Wednesday, October 21, 2020

The Whispering Shadow (Serial) (1933)

A superbly complicated and fast moving serial full of fights, death defying stunts and mad science. A mysterious crime boss called the Whispering Shadow is stealing valuable items from a storage company. The transport manager Jack (Malcolm McGregor) is out to stop the criminal and uncover his secret identity.



Of course there are a lot of potential culprits, chief among them seems to be Dr Strang (Bela Lugosi) who had a macabre house of waxworks (and a lovely daughter - Viva Tattersall - whom Jack soon has the hots for!) Strang also has a television device, might he also have the radio death ray which the Whispering Shadow uses to kill his victims remotely? Or could it be the radio scientist (Roy D’Arcy)? Obviously it won’t be the apparently layabout and foolish radio operator Sparks (Karl Dane)...

Being a serial of course there are many cliff hangers, red herrings and epic stunts, including an autogyro crashing into a radio tower and a collapsing room. Many shots are fired too in countless shootouts though most are to no avail! (No one could aim straight in these 1930s serials that is for sure.) A terrific over the top serial.