The Vanishing Shadow (1934) User Reviews

This Was A Lot of Fun

[Kevin1963 · 7/10 · 15 May 2001]

In the middle 1970's, the Dade County (Miami, FL) school system, in an attempt to get kids to read, gave 7th grade students (which I was one), the script to the Vanishing Shadow. One of the TV stations broadcast all 12 episodes, which we were required to watch and read along with the script.

The show was a real blast for a 12 year old kid. I still remember the vanishing belt and the cornball dialog (which we had to act out in class the following day). I remember Ada Ince, who played Stanley's love interest, was a real babe and I remember the Stanley was my hero.

I would recommend this serial to anybody who enjoys the low-tech attempts to create high-tech effects in the 1930's. A must!

Gizmos, gadgets, and a giant robot

[398 · 7/10 · 17 December 2008]

THE VANISHING SHADOW is a 1934 Universal serial which I strongly recommend to anyone interested in vintage science fiction. Its scientist hero, with dubious help from a mad scientist associate, battles an evil business tycoon. The serial has weaknesses. Onslow Stevens makes a strong hero, but heroine Ada Ince, villain Walter Miller, and mad scientist James Durkin give performances which range from so-so to not quite mediocre. The flat acting and some trite writing weakens the unexpectedly dramatic climax. There are also several tedious "who's got the McGuffin and let's get the McGuffin" chapters which slow the pace. The cliffhangers are varied but one near the end in which Stevens, Ince, and Durkin survive without damage a dreadful off the cliff and down the embankment car crash strains credibility past the breaking point.

These flaws, though, are easy to forgive. The serial bristles with science fiction gizmos supplied by the mad scientist. There is a remote control device for opening a gate or garage door from the inside of your car, and a closed-circuit television hookup allowing you to see who is entering your property. There is also a death ray, a Frankenstein lab pulsating with Kenneth Strickfadden electrical gadgets, a whole series of scientific booby traps, and a belt which makes the wearer invisible, with the hitch that his shadow can still be seen. The invisibility gimmick is well handled, the best bit a scene in which a car is driving down the road without a driver. Topping it all off is a giant, tin-can, kick-ass robot which puts in an appearance in chapter eleven. The robot is worth waiting for, marching through streams of bullets, brushing aside cowering henchmen, crashing right through doors and even a stone wall.

An interesting subplot has the heroine the daughter of the villain, who abandoned her mother and her years earlier. While I didn't think this subplot was particularly well-handled, it gave dimension to the characters and a depth to the serial beyond the action and then more action approach of the Republic serials of later years.

All in all, a real treat for science fiction fans.

Pretty Good really. It's fun.

[brianehill · 7/10 · 14 January 2021]

I don't have to much to add that the others haven't already added only to say that it's got pretty good gizmos and special fx for a cheap serial of the era. It's fun and kinda funny at times.

Universal stretches the box on # 22

[horn-5 · 19 January 2006]

An electrical engineer, Stanley Stanfield (Onslow Stevens), brings his newest invention to the famous electrical wizard, Carl Van Dorn (James Durkins)--- a vest-like apparatus that enables the wearer to vanish, leaving only a shadow. Hey, back off...it's a good start.

Anyway, Van Dorn is vastly impressed and, with the aid of the machine, the pair set out to bring about the downfall of power-crazed Wade Barnett (Walter Miller) and his crony Dorgan (Dick Cramer), whose political-group activities, through a vicious smear campaign, had hounded Stanfield's father to death. Stanfield's efforts are complicated by the fact that his girlfriend, known to him as Gloria Grant (Ada Ince), is really Barnett's daughter, who has rejected her father and goes by an alias.

Wizard Van Dorn also stays busy inventing new gadgets to fight the gang with but, someway or another, he or Stanfield or Gloria always end up as the victim rather then Barnett, Dorgan or their henchies. Going back to the drawing board in chapter 10 (The Iron Death), Van Dorn comes up with a short-wave radio controlled robot and, in chapter 11 (The Juggernaut), he remotes it into a room to kill Barnett, but by mistake, the robot attacks Stanfield, who is tied helpless in a chair. Barnett was long gone.

