utgard14 Entertaining 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.

mark.waltz 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.

kevin olzak 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).

BaronBl00d 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.