| The Whispering Shadow | |
| Director: | Colbert Clark Albert Herman |
| Music: | Lee Zahler (uncredited) |
| Cinematography: | Edgar Lyons Ernest Miller |
| Distributor: | Mascot Pictures |
| Released: | [1] |
| Runtime: | 12 chapters (225 minutes) |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
The Whispering Shadow is a 1933 American pre-Code mystery[2] serial film directed by Colbert Clark and Albert Herman and starring Béla Lugosi in his first of five serial roles. Lugosi received $10,000, the highest known salary of his career, for this film. The serial was filmed in 12 days and was the last role for actor Karl Dane.
The Shadow in The Whispering Shadow is an underworld mastermind. He has invented a device that allows him to kill by radio control.[3] He, along with several other persons, seeks the Czar's jewels. The series is notable for the constant false clues and decoy actions that make nearly everybody a suspect.[4]
The cinematography mimicked that of Karl Freund in Universal's Dracula - for example, using close ups of the actors' eyes - in order to take advantage of Bela Lugosi's fame as the star of that film.[4] The shadow of The Shadow is not real; It was drawn in later by animators.[4] Harmon and Glut comment on that "If Street & Smith, owners of the original [The] Shadow of magazine and radio fame, had found out about the owner of the whisper, they might have sued."The serial was later edited down to a feature-length edition (as was common in those days).