted disconnected if she married a certain guy, telling her to keep it safe, we are no closer to a resolution. But we do have more red herrings.

Also yeesh. For The Shadow this is kinda dull… I guess this kind of cinema was the height of excitement for a mature sophisticated audience. But kids would have been bored. Like me. Alec Baldwin Shadow this isnt.

Are we near a climax where the murderer stands revealed? And everything falls into place? That would be nice… Maybe… Oh well. We continue tomorrow. Then… Case Closed Movie #1. See you.

The Shadow Strikes 1937 Movie Review Part 3

When Replacing Well Known Attorneys Always Check To Make Sure His Staff Approves
We are halfway through the movie, and we know a few things. Like what The Shadow wanted at the office of the Attorney he is playing as. And a few more things.

The police catch the niece’s fiancee hanging about the estate. For some reason nobody (not even the fiance) tells them he just dropped her off… But then again? Why was he hanging about?

He’s brought in for questioning. At best he’s suspected, but there is not enough evidence to link him to the murder. Yet. Anyway everyone is cut loose, and The Shadow Returns home…

But first he gives the niece his number… Not as the lawyer, but he gives her Lamont Cranston’s number! Good thing she doesn’t have the common sense to check the phone book and match numbers.

So what did The Shadow want from the attorney? The Very same affidavits that, well, we find out a major crime boss wants. Uhh… Really? We are already… Oh wait!

This crime boss is a loan shark. I’m beginning to think he’s going to end up tied directly to the killer that The Shadow is trying to find. He does seem to do business with posh folk so… Yeah.

It’s all a case for Chekov’s hand phaser. If we see the crime boss that the Shadow took Affidavits looking for a connection to? Then that crime boss will be tied to the case The Shadow is involved in.

Anyway the happy rich folk find a gun in the mansion, and ponder if it’s tied to the murder. But instead of calling the police? The niece calls Lamont. He ends up calling the police.

One call to the police trying to find the Captain lands him info on the gun caliber used for the kill. Mainly the gun they found (a small derringer type gun) wasn’t the gun used. Wrong caliber.

When the Captain finally arrives? He’s pissed. Why? Turns out the Attorney’s staff came in to work today, and found their boss was deep in a murder mystery… While being out of state on vacation!

Oh. Yeah. The night of the murder? The press descended upon the mansion and reported everything. Including the attorney being present. Pure plot convenience, as most murder mysteries has the cops silence the press in situations like an active murder case.

But he’s there at the mansion with his faithful butler. So a little misdirection… Have the Captain call the office, then pretend to talk to the Secretary as your butler disconnects the phone. Great idea.

Or not. What’s to keep her from calling back or calling the police to complain? But we will see if this slight hiccup continues to give The Shadow issues in solving this murder.

So that’s the review tonight. I’m hip deep in fishing for Easter Eggs in Animal Crossing New Leaf… Yes. Fishing for Easter Eggs. Nobody ever said these holidays made sense. Anyway we will finish this movie and The Shadow Returns as we roll into April Madness.

What is the Madness this year? I’m thinking Things That Don’t Live Up To Our Expectations. Like these Golden Age The Shadow movies. But more on that tomorrow. See you.

The Shadow Strikes 1937 Movie Review Part 2

The Shadow-Knows What Evil Lurks In The Hearts Of Men… Still Botches Protecting The Rich Guy Though!
Sorry. If you were hoping for a Golden Age Superhero best down smack fest… Maybe I should have reviewed Flash Gordon.

This is turning into a whodunit murder mystery, underutilizing it’s golden age hero as the detective… Trying to stay ahead of the cops so he’s not arrested for being The Shadow.

So the Captain does leave, confident that the attorney is the attorney, and not The Shadow. Don’t worry… He will be back almost instantly. After Lamont fails to save his new client.

So what was the big emergency that this guy needed an attorney? Apparently any random attorney because he doesn’t seem to care that he never met him before.

He brought the attorney in to draft a last minute new Last Will & Testament. Litterly last minute, because they start dragging it right then and there. Luckily Lamont has legal paperwork training…?

