THE SHADOW (1940)

Victor Jory as the Shadow

THE SHADOW (15 chapter Columbia serial/1940). Director: James W. Horne.

Criminologist Lamont Cranston (Victor Jory), who also masquerades as the underworld scourge the Shadow -- as well as Lin Chang, who owns a shop and is acquainted with many criminals -- is in a war with a mysterious figure known as the Black Tiger. Commissioner Weston (Frank LaRue), does not suspect Cranston of being the Shadow, but he's convinced that the Shadow and the Tiger are one and the same and is constantly trying to capture the former. The Black Tiger, who can make himself invisible, is one of a group of industrialists who are being targeted by the fiendish villain, who doesn't care how many lives are destroyed to achieve his goals.

Victor Jory as Lamont Cranston

Unlike in the terrible Rod La Rocque Shadow features, the pulp character returns to his roots in this excellent and exciting serial. Although the Shadow does not hypnotize people or display mystical powers as he does in the novels, he does dress up in a cloak and has two helpmates: his driver Harry Vincent (Roger Moore, not the British actor) and his secretary and assistant Margo Lane (Veda Ann Borg of Jungle Raiders). Victor Jory [The Lone Wolf Meets a Lady] adds some solidity to the serial with his strong portrayal of Cranston; Moore and Borg are professional and adept. Some of the more notable supporting performances include Jack Ingram [Terry and the Pirates] as the Tiger's chief lieutenant, Flint; Charles K. French as the nervous Joseph Rand; Constantine Romanoff as Henchman Harvey; and the ever-reliable Philip Ahn as Wu Yung, another of Cranston's helpful associates.

Victor Jory as Lin Chang

The Black Tiger (voiced somewhat over-dramatically by Richard Cramer) uses such weapons as a cigarette lighter with a miniature gun inside it, and a much bigger gun that fires rays that bring down airplanes. As for cliffhangers, there is a box-like trap that nearly shakes itself to pieces, almost dooming the Shadow; a descending freight elevator that nearly squashes Margo (and could not have been comfortable for actress Borg); and a laser-like beam that almost burns the hell out of Margo and Vincent. Interestingly, the Shadow does not manage to escape a number of death traps, but is fortunate to survive them anyway. Lee Zahler's musical score adds to the thrills.

Verdict: Another of Columbia's superior serials. ***1/2.