Product: The Shadow Strikes (1937)
Rating: 2.0
Murder for Inheritance
The Shadow Strikes, 1937 filmThe movie begins with a man using a magnifying glass to examine a bullet. Can it be matched? Next two burglars open a safe, but are caught by "the Shadow". The police arrive in time. Randall gets a telephone call for help: a client wants a new will. Then a shot prevents the new will from being made! The police arrive, then newsmen. One nephew is arrested. Another man loses money at gambling. [Were the games rigged?] Carrying a pistol seems common. The story runs on. "Randall" escapes detection of his ruse. [No government identification in those days.] Randall sees the nephew at the gambling house. "Have you any suspicions?" Will newspapermen say anything to get their story? Then a shot comes from the library. Winsted was shot by Jasper (an heir removed leaves more for the rest).One heir becomes suspicious of "Randall" because of a problem with the telephone. The police are looking for "Randall" (who got a tip from a young lady). We see a very primitive device for listening to a conversation. The hear the plot to destroy the will so the heirs get an equal share (one has big gambling debts). But the Shadow prevents this. Marcia changes her mind. The listening device is discovered. "Follow that car." There is a conflict in Harris' office, and a surprise confession. The next day's newspaper headlines tell the story. A baffling case was solved. There is happy news for Marcia. Lamont Granston inspects the bullet left by that racketeer. That hat and cloak may be used again.So who shot Mr. Delthern? And Winsted Comstock? Was this edited out? The actors plod through this dull story, which is at best average. A better story makes a better movie. This story was adapted from Maxwell Grant's "The Ghost of the Manor" story published in the Street and Smith Shadow Magazine. It must have been one of those pulp magazines popular in the 1920s and 1930s. [A "shadow" was the name for any undercover operative who followed a person. "Stick to him like his shadow."]