So here’s thecreason why. This guy lives in his mansion with his nieces and nephews. All young…ish. All fairly good looking… And he is certain one is out to kill him.

Sure enough? Despite having his butler outside watching the front? Someone still sneaks up to outside the guy’s office. Opens the door… Only to realize his target is not alone. Then he shoots the guy in the middle of telling Lamont…

He wants his lovely niece written out of his will if she cares marry the guy he seemingly doesn’t approve of. Why? Dunno. He suffered an inexcusable case of death before he could explain.

Otherwise we find out the names of his kin. All the suspects of the murder. As well as seen the butler, murder mysteries famous scale host for mansion murders. And Lamont is… In a bind.

Despite being the one who knows Evil in men and all that? Both he and his butler fail to catch the shooter. Worse? Going back to retrieve the lawyer’s briefcase (containing his Shadow gear)? He ends up trapped in the manor. Added to the list of suspects.

As family rolls into the manor, and are added to the list of suspects, it looks like The Shadow is going to have to help the Captain solve this murder… Without appearing to be, well, The Shadow?

Wait. This is called The Shadow Strikes 1937, but after that one minute or so scene at the start? The Shadow has been kinda low ksy, disguised as Attorney Man. So… False advertising?

Oh joy. Another Shadow movie that’s going to turn into a slow plodding murder mystery. How… Whatever the opposite of fun is. Yum. Sigh. Tomorrow the investigation begins! Yay…

Hmm… I guess The Shadow can roll is into April Madness. As we end The Shadow Strikes 1937… And keep past WWII into 1946, and The Shadow Returns. Maybe to a more exciting movie! Yup.

Update – The Chinese Malaysian Bootleggers that shipped Case Closed Season 6-10 used a service I never heard of, and is horrible at tracking updates. It should be in soon though. Stay tuned.

Grand National (GN) The Shadow Strikes 1937 Movie Review Part 1

Who Wants To Play Lawyer!! Yes, You May Shriek Objection As Much As You Want!
So this is the legit Golden Age Shadow. Filmed by Grand National. This is a bit more interesting than The Shadow 1933. So yay us.

Lets see. A few notes tight off the bat. The Shadow has aide in the form of his trusty Butler Not Alfred… Wait a minute! Did Batman steal its butler from The Shadow?!?

Also yeah. Apparently The Shadow’s cab driver partner in the Alec Baldwin 90s version replaces Lamont’s faithful aide butler in this era. Weird… I like the cabbie better.

And yes. If we take it one step further? That cabbie might have inspired the cabbie that’s prominent in all Deadpool movies (2016-2024). As for that No More MCU connection…?

Uhh… Maybe that’s legit. Thing is… If this is actually in the MCU then why is Elektra from the Daredevil/Elektra Not Set In The MCU movies in the new Deadpool movie?? Also Cassandra Nova but that’s for another day…

The movie starts with Lamont wishing he had the solution for who killed a lawyer he admired. Hid father maybe? Hmm… Anyway his butler reminds him that he’s supposed to know what Evil lurks so…

Two men are looting an attorney’s office. Why? They need affidavits. So, what court case are they involved in that they need these affidavits?? How should I know! The Shadow stops them!

Thrill as the action commences. As The Shadow… Calls the local police house and waits for the cops to arrest the men. Thrilling. And no they don’t try to shoot their way out or escape.

Why was The Shadow here? He needs papers from that safe the men broke into. So he decides to play attorney, and talks with one suspicious police captain about him being at the robbery.

Maybe telling the captain that he called the police was a bad idea. As he called the Captain directly… And the Captain knew it was The Shadow. Huh? Why isn’t the police part of The Shadow’s network of informants?

Yeah… I don’t think that network exists in this era? Maybe it does but the Captain isn’t one of his allies? In any case he has his butler get the papers while he plays along with the Captain.

But this is a 60 minute movie… Not counting any possible lost footage due to the ravages of age… So we need a plot. And since he stopped the theft we need a new plot.

Inconveniently that plot decides to call up. It seems a rich person who knows the real attorney needs help. And it can’t wait for daylight or the actual attorney. Any help would do. Now.

