As serials go The Whispering Shadow is acceptable. Produced on a minuscule budget by Mascot Studios, an evil genius known as the Whispering Shadow - for he talks in a low voice and is ubiquitous it seems - is trying to get his hands on the famous jewels of the Czar. he will stop at nothing and his identity is not foreclosed until the final chapter. we are given several men as possible shadows. One is Bela Lugosi in his first serial. Lugosi plays the creator of waxworks out to get the jewels with the aid of his daughter - played by the perky and lovely Viva Tattersall. The leading man is the biggest problem as he has little acting ability. Malcolm McGregor plays jack Foster who is trying to find the Whispering Shadow to avenge his little brother's death. Foster feels guilt as he sent him on an assignment with peril. McGregor has no acting savvy whatsoever and he lunges in fight scenes with all the unbelievable gusto of fake wrestler. That notwithstanding the other actors are mediocre with some exceptions: Lugois makes every role of his interesting. Henry B. Walthall, the silent screen star, adds some credibility. Robert Warwick gives a workmanlike performance as a detective and Roy D'arcy plays an over-the-top radio scientist with glee and relish. The Whispering Shadow isn't as good as other serials of the time. it is undeniably cheap. Cheap special effects. Just get a look in Chapter One at the helicopter crash. How about Chapter 6 which is almost all flashbacks of previous seen footage. I must confess though that I wanted to see who was the Shadow and watched through with little problem. Some of the cheap effects, the shoddy acting, and the cheesy plot twists wormed their way into my heart. Lugosi would go on to several other serials, but this one gives him a primary role with some room to act. Let's face it a serial with death by rays given from a radio or a television cannot be all that bad. Good old-fashioned fun.
Add a Review
-
BaronBl00d7 July 2009
-
utgard1426 August 2017Entertaining serial about a diabolical criminal mastermind known as the Shadow who uses his scientific genius to rob and kill while looking for stolen jewels. Notable for being Bela Lugosi's first serial. It's a fun, silly bunch of nonsense. Some cool action scenes, early sci-fi gadgetry, and Bela hamming it up are just some of the reasons to check this out. If you have a few hours to kill on the weekend, it's worth a look. Some chapters move along faster than others, but I was never really bored during any of them.
-
1933's "The Whispering Shadow" was Bela Lugosi's serial debut, and also the first that I actually purchased, because this was the only one of his 5 serials that had no feature version. The scenes in his elaborate waxworks prove to be the most memorable, although his character is one of numerous red herrings believed to be the title mastermind, whose identity revealed in the final chapter seems to be a real cheat. This Mascot serial lacks a musical score, which makes it stand out from the others Lugosi did, and doesn't really utilize him as the star. The next, 1934's 12 chapter "The Return of Chandu" allows him to be a genuine, two fisted serial hero (at age 51). He was the star villain in 1936's "Shadow of Chinatown," at 15 chapters the longest, but perhaps most enjoyable, since he works with beautiful Luana Walters, against former Olympic athlete Bruce Bennett (Herman Brix), with a supporting cast of familiar faces like Richard Loo and Victor Wong. 1937's Republic "SOS Coast Guard" was the only one where he was billed second, after hero Ralph Byrd, a well made 12 chapter slugfest, with less footage of Lugosi than the others, assisted by Richard Alexander (Prince Barin in Universal's "Flash Gordon") as the hulking, mute manservant. 1939's 12 chapter "The Phantom Creeps" was done at the familiar Universal studios, with a suitable supporting cast, including hero Robert Kent, Edward Van Sloan, and Lee J. Cobb, but among so many gadgets, the well remembered robot was played by Bud Wolff. Bela's batting average in serials was far better than Boris Karloff or Lon Chaney, although it must be stated that Boris did his last chapterplay before 1931's "Frankenstein," and that Chaney starred only in his first (1932's "The Last Frontier") and last, the 12 chapter Western "Overland Mail," for Universal in 1942 (reduced in stature as an evil henchman in all the others).
