BEHIND THE MASK

Kane Richmond as the Shadow

BEHIND THE MASK (1946). Director: Phil Karlson.

The day before Lamont Cranston's (Kane Richmond) marriage to Margo Lane (Barbara Read), he learns that an impostor has broken into the office of the Daily Bulletin and murdered blackmailing reporter Jeff Mann (James Cardwell). Angered by this impersonation, Cranston leaves the pre-wedding party to investigate, incurring the extremely childish wrath of his fiancee. To make matters worse, Margo's maid Jenny (Dorothea Kent) is just as shrill and immature as Margo is, and has a vendetta against her boyfriend, the hapless Shrevvie (now played by George Chandler).

George Chandler, Barbara Read, Kane Richmond

Behind the Mask might have been a decent mystery were it not for the fact that Monogram studios decided to combine the Shadow character with elements of screwball comedy, with the result that nothing really works. The antics of Margo and Jenny, who are constantly hitting their boyfriends, are so tiresome as to be excruciating, and pretty much crowd out any real entertainment value the picture might have had. Joseph Crehan, repeating his role as dyspeptic Inspector Cardonna, is too manic in this by far, and he also loves to keep hitting Cranston. There are a couple of aborted cat fights and more than enough scenes of Margo becoming hysterical because Cranston supposedly has other women's unseen lipstick on his face.

Marjorie Hoshelle with Bill Christy on left and Kent and Crehan on the right 

Chandler plays the role of Shrevvie more like a butler and assistant and is not as stupid as in the previous film, The Shadow Returns. Richmond is a perfectly okay actor who desperately needs a better script and a bigger studio. James Cardwell [The Shanghai Cobra] makes an impression as the rakish reporter Jeff and it's a shame he gets bumped off so early. Edward Gargan [Detective Kitty O'Day] provides the film's few moments of fun as a detective who's suffering from the flu and alleged hallucinations, and Marjorie Hoshelle [The Mask of Dimitrios] is very vivid and striking as Mae, who is mixed up in illegal betting. Robert Shayne is very young and good-looking in this but his performance is no great shakes, and poor Pierre Watkin is as blah as ever as the police commissioner and Cranston's uncle.

Verdict: This has little to do with the Shadow pulp stories. *1/2.  

THE MISSING LADY

Jo-Carroll Dennison and Kane Richmond

THE MISSING LADY (1946). Director: Phil Karlson.

When a series of murders occur that center on a stolen statue called the "Jade Lady," Lamont Cranston (Kane Richmond) investigates and tries to find out just who is killing whom. This is the third and last of the Monogram "Shadow" pictures and it's a very slight improvement over the first two even if Cranston never appears in costume and "The Shadow" is never even mentioned; Cranston is simply a criminologist, which is why he can hold his own in a fight with one man but is helpless against two guys, one of whom has a gun. For most pulp heroes, even a gang of men would be no problem!

Richmond in the elevator with Almira Sessions and Nora Cecil

The problem with this trio of films is that producer George Callahan should have fired screenwriter George Callahan, who has absolutely no feel for the character. Callahan could turn out excellent scripts, such as the Charlie Chan film The Scarlet Clue, but the comedy in that wasn't so inappropriate. The Missing Lady, like the previous Shadow film Behind the Mask, at least starts out well, with an air of mystery and a bit of suspense, but then we're reintroduced to Margo Lane (Barbara Read) and her maid Jennie (Dorothea Kent) and the silliness begins, although in this entry the gals' involvement is somewhat mercifully limited -- but not enough. The movie really gets loopy with the introduction of two elderly sisters who own the building Cranston lives in and love to play elevator operator, racing up and down the shaft for fun. Pierre Watkin is a little more animated as the commissioner and James Flavin, now playing Inspector Cardona, is suitably apoplectic. George Chandler returns as Shrevvie. The supporting players include Jo-Carroll Dennison as the slinky Gilda; James Cardwell as an insurance investigator; Jack Overman as a husky bad guy named Ox; Frances Robinson [Red Barry] as his wife, Anne; Claire Carleton [Too Many Winners] as the hard-boiled blond, Rose; and the ever-reliable Anthony Warde as the nasty gunsel, Lefty.

Verdict: Stick with The Shadow serial and forget these forgotten "Bs" **.