Lamont Cranston, aka the Shadow, has his hands full as the murder of blackmailing reporter Jeff Mann is blamed on him. Not only does the real murderer seem one step ahead of him as Lamont tr... Read allLamont Cranston, aka the Shadow, has his hands full as the murder of blackmailing reporter Jeff Mann is blamed on him. Not only does the real murderer seem one step ahead of him as Lamont tries to discover his identity, but he is continually hampered from gaining crucial evidence... Read allLamont Cranston, aka the Shadow, has his hands full as the murder of blackmailing reporter Jeff Mann is blamed on him. Not only does the real murderer seem one step ahead of him as Lamont tries to discover his identity, but he is continually hampered from gaining crucial evidence by his jealous, interfering fiancée Margo Lane. Cranston perseveres and is rewarded with ... Read all
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Featured reviews
In the midst of all the inactive Fox B series, Monogram apparently also picked up movie rights to the Shadow. William Beaudine began the direction on this opus, only to be replaced some time in the process by Phil Karlson. As a mystery, it's pretty bad. As a slapstick comedy, it's all right; even the big fight sequences are played for slapstick comedy, with Richmond's stunt double swinging from a rope and tossing one opponent at another. With Pierre Watkin, Robert Shayne, June Clyde, and Joyce Compton.
Sadly, after such a promising opening this reverts to the 'Thin Man' style banter that dragged the first one down, and by the half-way point plummets into 'comedy' that really isn't funny now. The tension built so well at the beginning just evaporates. On top of that, the Shadow hardly appears, with most of his work done as Lamont Cranston (who, as before, is played like any other amateur detective or adventurer of the era, with no mystical abilities). By the end the killer is caught and the Shadow is exonerated, but it's hard to care. There's a good, noir story in here, but it's squandered. A definite drop. 4/10.
Not even a curiosity, this is not for Shadow fans. Take a look at the 1940 chapter serial with Victor Jory. Much closer to the original Shadow concept. Though there's still loads of potential for someone to make the definitive screen adaptation of The Shadow ... 'cos Russell Mulcahy's 1994 effort wasn't it either ...
The Shadow's alter ego, Lamont Cranston (Kane Richmond) must track down the killer impostor before the cops close in.
BEHIND THE MASK is more comedic than one might expect, since in the original, The Shadow was a dark, almost sinister persona able to frighten the criminals he pursued. In this film, The Shadow is marginalized, while the unmasked Cranston does the sleuthing.
Played mostly for laughs, so, don't expect a serious crime drama...
Did you know
- TriviaWorking title: "The Shadow's Shadow"
- ConnectionsFollowed by The Missing Lady (1946)
Details
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- Also known as
- The Shadow Behind the Mask
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- Runtime1 hour 8 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1