-
wetumka25 February 2003In my youth (1980 or thereabouts), I was a projectionist at an art-movie cinema (remember those?). Anyway, one summer we showed an episode of "The Whispering Shadow" before each week's feature, and all can say is that it was great cheesy fun. My favorite episode was the one that ended with our hero and heroine trapped in a room--AND THE WALLS START MOVING IN TO CRUSH THEM TO DEATH! And as the walls move in, they wibble and wobble, because they are obviously just two muslin-covered stage flats being pushed in by a couple of stagehands, and all the while the hero and heroine roll their eyes and cling to each other and scream and scream and scream! Too funny for words. All joshing aside, the final episode does have an interesting twist that made my twelve weeks in the projection booth worth the while.
-
All fingers point to Bela Lugosi as the mastermind behind a series of truck robberies where the perpetrator is only known through their voice, nicknamed the whispering shadow for the way they identify themselves to the people only intend to rob. Obviously, the voice sounds nothing like Lugosi but that has not stopped him before or after this. In most of those cases, the films were much better than this one which other than the slapstick fight scenes is painfully dull.
Lugosi overacts, showing that at times, he deserved the wretched reviews that he got. However, he really is the only thing of interest in this which can be seen in several variations. I don't recommend the entire 12-part serial, as it comes out to be over 4 hours in length. The much edited feature version that I saw was just painful to get through, so I can't imagine the full length serial being any easier with all of its repetition. -
ptb-811 August 2007Here is another wonderful movie serial from the factory that perfected the genre at the dawn of sound... MASCOT PICTURES. There is such a superb story yet to be told in the life of both this studio and its young founder Nat Levine. It only existed from 1927 until 1935 but was the template for REPUBLIC PICTURES, both as a studio and as a serial factory. It was closed by ruthless Republic Founder Herbert J Yates when he foreclosed on them via his film lab Consolidated Film Laboratories to which MASCOT owed big film processing debts..... along with other small studios like MONOGRAM and LIBERTY. However in those early 30s, MASCOT created a genre .. the talkie action serial with sci fi effects and incredible miniatures by Howard and Theodore Lydecker. Yates lusted after it all to become a mini-Mayer type mogul and won the day by financial default to lump all his debtees together to make his studio in 1935. As a result REPUBLIC PICTURES was created and lasted until 1960 but clever little MASCOT was steamrolled, its talent poached and its style and film library stolen. Nat Levine was discarded in 1937 and bankrupt in 1939. Nobody from these other studios could work under Yates and even Monogram management escaped to GRAND NATIONAL and UNIVERSAL before re-forming in 1937. Levine was not yet 40 years old. He then went to manage cinemas... showing Monogram and Republic Pictures. How awful for him... and what a great biopic there is in this man's exciting young life. (Spielberg? Scorscese? HBO, hello?).....THE WHISPERING SHADOW is one of many spooky and elaborate labyrinth serials now turning up on Alpha Video DVD, a poverty row specialist that is releasing dvds made from old TV prints filmed directly off TV monitors and onto a DVD master. It seems to work well enough but I do believe there is a market for genuinely releasing these great 30s films properly from existing negs. Sometimes the movie version is available and this one is seen as MURDER BY TELEVISION. In the mean time, we can savor what is possible this way. As with HURRICANE EXPRESS or THE THREE MUSKETEERS especially the underworld sci fi cowboy movie serial epic (!) .....THE PHANTOM EMPIRE......... remade in 1936 as Republic's first serial UNDERSEA KINGDOM.
