The Shadow of the Eagle (1932)

The Eagle uses sky writing to make threats against a corporation. Nathan Gregory owns a traveling fairground and is thought to be the Eagle. Craig McCoy is a pilot who goes looking for the Eagle when Gregory turns up missing.

Directors:

Ford Beebe, B. Reeves Eason (uncredited)

Writers:

Ford Beebe (story), Colbert Clark (story)

Stars:

John Wayne, Dorothy Gulliver, Walter Miller

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Wayne	...	Craig McCoy
Dorothy Gulliver	...	Jean Gregory
Walter Miller	...	Danby
Kenneth Harlan	...	Ward
Richard Tucker	...	Maj. Evans
Pat O'Malley	...	Ames
Edmund Burns	...	Clark
Yakima Canutt	...	Boyle
Roy D'Arcy	...	Gardner
Billy West	...	Bob - Clown
Edward Hearn	...	Col. Nathan Gregory
Lloyd Whitlock	...	Green
'Little Billy' Rhodes	...	The Midget (as Little Billy)
Ivan Linow	...	Henie - Strong Man
James Bradbury Jr.	...	Henry - Ventriloquist

Storyline

Nathan Gregory is a World War I veteran pilot who runs a small, debt-ridden traveling carnival along with loyal daughter Jean. Gregory is at odds with five of his former squadron comrades, who he thinks shot him down in 1918 and stole his plans for an incredible invention, a radio=piloted plane. An enigmatic criminal, called "The Eagle", and his gang of toughs skywrites threatening the five businessmen with vengeance for their past misdeeds. Although Gregory is suspected of being the arch-villain, especially after he disappears, hero Craig McCoy and the carnival's midget, strongman, and ventriloquist struggle to expose "The Eagle's" identity.

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Plot Keywords:

pre code film | b movie | poverty row film | low budget film | double feature film | 

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Taglines:

A CRASHING Adventure Serial! (1949 re-release poster)

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 February 1932 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Sombra da Águia

Filming Locations:

Antelope Valley, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mascot Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

218 min (12 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The dummy has no name in the movie and may have been owned by Max Terhune. Max was a western ventriloquist who was known for his acting in The Three Mesquiteers movies as character Lullaby Jones.

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Goofs

The long shot of the scene depicting John Wayne as Craig and Roy D'Arcy as Gardener are clearly shot with the men on a ferris wheel, but the closeups of both men are mismatches and none of the bars and struts of the ride can be seen since both actors are clearly on the ground and not moving.

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Quotes

The Midget: Who are you callin little boy, ya big palooka?

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Alternate Versions

There is a 185-minute home video version (released on DVD by Platinum) which cuts the "episodic" aspects, such as episode titles and cliffhangers, to form a continuous story.

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Connections

Featured in Sprockets: Classic Serials (1991)

User Reviews

Very low quality early John Wayne serial

Others have mentioned the old movie serials. The cover on my Alpha Video DVD claims that "The Shadow of the Eagle" is "The Complete Serial." But one part is missing in the early series, and it ends with episode 11 -- but not the end of the story. So, I have no idea how it comes out.

"The Shadow of the Eagle" is an early John Wayne series. It was a stunt man's show, with lots of action and running about. The Duke's acting is OK and very good in places. We can't say that for most of the rest of the cast – especially not Dorothy Gulliver. She has several close-ups in which she has hammy glares at the camera. Was she still acting for silent films?

The attempt to show sky-writing is pathetic. An airplane in the sky making 90-degree and 180-degree turns in just a few feet? It looked exactly like what it was – a toy model. I'm sure they could have done something to seem a little more real. By 1932, many people would have seen skywriting at daredevil shows, air shows, county fairs and other events held around the country. So, this probably would have looked just as hokey to audiences then, as it does today.

Although the plot was interesting, with just enough intrigue to keep one watching – hoping to see the end, it soon reached the point of tedium. The action scenes were repeated car chases, repeated climbing up and down outside buildings, and repeated breaking into the same offices. John Wayne must have had a permanent concussion from this one – I think he got conked out at least once in each segment.

The segments were of varied lengths. The shortest was less than 10 minutes and a couple early ones were half an hour or more. Each one ran the full credits at the beginning. But there was very little continuity between episodes. They tended to skip some details where the next episode would open somewhere off from where the previous one ended.

This Mascot production clearly shows its poverty row origins. It has very poor writing, editing and other production values; and the film quality relegates this one to the dust bin.