No. I don’t know why the guy’s butler thought he’d reach the attorney at this hour. Let alone at his city office. Did he think the attorney lived in his office 24/7? Regardless, he got help… Unexpected help from The Shadow.

Because the Captain is still dead certain that the attorney is The Shadow? It looks like he’s going to go on an Adventure In Rich People Legal Problems. Client confidentiality be damned.

So they catch a convenient cab (yes they lock up the attorney’s safe on their way out, butler already getting the papers The Shadow needed), butler following them. Which leads to an unexpected Shadow Police Captain them up.

So… What was so important that this rich guy couldn’t call during business hours? Does this matter cross paths with The Shadow’s present investigaton? And will the Captain figure it all out? Guess we will find out tomorrow…

No no. I’m sure the Captain isn’t really Lamont’s uncle, as played in the Alec Baldwin movie by… Uhh… What’s his name? I forget. Anyway see you tomorrow. Same Shadow time…

TFS The Shadow 1933 Movie Review Finale

The Very Embodiment Of March Sadness… THIS ENDING!
Ok. Do I need to tell you that the obvious foppish Bayard was The Shadow all this time? Probably not, but I’ll say it anyway.

Technically this is the worse part of the movie. Several scenes are falling apart, they seemed to loop two silent stock reel footage (of an Inspector running to a door), and obvious scenes missing.

For instance when evidence is placed trying to implicate the Yard Chief? The scene ends abruptly mid scene. I’m just going to assume that it’s part of the missing six minutes of footage.

Given how low key and off the radar this movie is? It would take a literal act of God to have some restoration minded studio restore this, and either locate other copies of the original 1933 release…

Why? Well to splice in healthy footage from to replace damaged footage here. Either that or go the Classic Doctor Who route and, working from original scripts or the original play, recreate lost scenes in animation and voice alikes.

At this point I don’t think they’ll fully restore this movie without taking some liberties, and reshooting whole scenes in animation of well crafted CGI. But that requires a studio who actually gives a fan about restoring this movie!

Look. It’s not the best 30s era movie I’ve ever seen. It feels as if it was shot in the set of the original stage play, and everything just feels too obvious in terms of solutions. Almost.

As you are about to see there is ONE twist. Just the one. Anyway let’s get to it. I won’t bore you with play by play. Let’s get to the solution. By first cleaning away the red herrings.

It’s not Mr. Silverton and his wife. At one point he vanishes. Why? Because the plot said so. Supposedly he vanished over to a neighboring manor and looted it. Thinking best to rob a place not surrounded by cops.

But that was stupid. Because by now he must know they were trapped in the manor with The Shadow. His being missing was easily noticed. Which means cops were waiting for his return.

But he and the missus might get off the hook on all this. Why? Guess what! He’s a master safe cracker, and we need that safe opened to bring this movie to a close! So… Yeah.

Is it Jenny’s Fiancee? Despite keeping her and him separate so long? No. Red Herring. He proposes to her, gifts her a wedding ring… And 1933 Movie so no implied sex scene. Ok. Happy ending.

So if Mr. Silverton wasn’t running about needing the lights turned off to go upstairs earlier in the movie? And we find out if wasn’t The Shadow? Who was the other person haunting the house? It’s… A convicted criminal trying to escape the country.

Why is he at the manor of the Yard Chief? He had no choice. He needed help from the house butler, aka his father. Dad should be ok. They won’t arrest an old man for helping his son.

So our master safe cracker opens the safe. Jenny… who by the way finally told someone who The Shadow is a bit earlier. The new Inspector who ends up baiting the master criminal until they catch him. So…

Ok let’s not dally. It’s that foppish bastard who was so can obvious throughout he might as well cried IM NOT THE SHADOW every time you saw him… Which he kinda did but yeah. Asshole.

From what I can speculate? The full motive may be part of the list footage because the movie doesn’t explain much… But I’m pretty sure his blackmailing was all to get rich without trying… Almost.

He was in the ideal position to be The Shadow. An unassuming individual that nobody takes seriously. The movie beats that fact into you several times throughout. Kinda overdoing it actually.