THE WHISPERING SHADOW is a convoluted chase with eerie visuals and wonderful atmosphere. It also interestingly uses Television as a title and as a device which shows us in 2008 how advanced and aware the movie-going public was of TV itself, because to include it in a film so prominently in 1933 as realistic and exciting possibility is a surprise to most viewers today. From the same period is THE RETURN OF CHANDU and in 1937 THE SECRET OF TREASURE ISLAND (Columbia)... but the most absurd obscene and fully wacky is THE LOST CITY (1935). Enjoy! These ancient sci fi serials make great TV wallpaper at your next party. -
asinyne6 December 2011I enjoyed this old serial, the older they are usually the better they are. Its always fun watching Bela do his thing. I felt like this afternoon epic had a bit more plot than most and the action is there like you expect. There are some annoying bits like the overuse of flashbacks in the later episodes. On the other hand the repeat footage does help the viewer to make sense out of all the craziness.
There seemed to be an excess of rad old cars...that's always cool. The leading lady was very pretty also which was good because there were only two women in the entire thing! There are lots of gunfights but almost no one ever got hit except for those nasty "flesh wounds".
I really enjoyed the look of Whispering Shadow, the old clothes, pencil thin mustaches, and the motorcycle scenes were all wonderful. There were lots of truly dangerous stunts too and a few effects (like a helicopter crashing into a radio tower).
Overall this is a very vintage but rather cool old serial. I got a kick out of it and it managed to build some real suspense in the last three or four chapters despite all the money saving flashbacks. Fun stuff for serial or Lugosi fans. Bela looked great and his expressions were a riot like always. -
Rainey-Dawn20 October 2015While "The Whispering Shadow" may not be a masterpiece nor Bela Lugosi's best film it's still quite fun to watch never-the-less. Who is The Whispering Shadow? Professor Strang is suspected by Jack Norton... but is he? How does he commit his crimes by TV and radio - and why? This is a fun little crime-mystery... it is worth a watch.
I have to admit the fight scene on the roof of a skyscraper with the helicopter coming in was one of my favorite scenes... pretty scary stuff. I also like the idea of hiding behind a wax museum.. all to lifelike are the wax figures.
I got this in my Bela Lugosi Scared To Death collection... one of several rare Lugosi films. I'm not disappointed the the collection nor this film. 7/10 -
jhausler322 April 2022I've been continuing my hobby of watching old movie serials (the predecessor to TV, but shown in 13-episode weekly series at movie theaters), and "The Whispering Shadow" (1933) established itself as one of my favorites. This one was another Bela Lugosi star vehicle, but Lugosi himself was only one element among several that made this one a winner.
The Whispering Shadow essentially reimagines the pulp superhero "The Shadow" if he were a villain leading a criminal gang. This criminal is never seen directly by either his gang or his victims -- the Shadow uses the futuristic technologies of radio and television to make his demands known in an evil hiss. He and his gang have been targeting and robbing the Empire Transport and Storage Company, and in the process kill the brother of employee Jack Norton, who vows revenge. It appears the Shadow wants the jewels of the slain Russian czar, hidden somewhere in the warehouse. Empire's HR department has really been lying down on the job, because they employ a cadre of seedy characters who all seem to want the jewels for themself and might possibly be the Shadow. Joining the fray are Professor Strang (Lugosi) and his lovely daughter Vera, two suspicious foreigners who run a wax museum, and the escaped convict who stole the jewels originally. All of it adds up to a lot of cloak and dagger and one lingering, critical, all-important question: who *is* the Shadow?
There are a lot of things that make "The Whispering Shadow" appealing, but I think its best aspect is easily the fact that it's a whodunnit, and (more importantly) an actually *good* whodunnit. I found myself fooled multiple times when I thought I had the most likely culprit nailed down, a neat and refreshing feeling to have in the normally predictable and formulaic world of serials. I don't want to spoil anything, but the ultimate reveal was quite a thing.
I also thought that the "retro futurism" of this serial was really nice. The Shadow deals death from above with not only radio, but with electrical signals that can literally fry his own men or others who oppose or betray him. The action is good, the sets are neat and exude a 1930s noir atmosphere, and most of the acting is really solid. The serial did do a surprising amount of recap, which annoyed me a bit at first, but after I reflected on how dizzyingly chaotic it was as a whole, I decided that it actually felt nice to regroup.
