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Rating: 
Summary: rhyme pays; crime don't
Review: I'm buying this because I only own one of the 18 listed episodes, and I'm always looking to add a few Shadows to the collection.
I was introduced to this wonderful old program when I was a little kid back in the early 80's. On long family car rides I would wake up in the middle of the night, and every now and again some radio station would be playing an episode. The violence and Old Testament morality of the show scared the hell out of me when it wasn't making me laugh myself into apoplexy. It wasn't long before I landed my first tape, an episode called "Death from the Deep" about a rich psychopath who trolls the seas in a custom-built submarine, sinking passenger liners and machine-gunning their crews. It featured what might be the best piece of cartoon villainy in all of entertainment history, when the baddie, smooth-talking Barry Vinton, exclaims: "Ah, this is the life, there's nothing like it. The sighting of fresh quarry in this periscope. The excitement of the chase and the spine-tingling thrill as the torpedo finds its mark. And then the climax, on deck with a machine gun, shooting them down like scurrying rats. Ha ha!"
I don't know about you, but (to paraphrase Homer Simpson) I like my beer cold, my women hot, and my villains EEEEEEVIL. And nobody delivers mustache-twirling villainy like "The Shadow."
The Shadow had a certain formula I grew to love as I began to buy episodes as a kid. Besides the frantic organ music and Margo's tendency to get kidnapped, it fell very heavily into the eye for an eye school of justice. To hell with shades of gray: the bad guys here were not merely bad, they were awful, literally bubbling over with villainy. It was a public service to kill them, although in fairness to the Shadow, he usually tricked his enemies into killing each other, climbing into booby-trapped boats, or blundering into 20 trigger happy policemen led by the bumbling Commissioner Weston. It is interesting to note that the obvious crazies, the mad-scientist types who wanted to put human brains in gorillas and phantom-of-the-opera type psychos who strangled women and beat their faces in, were shown no more mercy than the gangsters who had actually chosen to be evil. Didn't matter to the Shadow. If he couldn't trick you into blowing yourself up, he'd have you on an express train to the death house, and never mind your mental illness. And he wasn't above taunting his opponents even after they were beaten. In "The Silent Avenger" he actually taunts Joey Brecker as he is being taken to his execution. As I said, very Old Testament.
Personally, I think Welles was the best. His rich voice was marvelous on the ears, capturing the essence of Cranston -- a combination of effortless, almost smug brilliance, British suaveness, dry wit, decency, cruelty, and ruthless obsession. In some ways he reminds me of a combination of James Bond, Batman, and Sherlock Holmes, all in one. And contrary to popular legend, Welles did not refuse to rehearse for his Shadow sessions, he simply didn't have time. In 1938 Orson was doing full-time on Broadway, shows every single day, and actually hired a private ambulance to drive him, sirens blaring, from 42nd street to the studio so he could make it to Radio City for airtime without getting pulled over. If that isn't dedicated, what is?
Whoever your favorite Shadow, you know when you hit "play" on one of these puppies, you're gonna open up that mind's eye and let it feast on a darkly violent city landscape where the bad guys always finish last....if they finish at all.
Rating: 
Summary: the shadow - just was
Review: many people will tell you that orson welles was the best shadow. many people will also tell you that ice cream is best after it's been left in the car overnight in the middle of july. well orson was the first who took an active part playing lamont cranston so let's give him some points for that. had he rehearsed like a true professional he would have been better. better yes, best, not on his best night. his best night was 'war of the worlds - but that as they say is another story.i used to listen to the shadow with my dad. my older sister who loved dance music every other night (and hogged our only radio), was right there with us when 'his nibs, came a calling. the shadow is truly a great institution. whether it's welles, johnstone, or my personal favourite brett morrison you are in for a treat. and along with a truly great adventure every episode you have agnes moorehead, grace mathews, and the other great talents who have played the lovely margo lane. just think a crime fighter linked up with the same femme fatale for 40 years. did margo ever get her man - without a shadow of a doubt. but who really knows - the shadow knows. lloyd davidson
Rating:
Summary: the shadow - just was
Review: many people will tell you that orson welles was the best shadow. many people will also tell you that ice cream is best after it's been left in the car overnight in the middle of july. well orson was the first who took an active part playing lamont cranston so let's give him some points for that. had he rehearsed like a true professional he would have been better. better yes, best, not on his best night. his best night was 'war of the worlds - but that as they say is another story. i used to listen to the shadow with my dad. my older sister who loved dance music every other night (and hogged our only radio), was right there with us when 'his nibs, came a calling. the shadow is truly a great institution. whether it's welles, johnstone, or my personal favourite brett morrison you are in for a treat. and along with a truly great adventure every episode you have agnes moorehead, grace mathews, and the other great talents who have played the lovely margo lane. just think a crime fighter linked up with the same femme fatale for 40 years. did margo ever get her man - without a shadow of a doubt. but who really knows - the shadow knows. lloyd davidson
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