The Shadow (TV 1954)

Lamont Cranston, a psychiatrist on retainer to the police department, is asked to assist in the Case of the Cotton Kimono murder investigation. Lamont and his girlfriend Margot Lane are not... See full summary »

Director:

Charles F. Haas

Writer:

Peter Barry

Stars:

Tom Helmore, Paula Raymond, Frank M. Thomas

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Tom Helmore	...	Lamont Cranston / The Shadow
Paula Raymond	...	Margot Lane
Frank M. Thomas	...	Commissioner Weston
Alexander Scourby	...	Rollo Grimmbauer (as Alex Scourby)
Norman Shelly	...	Detective Harry Harris
William Smithers	...	Alex Bromm
Leona Powers	...	The Landlady
Peggy Lobbin	...	Cissy Chadwick

Storyline

Lamont Cranston, a psychiatrist on retainer to the police department, is asked to assist in the Case of the Cotton Kimono murder investigation. Lamont and his girlfriend Margot Lane are not satisfied with Detective Harris' analysis and call on the two prime suspects: the victim's voice instructor and her boyfriend. When Harris, convinced that the boyfriend is guilty, frames the young man for the crime, Lamont is forced to assume his secret identity as "The Shadow", and cloaked by his power of invisibility, seeks to force the true killer to reveal himself.

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Plot Keywords:

murder investigation | psychiatrist | invisibility | police detective | vocal instructor | 

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Genres:

Short | Adventure

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1954 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Case of the Cotton Kimona

Company Credits

Production Co:

Meridian Pictures Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

25 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

The newspaper headline describing the Cissy Chadwick's murder misspells "Kimono" as "Kimona".

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Quotes

[first lines]
Lamont Cranston: [narration] This is where it started - suddenly - the Case of the Cotton Kimono.

User Reviews

Pretty good, all things considered

I just watched this on the Critics' Choice DVD on which it was double-billed with the 1958 film "Invisible Avenger," also a failed attempt to sell a "Shadow" series to TV. Though the "mystery" killer is all too easy to guess and Tom Helmore (best known as Kim Novak's husband in "Vertigo") is a bit too old and avuncular to be a credible Shadow, the plot is engaging and well done overall. At least Helmore is better than roughneck Richard Derr was in "Invisible Avenger," and there are some nice bits from the two women in the cast: Paula Raymond as an appealingly sultry Margot Lane and Peggy Lobbin killed all too soon as the victim in the titular garment. The source for this disc was a rather splicey print (though it may be the only one that exists) but the technical quality was otherwise good, and the effect of the Shadow hypnotizing the people he confronts into not being able to see him was very neatly done simply by shining a bright key light on them — though the Shadow's macabre laugh somehow doesn't work as well on TV as it did on radio and it's not surprising that "The Shadow" was one popular radio show that never made it on TV.