Because he’s not seen as a threat? He’s in the ideal position to gather all the dirt he needs to blackmail for money. Especially since he was never really good at his day job as a writer. That and he knows the Yard Chief rather well.

So I’m the end it wasn’t revenge. A man against the power. No. It was an egotistical loathsome fop who did it because he’s smarter than the whole Yard. Not smart enough to earn an actual living from his specialty. But smart because he’s an asshole.

Movie ends with him telling the new Inspector See?? I told you you couldn’t catch The Shadow without me!!… Then the end card appears, saying The End. And someone in the audience vows to punch the original play’s playwright if they ever meet… Sigh.

And that is The Shadow. 1933 UK The World Stage Beckons Edition. It’s an ok movie. And yes, even if I didn’t like it as much as I hoped? I still want it fully restored. No movie left behind and all that.

Do I even need to say that today’s Sadness is the horribly obvious ending of this movie? No? Ok. Tomorrow we move to 1937. New York City… And, yes, the Classic Golden Age Shadow. Aka the Lamont Cranston version.

Some guys pop in to rob from the office of an attorney, but they tangle with The Shadow. The cops arrive, forcing The Shadow to assume the identity of the attorney to avoid capture. Sounds simple, but we will see how this plays out. Tomorrow. See you.

TFS The Shadow 1933 Movie Review Part 3

Who’s Ready To Be Misdirected!
Sigh. From this point forward the name of the game seems to be misdirection. To steer you away from the one who is The Shadow. Ugh. Its going to be the foppish book writer isn’t it!

Why bring in a Bonnie & Clyde criminal duo? Because the male has a gun. And your supposed to figure out who shot who. Was it The Shadow? Or was it Mr. Silverton the con artist?

If he’s there to rob the place why start shooting? He overheard that the Inspector who talked to the Yard Chief is coming over. His own overtly active imagination fills in the blanks.

Despite the fact the newspapers this crook reads on the regular bas the Chief pursuing The Shadow? He thinks the Inspector is coming for him. So… Kill him before he’s found out and arrested.

That’s the idea your supposed to have. But with the guy listening in as the Inspector and Chief talks? Its clear that they’re after The Shadow. Odds are he slinks away to hide, as The Shadow shows up… Hmm…

No. He and the wife can’t just flee. Inspector informs us he did as I thought, bought men to cordon off the house. Keep people from escaping. Knowing fully well that The Shadow is in the house. Nope. Don’t know how they’ll keep him from escaping in the fog.

Is it too painfully obvious that Elliot (the foppish writer) is always elsewhere when The Shadow appears? Also I! Noticing this was all filmed as if they just used the giant stage play sets to film the movie. Why not. Its a common thing these days.

Of course then they would have called this The Shadow Live if they named it then like they name Broadway shows filmed for theaters or direct to Digital/DVD now.Anyway Inspector shot.

Inspector dies just when he was going to say who The Shadow is. He dies. But he gave the vital locket over to the Chief. Anyway its time yo kill time watching Elliot be an asshole thinking he can do the cops jobs better than them.

Is this all to prove he’s not The Shadow? Or kill time and pad out the play? In either case watch it all if you think these scenes will reveal vital clues. They probably do. I skipped them after awhile.

Remember Jenny? Who may know who The Shadow is? She asks her father (The Chief) to see the locket. Suddenly he conveniently lost the key to the safe… Or did he lose it?

Earlier we had The Shadow sneak by Jenny in the dark. Did he pickpocket the key in his guise as whoever? Elliot maybe? And retrieve the locket? Maybe?

The whole missing key thing leads to the Yard blokes in the house (fresh Inspector sent for the other guy’s murder and Chief) being fired upon by an unknown attacker from upstairs. Where The Shadow was last heading according to scene progression.

Again we have to decide if this is The Shadow, or Mr. Silverton. Except… Again, why him? He already knows the place is surrounded. He’s not going to add a death sentence to his crimes.

Once again Elliot is absent at a critical Shadow appearance. Silverton is absent. And Jenny is close to revealing who The Shadow is… So will this movie get on with it? Maybe tomorrow. Sigh. See you then.

