The Shadow

For other uses, see Shadow (disambiguation).
"Lamont Cranston" redirects here. For the musical group, see The Lamont Cranston Band.
The Shadow
Art by John Cassaday
Publication information
Publisher
First appearance
Created byWalter B. Gibson
In-story information
Alter ego
  • Kent Allard (print)
  • Lamont Cranston (radio and film)
Notable aliases
  • Lamont Cranston (print)
  • Henry Arnaud (print)
  • Isaac Twambley (print)
  • Fritz the Janitor (print)
AbilitiesIn print, radio, and film:
  • Expert detective
  • Skilled marksman and hand-to-hand combatant
  • Master of disguise and stealth

In radio and film only:

  • Various psychic abilities such as reading a person's thoughts, controlling their mind and altering their perceptions, enabling him to turn himself invisible (except for his shadow which cannot be hidden, for unknown reasons)
  • Low-level telekinesis (with small objects such as knives or glass debris)
  • Low-level superhuman strength (able to lift a sturdy armored warrior with only one hand)

The Shadow is a fictional character created by American magazine publishers Street & Smith and writer Walter B. Gibson. Originally created to be a mysterious radio show narrator,[2] and developed into a distinct literary character in 1931 by Gibson, The Shadow has been adapted into other forms of media, including American comic books, comic strips, serials, video games, and at least five feature films. The radio drama included episodes voiced by Orson Welles.

The Shadow debuted on July 31, 1930, as the mysterious narrator of the radio program Detective Story Hour, which was developed to boost sales of Street & Smith's monthly pulp Detective Story Magazine.[3] When listeners of the program began asking at newsstands for copies of "that Shadow detective magazine", Street & Smith launched a magazine based on the character, and hired Gibson to create a concept to fit the name and voice and to write a story featuring him. The first issue of the pulp series The Shadow Magazine went on sale April 1, 1931.

On September 26, 1937, The Shadow, a new radio drama based on the character as created by Gibson for the pulp magazine, premiered with the story "The Death House Rescue", in which The Shadow was characterized as having "the hypnotic power to cloud men's minds so they cannot see him". In the magazine stories, The Shadow did not become literally invisible.

The introductory line from the radio adaptation of The Shadow – "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!" – spoken by actor Frank Readick, has earned a place in the American idiom. These words were accompanied by an ominous laugh and a musical theme, Camille Saint-Saëns' Le Rouet d'Omphale ("Omphale's Spinning Wheel" composed in 1872).

The Shadow, at the end of each episode, reminded listeners, "The weed of crime bears bitter fruit! Crime does not pay...The Shadow knows!"

Some early episodes used the alternate statement, "As you sow evil, so shall you reap evil! Crime does not pay...The Shadow knows!"

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference History was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Stedman, Raymond William (1977). Serials: Suspense and Drama By Installment. University of Oklahoma Press. pp. 154. ISBN 978-0806116952. The definite article in The Shadow's name was always capitalized in the pulp adventures
  3. ^ "The Shadow: A Short Radio History". Old-time.com. Retrieved 2008-03-23.