In terms of negatives, I really only have two to mention, and neither are very damning. First, I found it unintentionally hilarious how much of a human dynamo Jack Norton was. The man spent the first five episodes of the serial practically running at a sprint. He was incredibly fond of reminding us that he was "after the Shadow, the man who killed my brotha!" and we'd be off the the races. If he'd been told that the Shadow was across the continent in Los Angeles, I'm fully convinced he would have run there on foot, passing many cars along the way. I also thought it was a bit of a shame that Lugosi himself doesn't have much actual acting to do, spending most of his time scowling down at a TV set and looking mighty suspicious, rather than delivering creepy or campy lines of dialogue. The actress playing his daughter also didn't do a bang-up job in the acting department and was really only notable for being willing to go along with her dad's shadier schemes, which was a nice change of pace and cast her as something of an anti-heroine.
All told, "The Whispering Shadow" was easily one of my favorite serials that I have watched, and probably exceeds even "The Phantom Creeps" as my favorite one starring Bela Lugosi, even if Lugosi himself wasn't a standout in this one. Like many other serials of the 1930s, this one is available as either a 12-episode serial or a highly condensed 60-minute movie. For anyone with even passing interest in the serial genre, PLEASE watch the full serial -- it's well-worth your time and tells the story in a much more organic and rewarding way. If you don't feel you can justify the 3+ hour commitment, though, the chopped down movie is an option. Just bear in mind that you're getting a highly abridged project that may feel like a hamburger reduced to just a meat patty. -
AlsExGal2 February 2023... and directors Albert Herman and Colbert Clark. Two-fisted shipping company foreman Jack Foster (Malcolm McGregor) is determined to avenge the murder of his brother, a delivery driver for the same company who was killed by agents of the Whispering Shadow, a mysterious figure leading a criminal gang who keep attacking deliveries made by the company. Company president Bradley (Henry B. Walthall) also enlists the aid of noted detective Robert Raymond (Robert Warwick) to assist Jack in his efforts. All signs point to the culprit being a creepy magician named Professor Strang (Bela Lugosi) who operates a wax museum out of his House of Mystery. Also featuring Viva Tattersall as Strang's lovely daughter and accomplice, Karl Dane as a goofy comic-relief radio operator, Roy D'Arcy and Lafe McKee as shady company employees, Ethel Clayton, Lloyd Whitlock, Bob Kortman, and Yakima Canutt.
The outlandish plot, wide variety of interesting characters, and incredible stunts all combine to make this a stand-out in the serial genre. It's still pretty dumb, and goes on longer than the story can sustain it, but it's silly fun. Lugosi, appearing in the first of several serials he would make, hams it up quite a bit, but seems to be enjoying himself. Dane, who struggled with his thick accent in sound pictures, makes his final film appearance. -
curly-1715 October 1999Bela stars in his first serial. Bela's acting is great, and the serial itself is not bad, considering it was filmed in 18 days (6 days a week for 3 weeks). The exciting titles of the 12 chapters are: 1) The Master Magician 2) The Collapsing Room 3) The All-Seeing Eye 4) The Shadow Strikes 5) Wanted for Murder 6) The Man Who Was Czar 7) The Double Room 8) The Red Circle 9) The Fatal Secret 10) The Death Warrant 11) The Trap 12) King of the World. It is interesting to note that the name of Bela's character was Adam Strang, and the main ingredient of the story was a radio death ray. Perhaps this was fodder for the science fiction writer Gardner Fox when he wrote those "Mystery in Space" comics in the 1960s, with Adam Strange and the Zeta beam! A serial that fans of Bela will find entertaining.