TFS The Shadow 1933 Movie Review Part 2

NO ONE SHALL BE ADMITTED DURING THE POURING OF THE TEA SCENE!!
And no. That’s not a euphemism for sex. This is a 1930s UK Suspense movie! SOMEBODY HAS TO POUR THE TEA DAMMIT!! Double bonus of its Earl Grey, Hot. Poured by a guy named Picard!

Suddenly the simple countryside manor reveal of The Shadow starts to become more and more complicated. As you begin to notice possible spots where the damaged footage was cut away.

Brief recap. This is not the Lamont Cranston Shadow. Instead this is based on a live stage play of the same name, about a blackmailer murderer called The Shadow.

Though has he killed yet? Technically he killed Inspector Jeffrey at the start. Except he might get live, having uncovered the Shadow’s identity. But he won’t be lonely if he’s dead. More will soon die.

Why? Because it seems claiming hold of that one piece of evidence suddenly means people known who the Shadow is! But that’s not complicated enough! It gets worse!

But let’s kill time. Time killed with a foppish British writer, who hits on his pretty friend (a music composer) named Jenny… Writer… Music Composer…oh fuck! Is this going to end like Mousetrap? Where they survive and write all this into a popular play?!?

Wait. So your telling me Mousetrap might have been inspired by this under the radar British play which went on to become an under the radar British movie?!? Why!!

Main master of the house Chief Guy, and old lady who seems frisker than anyone is comfortable with… She likes British Constables!… Even though the head of the house leads Scotland Yard Detectives… How so? I think she wants to be locked in a room with them and given the nightstick… Yes I’m horrible. What of it.

Ok. Past the long attempt for Mr. Writer to propose marriage to Jenny. Shot down because Jenny is engaged to marry maybe The Shadow. And past the tea pouring, followed by the tea drinking!!

Ok let’s get to it. The nifty gritty. We find out what kind of special locker it is they got from Jeffrey’s maybe dead hand. A locket that is… A clenched fist… Huh? The sign of the BRPD?!? Young John Hurt was The Shadow before finding Hellboy in WWII?!?

Hearing this description freaks out Jenny. I’m assuming it’s because that little trinket belongs to her absent fiance. Meanwhile our Inspector back in London calls, but the phone lines are cut by The Shadow. Whose already at the manor.

Before he can cut the lines completely, we learn that the Inspector is coming. As he has discovered the identity of The Shadow. And, like that dude for cancer he found last week? And those cryptic warnings from the future about a young German named Hitler? HE PROBABLY TELLS NO ONE!!

No seriously what kind of carnival side show is Scotland Yard in this movie?!? The minute he learned the identity? He’s supposed to go back to the Yard, harass a judge, and get warrants and a large force together to arrest the guy! Not this movie I bet!

But why stop there? The Shadow is here. Inspector is coming with his identity. Jenny knows his identity. Enter a pair of unknowing con artists, a husband/wife duo playing as siblings. They’re here to rob the place, unaware of the madness they walked into.

And so this carnival of would be victims and one Shadow has been gathered. Why is the Shadow here? Is he really going to carry through with the blackmail attempt he was given those letters on? Despite the fact a Yard cop have it to him?? Is he really that dumb??

Sigh. Guess next time we will find out why the Shadow decided to arrive at the obvious gathering in the woods. See who he tries to blackmail… And see how the unexpected addition of com artists to the mix affects his plans.

The stage is set. Let the drama commence. Tomorrow. See you then everyone. Oh. Yes. After this? The Shadow Strikes 1937. Which actually stars Lamont Cranston aka The Shadow. Promise.

Twickenham Film Studio (TFS) The Shadow 2933 Movie Review Part 1

The Shadow? There Is Another… Skywal… I Mean Shadow!
Excuse me. Anyway yes. There is more than one Shadow. In this case Twickenham Film Studio’s The Shadow. UK film based on… The Shadow. A UK stage play by Gerard Verner (pen alias Donald Stuart).

