The Shadow Returns (1946)

Too much of everything

Powerful

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

to make a real Shadow movie this time. Burbank & Hawkeye appear although they don't actually do anything - in fact you'd think they were Lamont's buddies rather than The Shadow's agents from they way they are depicted.Don't get me wrong, its better than 'International Crime' because it does at least feature The Shadow even if he isn't depicted as well as in the earlier serial or the pulps. And it does have more action than 'The Shadow Strikes' (it could hardly have much less). It would be nice if Margot wasn't a pretty much total flake and more of an agent/assistant/non-idiot. Though she comes off looking good next to Cardona & Weston who make the Keystone Kops look and sound good (yes, I know the Kops were silent but that would be an improvement for this film).See it if you can but don't go out of your way.

this is the third of six movies in the Shadow series of movies,and the first of three starring Kane Richmond as Lamont Cranston/The Shadow.Cranston is played in this one as more of a flippant smart alec.he is the nemesis of the chief of police,who resents him butting in on his cases.this one has a darker tone than the firs two(The shadow Strikes,and International Crime).the story is fleshed out a bit more here,and there is more action.minor spoiler***The Shadow is actually a suspect in this mystery***.Shrevvy(Tom Dugan)Cranston's trusty cabbie and helper)has a bigger role to play in this one,and it's funny to see him mangle some of his words.this movie does have its slow spots and does seem dragged out at times,but overall,it was enjoyable.my vote for The Shadow Returns is a 5//10

Second attempt at turning the radio character into a movie series. This time out its Kane Richmond as Lamont Cranston and his alter ego the Shadow. Here he has no power to cloud men's minds, instead he wears a mask and a fedora. Here he is investigating the smuggling of jewels in coffins and the deaths the occur around it.Very comedic the film has almost no suspense despite its best efforts. The broad comedy simply cuts across the mystery and takes away from feeling of danger. The ploy almost works, however about two thirds of the way through the film the mashing of styles becomes too much and the back and forth nature of the plot (There are only really three locations, the commissioner's office, the dead man's house and a warehouse) interest dissipates and you get the feeling you'd really like to just jump to the end to see who the killer is.Worth trying but only on cable.

Of all the heroes and superheros of the thirties and forties, the shadow is the most intriguing. In his (Orson Welles-created) radio incarnation, he had a strange superpower. He could be invisible and apparently enter and leave any room effortlessly. On the radio, this was a great effect because of course we listeners couldn't see anything at all. So when one of the characters couldn't see another, it was a sort of narrative fold that drew us in.Another device was a sort of demonic laugh, a sort of devilish celebration of justice.How to transport that to cinema? The 1994 version was something of a miracle, one of the best designed movies ever. In that interpretation, the girl was decorous, the bad guy evil and the shadow genuinely invisible as well as having other superpowers.This one is horrible in all ways except for the effort put into the comedy. The mystery isn't, though it has an interesting device, more improbable than most.Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.