ericrhouston

I thought I'd throw my fedora in the ring in trying to explain this movie. Sadly, I absolutely loved it as a kid. I also loved Phantom (but I think that should be less confusing for everyone). I think the biggest problem with this movie is that it feels like a sequel to a movie we never got to see in that it assumes the audience knows all about the Shadow. Large portions of his backstory and explanations about his powers and how they work are left out so brazenly. Clearly, the screenwriter was familiar with the Shadow, but his biggest error was in figuring everyone else did, too. So what follows is a list of things that are just plain left out of the movie that might help shine a light on some of it. My apologies if anyone mentioned any of this before me. - The Shadow's powers are to "cloud men's minds." He can hypnotize you into not seeing him. He does not actually become invisible or turn into a shadow himself. Why he doesn't also make people not see his shadow is anyone's guess. - The Shadow can also do the Jedi mind trick. - The Shadow employs a network of "agents" in his battle against crime. These are the red ring guys. Each one has a specific task. The cabbie, the guy who maintains the pneumatic tubes and communications systems are on a payroll from Cranston's fortune. - The Shadow is not powerful enough to make something as large as a building "disappear." In doing so, the movie is trying (and failing) to show how much more powerful Khan is. - The Shadow does not usually fight other psychic type guys like Khan. He mostly fights gangster, crooks, and Nazis. I think the movie would have been better off pitting him against something like that and trying to introduce Khan as an anti-Shadow character in a sequel. Shiwan Khan doesn't even appear until the 182nd(!) Shadow pulp novel. - The Shadow is less a Batman type (although Batman borrows many of its tropes like the rich alter ego from the Shadow) and more of a Punisher type. The Shadow kills frequently and without mercy. - The Shadow really enjoys violence and killing people. He has a weird sense of humor. His cackling laugh isn't just to disorient or scare the bad guys; he also just is really having a blast. - This is where things are going to get really weird. The Shadow only poses as Lamont Cranston; he is not actually Lamont Cranston. - Lamont Cranston died decades ago and the Shadow (whose real name is Kent Allard) assumed his identity to help fund his vigilante campaign and to move about in society to find out information, etc. - The reason the Shadow has a big weird nose is that that is his real nose. The face he wears as Lamont Cranston is a disguise he tricks people into seeing with his psychic powers. - If you're wondering why at the end of the movie the nose disappears when the Shadow loses his concentration, it's because this is an inconsistent, poorly directed movie. So the plot, basically is this: The Shadow was a bad guy in Asia somewhere. A wise old master (an Ancient One/Yoda type) selected him as someone who could redeem himself and gave him psychic powers to use against the evil of the world to atone for his past crimes. Offscreen, the Shadow returns to America, has many adventures, and recruits a bunch of dudes to help him. Margot Lane and her dad come to town. Her dad is building some sort of benign atomic energy device. Margot is psychic. Shiwan Khan comes to town. He is the Yoda guy's other student. Yoda had been so pleased with the Shadow, he decided to try again. He succeeded in training Shiwan Khan to be even more powerful, but didn't make him any less evil. Khan has decided to use his powers to take over the world and wants to start by besting/killing the Shadow, his rival and only real threat, and blowing up New York for some reason. Shiwan Khan secures an abandoned hotel as his hq and clouds the mind of all of New York so they cannot see it and think it was torn down at some point. He also gets some Mongols to come over and help him. Shiwan Khan enslaves Margot's dad and forces his to turn his device into an atomic bomb. The Shadow fights Khan and his minions at various points. The Shadow and Margot fall in love, I guess. The Shadow frees Margot's dad. Margot's dad deactivates the bomb. The Shadow defeats Khan and saves New York. The Shadow has Khan lobotomized because he's kind of a dick. The End

I just finished watching the movie. I remember renting it with my brother when we were kids. We both really liked Mannequin and then hated Mannequin 2. Hadn't see it since. But I've got to tell you, I really enjoyed this movie! Yeah, it's dumb, but I was honestly charmed by it. I thought Kristy Swanson brought the right sweet naivete to it. I thought the hero was likable enough, Hollywood was amusing, the Count was sometimes genuinely funny, and those three goons are so ridiculous you almost have to like them! There's plenty to talk about here and I can't wait to hear what June has to say about Swanson's hair, but I really thought this was a hoot and I'd put it with Bloodsport as a movie I actually enjoyed.

Here's my try! Love the show!