Released by a classic movie group called Film Hub, you have a feeling that Film Hub… Just did all this for cheap easy money. Why? Because they didn’t bother spending any money on film restoration! That’s why!

And no. Telling me they wanted it yo feel authentic won’t cut it. They wanted it yo feel authentic they would have restored the film to visually look like how it was released in 1933!!

Worse yet, this version sold by Amazon Prime? 70 minutes. While this means you are watching the original uncut version? (The United States 1933 release was edited down to 64 minutes) It also means 6 minutes of the original version is lost!

…eh… No. Six minutes of decayed in restored footage is not enough to stick the whole of this movie into Lost Media Resistance over at Facebook. Its just poor restoration work.

But, alternatively, Im guessing this is the best copy found. This is a over 90 year old film reel we are talking about here. And remember, proper authentic film archiving and storage won’t be invented until the 60s thanks to Desilu Productions!

So yes. This is The Shadow. But the source material is a London West End stage play about a blackmailer named The Shadow. Not the crime fighting vigilante The Shadow. Heck, if the movie ends with The Shadow being defeated by The Shadow? Meta!!

So keep its stage play history in mind as we roll into London 1933, and The Shadow. The movie opens with The Shadow, A rather posh arrogant sounding guy, blackmailing the London District Attorney.

He might be a criminal, but he wouldn’t be here unless the targets he’s after had some dark skeletons in their black and white closets. What is it exactly this district attorney has? Whatever it is means prison time if his secrets are revealed.

Unable to come up with the 10K British Pound that The Shadow wants, he decides to commit suicide… Which is exactly the way we see past victims of The Shadow have ended their lives. Blackmailed into suicide.

So… Either The Shadow is the UKs worst blackmailer? Or he has a hidden vendetta past the supposed monetary gains by blackmail. After all… You can’t get blackmail from dead people!

Enter… Then quickly exit Scotland Yard Inspector… Jeffrey? He does seemingly fast so who cares. Before committing suicide, the DA called in to Scotland Yard. Reporting that he was visited by The Shadow… But not why he was visited.

Once he was dead? They found the blackmail note. They might have even deduced why he wad blackmailed. But we don’t find out anymore about his blackmail. The movie is moving on.

Despite hid superior’s warnings, our Inspector decides to try and entrap The Shadow. How? For the past so many weeks he’s been milling about the dark underbelly of London, under the guise of an information peddler.

Turns out he’s struck gold. He was approached by The Shadow for info he has. Letters implicating a rich woman of having an extramarital affair. However he decides to arrest him alone.

Under said Info peddler guise, he goes to a remote location and sells The Shadow the info for 200 Pounds. Then… He makes the mistake of trying to arrest him. Revealing his identity only to himself. Which… Shocks him.

Who is The Shadow? I’m guessing he’s a rich influential individual with an axe to grind against the six men he blackmailed to death in the past eight months. Why? Only the movie kbows… For now.

They end up fighting (all in the shadows), and the Inspector is shot dead. But not before wrenching a vital clue as to The Shadow’s identity off of him. A piece of jewelry that might be a family crest or indicate his motive for killing these powerful men.

It doesn’t take long for Scotland Yard to recover the body of their fallen comrade, and that sends the whole Yard into a tailspin. Only this time, after the death of one of their own, they have a lead.

As one of the Inspectors who worked on the case the longest hunts down clues to the one piece of evidence that cost an Inspector his life? We find out that the head of Scotland Yard… Is suddenly a potential next target.

Why? Well its the weekend. His posh estate is filling up with potential suspects as The Shadow (all people that said head knows as family or close friends). And we seem to be focusing on his mild House Party over the weekend.

You think we would follow the Inspector as he chases The Shadow. Nope. Looks like the Shadow has been working his way through the powerful of 1933 London. With the head of the Yard being his next victim? Maybe?

So we start the trip to Evil Mirror Universe Downton Abbey Estate by listening to a posh guest complain about how the UK is so foggy! Really! Next he’ll complain about how Egypt is sandy!!

So which one of these guests is The Shadow? What is the significance of the item that cost that Inspector his life? Who is the target st this remote manor? And why all this blackmail?

