The Shadow Strikes: A quick, weird relic

Is this worth your time?

Honestly, only if you have a soft spot for 1930s pulp mysteries. It’s short, it’s cheap, and it moves at a frantic pace that feels like the editor was trying to beat a train schedule.

If you need deep character development or logic that holds up to a second glance, you’ll probably hate it. It’s not exactly Summertime in terms of polish.

The vibe

There’s this moment early on where Lamont Cranston just decides to start impersonating an attorney. He doesn’t really have a plan. He just sort of *does it*.

It’s kind of funny watching the police stumble around the office while he’s there, acting like he owns the place. You can tell they were trying to save money on sets by just keeping everyone in one room for half the movie. It works, mostly.

Odd little things

• The Shadow’s laugh is surprisingly low-effort.
• I swear the same background extra walked past the door three times.
• The lighting is either pitch black or blindingly bright—there is no in-between.

It’s not as gritty as The Tiger Man, but it has that same feeling of a movie made over a weekend. The dialogue is snappy, maybe a little too snappy, like everyone drank six cups of coffee before their lines.

Rod La Rocque is fine, I guess. He looks the part, even if he doesn't seem all that interested in the actual mystery. He just kind of strolls through the crime scene.

There’s a weird rhythm to the whole thing. It stops and starts so suddenly. One minute we’re in a high-stakes robbery, the next we’re just chatting about legal papers. It reminds me a bit of the frantic energy in 23 1/2 Hours' Leave, just with more fedoras.

Final thoughts (or lack thereof)

Don’t overthink the plot. If you do, the whole thing falls apart like a wet paper bag. Just enjoy the weird, dated charm of it all. It’s a B-movie in the truest sense—it knows what it is, and it doesn't try to be anything else. 🕵️‍♂️