They would have been better served by spending all their time and energy in trying to get rid of the shadow caused by the invisibility vest.

Toss in Ada Ince in the highest-budgeted film she ever made, and Edmund Cobb as a derby-hat wearing henchie (looking a lot like "Doiby" Dickles, the Green Lantern's cab-driving pal) and add Kenneth Strickfaden's art-deco lab and amazing electrical gadgets...and this becomes a Keeper.

As fun as it sounds

[Leofwine_draca · 7/10 · 16 March 2021]

THE VANISHING SHADOW is a great little serial from Universal, delivered in twelve chapters of rip-roaring mayhem. Onslow Stevens stars. The show is of the usual cops vs. robbers variety with plenty of cliffhanger peril and the like, but what makes it particularly interesting are the fantastic elements, namely two major ones: an mad scientist and his walking, brawling robot that does his evil bidding - it must be one of the earliest on-screen depictions of a robot - and a device that has the power to make its wearer invisible. It's as fun as it sounds.

Death ray, invisible ray, destryoing ray, Blu-Ray, HOORAY!

[wise1too · 8/10 · 31 August 2019]

Historically hard to see, now VCI has released this rare title on DVD and Blu Ray. While fantasy and comic book films are now the most expensive films to produce, in the golden age of Hollywood they were on the lowest rungs of film making. And serials such as this were among the lowest! Yet, serials are where fantasy, sci-fi and super heroes all had there start. Vanishing Shadow is a fun serial with invisible rays, destroying rays, electronic keys and other sci fi devices including a killer robot. Far fetched but cut it some slack. Made by Universal, who reached their apex in serials in a couple more years with Flash Gordon. It's also the first film of future Academy Award winner Lee J. Cobb who pops in on episodes 3&4. So hooray and thanks to VCI for making the chapterplay available to a broader audience.

Total crap; vastly overrated

[jamesroyhold · 1/10 · 26 November 2019]

A lot of hoopla is made about this chapterplay being the first to have death rays, ray guns, etc. All well and good. What no one bothers to mention is it's one of the most boring serials in existence. And stupid.

Most villains are bent on world domination. All Wade Barrett wants is to take over a newspaper. Wow, big deal. Why not start his own?

Other serials have attractive heroines. Ada Ince is not, unless you like chubby kewpie-doll types. I kept thinking if she does 'Add-a Inch' she's going to bust out of her wardrobe.

You have a blood thirsty mad scientist who's one of the good guys and is a far greater menace than any of the villains.

And there's a robot that does nothing until the final two chapters. What little it does do makes it hardly worth the effort.

The hero is stupid. He has an invisibility ray but he only uses it to slip inside rooms. The minute he's in he turns visible again. Why? Why not stay invisible until you're done? May as well not have it at all if you're hardly going to use it.

There are no cliffhangers. The good guys crash their car down a ravine, turning over 7 or 8 times--it comes to a halt and they get out and walk away like nothing happened. An avalanche of dirt buries the car--they drive right thru it. A plane crashes into the ocean--the hero swims away. A room filled with alcohol catches fire and explodes--the hero just shuts the door and walks off. No clever escapes, no suspense, no thrills.

What you're left with is a stupid hero, a bloodthirsty scientist, a fat heroine, an underachieving villain, a useless robot, and gadgets that seldom get used.

And to make it all worse the ending is so flat--none of these miraculous inventions come into play. There's no grand battle. The police simply walk in and arrest the bad guys. What a ripoff. If they'd done that in Chapter One they could have spared us the rest of this ridiculousness.

Give me a Republic serial any day.

Fun, campy and better than most Universal serials of period.

[KEN-182 · 5 October 1999]

This is a little known and under rated serial. It is a fun semi-mystery with all the proper cliche's included. Most anyone will find some fun,in the traditional chases and period genre. I enjoyed this very early bit of SF with invisibility belts and a robot of unique design. Remember this came first. Theres plenty of period auto and trains to keep the action going. Some of the acting (perhaps its the script) is limited, but as a Universal serial it is far superior to most Universal efforts at that time. I recommend this to anyone who can find a copy.