These are the questions we will slowly unpack from our British Steamer Trunk as we continue with The Shadow. Tomorrow. See you.

Disney’s TRON 1982 Movie Review Finale

There’s A Party Going On In The Central Server! Guess Who Died!
This is it. The end. As such Flynn admits to TRON & YORI that he’s a USER. Then ruins TRONs perception of USERS, showing him they are as callable as programs.

Also I guess Flynn loves Lara, supposedly she loves Flynn as she called him sweetheart at movie start. But YORI loves TRON. Weird. Anyway as SARK tortures Dumont (the tower guardian? Action!

As I thought. Having a Solar Sail powered by an easily followed power beam? Soon they end up in a trap situation. A power surge delaying them, as Recignizers try to delete them.

Anyway Flynn defies the odds by diverting the power beam they’re on, allowing the ship to switch to another beam. The feedback surge smashing the pursuing Recognizers… Despite the fact we saw them free flying earlier in the pursuit.

Why they couldn’t just dodge the power surge who knows. Anyway they reach the central server. But wouldn’t you know it. Server travel is way faster if you have Admin access to direct download to the server! Like SARKs command ship.

The Solar Sail is destroyed, and Flynn & YORI are captured. But the Conjunction… Which I guess is a server maintenance…is happening. Everyone has to abandon ship. The server is going to dismantle the command ship.

Flynn saves YORI by recharging her. With the ship coming undone, YORI reprogram the ship’s bridge systems to isolate the bridge. Allowing it and it’s two inhabitants to survive.

The ship? Still controllable from the bridge. Now a wire frame conceptual model of its former self. Important for a few minutes from now.

They have arrived at the MCPs central “temple”. His plans now under way. During the server maintenance, the MCP will absorb all the programs written by his probable creators. Becoming sentient enough to overtake the inferior worldwide computer net.

But TRON is still alive, and arrives at the temple in order to fight SARK. This may be a short fight, but it’s awesome. Especially all the defense counters by TRON as SARKs disc pummeled him.

He kills DARK by splitting his head open, breaking his disc. With no more defense programs left, and SARK down, the MAP must resort to desperate measures.

I’m order to stop TRON from destroying him, he imparts all his higher order functions to SARK. Turning him into a MCP like program in his own right. Aka a Titan class opponent.

But remember that YORI can still control the command ship? Flynn has her pilot the bridge next to the MCP light pillar. His plan is to jump in. He and YORI kiss, with neaning, and he jumps in. Which is basically the end of the MCP.

His systems already spread thin, between himself and SARK, having the hyper complex coding that is the Human Genome shoved into his already frayed systems causes a system crash. In those vital moments TRON severs the MCP from the server, killing him.

Flynn is sent back to the human world. His complex DNA coding rejected by the deleting MCP. SARK dies, TRON & YORI kiss, and the whole system is set free from the MCP. Somewhere in this universe? The future CHATGFX system swears revenge for the MCPs defeat.

Flynn is returned to ENCOM. But it’s the end of Dillinger… And salvation for China. With the MCP terminated, it’s plans to invade China’s infrastructure systems is thwarted. Also Dillinger’s secret is revealed.

Short story short. Bollinger is removed as CEO, Flynn (the true creator of Space Paranoids) is now the new CEO… And we never find out if Lara loves Flynn or TRON… I mean Alan.

And that’s it. Mind you if this movie was a success? We would have had more movies, and TRON and YORIs story would have continued. But nope. Not even Kingdom Hearts 2 does that. It’s kinda just a pale retread of this movie.

And that is my sadness today. I love this movie, but it was wasted potential. I kept wanting a sequel, and nothing happened. For 28 years… Until the Age of Universe Building. And TRON LEGACY. Sigh. Still… I wish more was done with TRON in the past.

But we can’t go backwards… Well… We can in review format but that’s it. Anyway before we end the year I’ll sit and review TRON LEGACY 2010. If not this year, then next March Sadness.

But we have a week left to Match Sadness. Where to next? I’ll let it brew and roll about in my head. Like a furry cat unexpectedly rolling down the stairs by accident. Stay tuned.