The Shadow

Plot synopsis:
In Tibet, following the First World War, an American named Lamont Cranston (Alec Baldwin), succumbing to his dark instincts, sets himself up as a warlord and opium kingpin under the alias of Yin-Ko (Mandarin Chinese for "Dark Eagle"). He is abducted by servants of the Tulku (Brady Tsurutani, voiced by Barry Dennen), a holy man who exhibits otherworldly powers and knows Cranston's identity. He offers Cranston a chance to redeem himself and become a force for good. Cranston refuses but is silenced by the Phurba (Frank Welker), a mystical sentient flying dagger. Ultimately, Cranston remains under the tutelage of the Tulku for seven years. In addition to undergoing rigorous physical training, he learns how to hypnotize others, read their minds, and bend their perceptions so that he cannot be seen—except, of course, for his shadow.
Returning to New York City, Cranston resumes his former life as a wealthy playboy. He secretly operates as The Shadow, a vigilante who terrorizes the city's underworld. He recruits some of the people he saves from criminals to act as his agents, providing him with information and specialist knowledge. Cranston's secret identity is endangered upon meeting Margo Lane (Penelope Ann Miller), a socialite who is also telepathic.
Shiwan Khan (John Lone), the Tulku's rogue protégé and murderer whose powers apparently surpass Cranston's, wakes up while in a sarcophagus that once contained his ancestor - the Mongol Empire founder Genghis Khan. He uses hypnosis to make a security guard (Ethan Phillips) shoot himself in the head after the guard refuses to join Khan's army. Khan plans to fulfill his ancestor's goal of world domination. He offers Cranston an alliance, but Cranston refuses. Cranston acquires a rare coin from Khan and learns that it is made of a metal called "bronzium" (an impure form of uranium) that theoretically can generate an atomic explosion. He learns that Margo's father Reinhardt (Ian McKellen), a scientist who works on building an atomic device for the Department of War, has disappeared, and realizes that Khan needs Reinhardt and his invention to build an atomic bomb.
Shiwan Khan hypnotizes Margo and commands her to kill the Shadow. She goes to Cranston's home, but Cranston breaks his hold on her. She realizes that since she was ordered to kill the Shadow and she instinctively went to Cranston's home, that he is the Shadow. Cranston prepares to rescue Margo's father but is thwarted by Khan's henchmen, especially when Reinhardt's assistant Farley Claymore (Tim Curry) allies with Khan. The Shadow discovers the location of Khan's hideout, the luxurious Hotel Monolith, a building in the middle of the city that Khan has rendered invisible. Knowing Reinhardt has completed the bomb under Khan's hypnotic control, The Shadow enters the hotel for a final showdown with Khan.
The Shadow fights his way through the building, and hypnotically influences Claymore to jump from a balcony to his death to prevent him from building another bomb. He finds Khan, but is subdued by the Phurba. The Shadow realizes that only a peaceful mind can truly control the Phurba and he seizes command of the dagger. The Shadow launches it into Khan's torso, creating a lapse in Khan's hypnotic control that frees Reinhardt and restores the hotel's visibility. The Shadow pursues Khan into the bowels of the building, while Margo and Reinhardt disarm the bomb. The Shadow defeats Khan by telekinetically hurling a shard of mirror into a frontal lobe of Khan's skull.
A confused Khan wakes up in a padded cell in a mental hospital, discovering that his powers are now gone. One of the doctors — also an agent of The Shadow — tells Khan that they were able to save his life by removing a part of his brain "that nobody uses", which in reality controlled his psychic abilities. Cranston and Margo begin a serious relationship and join forces to fight crime.

Tags: murder

Review:
On a Foggy Night, a Murderer Lurks.
A black mailer known only as The Shadow is terrorizing the rich in England.
If you don't pay him he'll ruin you or worse.
When a police detective on his trail is killed he leaves behind clue.
Things come to a head as suspects and uninvited guests end up at the home of the Chief Inspector of the police on a fog shrouded night.This is an entertaining mystery from England that could complete nicely with many of the programmers that the American Studios were churning out.
Granted one should not look at it too closely since the film doesn't play fair or logically, but one should look at it simply because it's a great way to spend a dark and stormy night..
For what it is, it's pretty good..
Despite this film coming out in 1933 when the Shadow was a popular pulp character, this movie has nothing to do with this American character that fights crime.
Instead, the Shadow in this British film is a scum-bag that is an expert at blackmail as well as murder--and Scotland Yard is at a loss for how to stop him or as to his identity.
The film has a few things going for it--though the middle portion of the film is a bit slow and a couple of the characters are too broadly written--especially that awful old woman who cries way too intently!
Overall, however, it is better than you'd expect for a low-budget mystery film.
I've seen an awful lot of films similar to this one but "The Shadow" is a bit better--thanks to some interesting plot twists and a great first portion.
Worth seeing if you like old-time B-movies, like I do..
A Dark And Foggy Night.
The old cliché is 'a dark and stormy night', but here there is no storm - just fog.
And old clichés are the order of the day in "The Shadow", a creaky antique that is really fun and absorbing in spite of itself.
Motion pictures became far too sophisticated and technological for this one, unless you yearn for a time when movies, and life, were simpler.The Shadow is one bad dude, a blackmailer Scotland Yard has been trying to nab for some time.
He is responsible for some suicides and murders, and finally shows up at the home of the Chief Inspector, along with various and sundry guests and visitors (this, of course, creates a lot of suspects).
This story was based on a play, and something must have been lost in the translation because, as reviewer dburroughs above states, there is very little logic and a great deal of contrivance involved.Nevertheless, it is very enjoyable if you just go with it and don't ask questions.
And Henry Kendall, who plays a silly-ass Englishman/friend of the family, is worth the price of admission..
Take a 'thriller' instead of a sleeping pill....
This VERY British 'thriller', in the worst meaning of the word, is honestly one of the most BORING movies I've ever seen.
The 'atmosphere' for the meager plot consists merely of some known ingredients for a good murder mystery, like an old house, a foggy night, and a mysterious masked man called 'The Shadow', a notorious blackmailer who's driven quite some prominent people to suicide for the most ridiculous reasons of 'honor' and 'fear of scandal'.Those who manage to sit through the whole film (and its running time is only 70 minutes, anyway!) without falling asleep, will witness some very poor attempts to bring in some humor, and even poorer attempts to bring in some kind of action or suspense; the acting is awful (even by Elizabeth Allan, who a year later would deliver a wonderful performance in "Mark of the Vampire"), the direction as stiff as the dialogs...
And to imagine that at the very same time, in the very same country, the great Alfred Hitchcock was already developing a new kind of thriller that would make even American audiences shudder...!.
"A woman can shoot as well as a man".
The mysterious Shadow is a blackmailer and murderer being pursued by Scotland Yard.
His capture eventually happens in the manor house of Sir Richard Bryant, head of the Yard after a few plot complications involving two burglars, the butler's son and various policemen.
It is mainly set in the manor house but it is a good studio set with dark corners and lots of shadows.
Not really thrilling but a not a bad movie though the identity of The Shadow is easy to spot early on.In an early role is the magisterial Felix Aylmer as Sir Richard.
Elizabeth Allan adds glamour as his daughter Sonia.
Stealing the film is Henry Kendall as the bumbling Reggie Ogden, when he is pulling faces or babbling away silly nonsense he is quite entertaining..
His marriage proposal to the daughter is hilarious.
So a film strong on character but not on plot.