The Whispering Shadow
The Whispering Shadow | |
---|---|
Directed by |
Colbert Clark Albert Herman |
Distributed by | Mascot Pictures |
Release dates | 1933 |
Running time | 12 chapters (225 min) |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
The Whispering Shadow (1933) is a Serial film, starring Béla Lugosi in his first of five serial roles. Lugosi received $10,000, the highest known salary of his career, for this film. (He also received the same amount for The Mystery of the Marie Celeste aka The Phantom Ship in 1935). The serial was filmed in only 12 days. It was the last film for actor Karl Dane.
Plot
The Shadow in The Whispering Shadow is the underworld mastermind. He has invented a device that allows him to kill by radio control. He, along with several other persons, seeks the Czar's jewels. The series is notable for the constant false clues and decoy actions that make nearly everybody a suspect. Despite being the voice of The Shadow, Lugosi is a red herring.[1]
Production
The cinematography mimicked that of Karl Freund in Universal's Dracula - for example, using close ups of the actors' eyes - in order to take advantage of Bela Lugosi's fame as the star of that film.[1] The shadow of The Shadow is not real; It was drawn in later by animators.[1] Harmon and Glut comment on that "If Street & Smith, owners of the original [The] Shadow of magazine and radio fame, had found out about the owner of the whisper, they might have sued."[1] The serial was later edited down to a feature length edition (as was common in those days).
Chapter titles
- Master Magician
- The Collapsing Room
- The All-seeing Eye
- The Shadow Strikes
- Wanted for Murder
- The Man Who Was Czar
- The Double Room
- The Red Circle
- The Fatal Secret
- The Death Warrant
- The Trap
- King of the World
Source:[2]
See also
- Béla Lugosi filmography
- List of film serials
- List of film serials by studio
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Harmon, Jim; Donald F. Glut (1973). "14. The Villains "All Bad, All Mad"". The Great Movie Serials: Their Sound and Fury. Routledge. pp. 341–344. ISBN 978-0-7130-0097-9.
- ↑ Cline, William C. (1984). "Filmography". In the Nick of Time. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 209. ISBN 0-7864-0471-X.
External links
- The Whispering Shadow at the Internet Movie Database
- The Whispering Shadow is available for free download at the Internet Archive
Preceded by The Devil Horse (1932) |
Mascot Serial The Whispering Shadow (1933) |
Succeeded by The Three Musketeers (1933) |