-
This was a movie that I found from 1933 on the Internet Movie Database when setting up my Traverse through the Threes for Journey with a Cinephile: A Horror Movie Podcast. I found this was streaming on YouTube. I also figured out that this was a serial that was released in parts, which the length gave it away. The last bit was that this featured Bela Lugosi and marks another of his movies I'd tick off my list. Other than that, I thought the title was good and I was interested to see what we'd get.
Synopsis: a mysterious criminal known as The Whispering Shadow commits crimes by a gang he controls by television and radio waves. Jack Norton (Malcolm McGregor), whose brother is murdered by the criminal, helps a private detective figure out who is behind this moniker.
Since this is a serial, it is told in 12 chapters. The first is the Master Magician. We see a message that goes from Germany to Los Angeles about something being stored at Empire Storage. A statue is loaded on a truck. We learn that every time one of these statues is on a truck, it crashes. The driver refuses to take it. Jack Foster works in the warehouse and he tries to change his mind. When he can't, Jack's younger brother Bud (George J. Lewis) steps up to drive. The driver makes a comment that it makes Jack feel different knowing that his brother is at risk.
The truck leaves and the radio to it goes out. Sparks (Karl Dane) is the dispatcher for the company and he points out this happens every time before something bad happens. Prof. Alexis Steinbeck (Roy D'Arcy) is alerted. Jack tries to get them to fix it and decides to take his motorcycle to check on it instead. He tries to be their escort, but the Whispering Shadow's men attack. Bud is killed in the process.
Jack then goes about making it his lot to discover and punish the Whispering Shadow. He believes that it is Prof. Adam Anton Strang (Lugosi) since his wax statues are on the trucks when they're attacked. Jack becomes interested in his daughter, Vera (Viva Tattersall). This complicates things.
Detective Robert Raymond (Robert Warwick) is also called in to solve the problem. He collaborates with Jack since they seem to trust each other. The two prime suspects become Prof. Strang and Prof. Steinbeck. The latter because he's an expert on radio waves. The Whispering Shadow can kill with a ray of sorts that uses these devices that his henchmen carry. There are other suspects like J. D. Bradley (Henry B. Walthall) who is the president of the company. His vice-president, D. W. Jerome (Lafe McKee) is another. There are other players here, including Jasper Slade (Bob Kortman) who is a convict that escapes from prison and joins this hunt for missing jewels that were stored at this warehouse.
Now that is where I'm going to leave my recap and introduction. Where I want to start is that this runs almost four hours long. There is a problem here though that it gets repetitive. The same things happen and it feels like filler. I will acknowledge though that watching this over three nights isn't necessary the intended way. People would get these over weeks where I'm running straight through. They would have introductions for viewers to get up to speed where for me, I'm watching these events happen and then seeing it again for the next chapter. Just wanted to set that up to start.
To stick with this, I do think that this could be condensed to less than two hours and it would run better. With these serials, they want to do whatever they can to extend the story out. My problem there is that it feels like we get too much filler. I'm not entirely sure if there are chapters here that progress the overarching story forward. One of our leads will get into peril and leave the viewer with a cliffhanger. I just don't know if it at times it is warranted. That's not to say that I hated the story. I did want to say that. I'll go into what works now that I've said my piece here.
What I did like was the mystery. This falls into that subgenre where these would be considered horror. It starts there with Bud and then we get more as it goes on. As a seasoned cinephile, I try to guess who the killer is. When it is too easy, it can affect my enjoyment. This pushes hard that Prof. Strang or Prof. Steinbeck are this criminal. I figured it couldn't be them as that is what they want you to think. I'll be honest though; I didn't guess correctly. I went back and forth between the two as well as other characters we see. Looking back, it makes sense for the reveal. That part helped me enjoy this.
