I wish The Shadow Returns was a better movie, but I can't say it is. A Shadow movie must be atmospheric with a feeling of impending dread. This movie is a light comedy with Lamont Cranston and Margot Lane doing a Nick and Nora Charles imitation. Both actors are good enough in their roles but alas the roles are wrong for the source material. I had high hopes with Kane Richmond as both Cranston and the Shadow, and he does a pretty good job as the former but his time as the Shadow is mostly wasted.
It doesn't help that the plot makes little sense as it tumbles along a timeline, I was frankly unable to decode. It begins in a graveyard with the exhumation of a corpse and the discovery of some gems, but from that moment on it tumbles off the rails. Richmond's and Reed's banter as Lamont and Margot is frothy but lacks originality. They are not helped by the fact that Shrevvy was reduced to pure comedy and reminded me often of Shemp of the Three Stooges. Burbank and Hawkeye put in appearances, but the former is an older private dick and Hawkeye is his aid. They add almost nothing in the two scenes they have. Weston is doting on Cranston who claims to be training to be a criminologist, but he's given quite a bit of guff from Cardona who leads the investigation and finds Lamont a pain.
The baddies are pretty lackluster and mill around most of the movie with a few getting knocked off here and there. The manner in which the murders were committed is somewhat clever but like many a movie solution, doesn't do well if you dwell on it. I cannot recommend this movie unless you are in the mood for a light-hearted Shadow misadventure.
This movie has a sequel, and that review will appear here at the Dojo later today.
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