The Invisible Avenger!

I finally got to see the 1950's television adaptations of The Shadow.

First there is the unsold pilot titled The Shadow starring Tom Helmore as a British Lamont Cranston, who teamed with Margo Lane is a criminologist brought into tough cases by Police Commissioner Weston. In this noiresque but low-budget effort The Shadow solves the murder of a young woman. Sadly despite some good details, the plot of this one is so full of holes that it makes enjoying it tough. Helmore does a creditable job, though both he and the police have to be stupid to make the plot continue.

The big item though is Richard Derr in The Invisible Avenger, a "movie" made from compiled episodes of yet another failed Shadow tv show. In this one Lamont Cranston is partnered with his mentor, a mystic named Joegendra played by Mark Daniels. The two of them use their powers of mind control to appear invisible at times and to force information from a variety of thugs.

The plot is centered in New Orleans and deals mostly with the return of an exiled leader to some generic Hispanic nation or other. There's a murder to be solved and some thugs to round up, but mostly it's a series of mind tricks and attempts at sophistication that seems overwrought. Cranston's infatuation with jazz is a big part of the early parts of the show.


Apparently this "movie" was also released later as Bourbon Street Shadows with more sexy stuff added to make it seem adult. The poster above shows several scenes not in the version I watched.

Neither of these is a fantastic bit of entertainment, but they both are worthwhile for anyone interested in the Shadow.

Rip Off