The other aspect of the story is the villain himself. He projects his shadow on the wall and whispers. What is good here is that he will kill when needed. He can't do it for the most part, being that he's a shadow. There is a moment where he holds a gun on someone that made me laugh, since it wouldn't do anything. That's not to say he doesn't have a weapon to kill from afar. There is an aspect here of him being a mad scientist with this radio wave gun. Once it is figured out how to protect yourself, that falls apart. It still was a solid idea in the beginning.
I'll shift from the story and go over to the acting. I thought it was fine. Lugosi is probably the best out of default. There is a presence about him that I see him as a villain, even if he might not be. This performance wasn't his best. It was still good. Tattersall and McGregor are good as our leads. I love that the former hides things from Jack. That makes her seem potentially guilty. The latter is a bit of a hot head that adds an element. He also looks to do his own stunts which was impressive. Other than that, Warwick, D'Arcy, Dane and the rest of the cast rounded this out for what was needed.
All that is left is filmmaking. I've already said this had too much filler. Another issue is the editing and the length. I lost interest near the end as it repeats similar situations and then there are even clips to remind us of early chapters. That is something I'll acknowledge is my fault for watching this straight through. I'd say though that the cinematography was good. There were shots that impressed me with framing and using the whole screen. Credit there. We don't get a lot in the way of effects. There was miniature work that made me smile. It has charm. We also got stunts that were impressive. None of this is great, but it works. Other than that, I'd say the soundtrack fit for what was needed. I will once again credit that our villain lives up to his name by whispering.
In conclusion, this is one that has good aspects and ones that don't work for me. I like the idea of this villain. Also, our lead being on a personal vendetta to discover his identity. Having there be an angle of a mad scientist also works. I'd even say that the cinematography, the practical effects and how the villain talks were good. This is just too long and there's a bit too much filler here. This doesn't ruin it, but it did bog it down for me. I'll one final time say that this was meant to watch spread out though, not like how I did. I'd only recommend to fans of this era or these types of serials.
My Rating: 5.5 out of 10. -
Michael_Elliott16 August 2016The Whispering Shadow (1933)
** (out of 4)
A mysterious figure known as The Whispering Shadow uses his gang to try and track down some famous and priceless jewels. The Shadow's power comes from being able to communicate through rays created by radio and television. Soon a number of suspects are believed to be The Whispering Shadow.
This 1933 film was the first serial that Bela Lugosi ever appeared in but my review is for the feature version. Back in the day a lot of serials were turned into feature movies and some like Lugosi's THE RETURN OF CHANDU had two feature versions. Obviously, by watching this version you're going to be missing out on a lot of the fun including all of the cliffhangers. Whereas the original version ran 225 minutes this one here clocks in at just 60.
As far as the feature goes, it's simply okay. Again, you can't judge the serial because I personally don't know what is missing from it but this feature really lacks much action. It seems that the majority of the running time here is just introducing the various red herrings and this leaves very little time for the action. There's a nice action sequence at the very start but that's about it. The ending, which I won't spoil here, is somewhat of a letdown.
Lugosi is in fine form here as he was able to pick up the biggest paycheck of his career. I thought he was believable whenever the spotlight was on him as the guilty party and he also manages to bring some fun to the part. The supporting cast also includes D.W. Griffith regular Henry B. Walthall in a supporting part. -
azathothpwiggins14 June 2022In THE WHISPERING SHADOW, Bela Lugosi is Professor Strang, a magician and owner-operator of Strang's Wax Works And House Of Mystery. The question is: Is Strang also the notorious figure of the title? Lugosi is quite enjoyable in his role.
Someone has stolen the priceless jewels of the Czar, and everyone's looking for them. Jack Foster (Malcolm McGregor) witnessed his brother being murdered by The Shadow and his thugs, and wants revenge.
Keep your eyes glued to those jewels! They jump from person to person, box to box, like a crazy shell game! Almost everyone involved is in possession of them at least once!
At nearly 4 hours in length, this movie version of the original serial is quite a chore at times. Still, there are enough shootouts, explosions, truck hijackings, and fisticuffs to hold our interest...