Invisible Avenger (1958) Poster

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6/10
the sixth and final movie of the series
disdressed127 December 2008
Warning: Spoilers
for me,this is the best of the six movies in The Shadow series.i found it entertaining,and well paced.there's more action,excitement and suspense.Richard Derr(in his only outing as Lamont Cranston/The Shadow) is the best actor for the character,out of these six movies.he just seems more convincing and believable in the role.this story is a bit different than the previous ones,in that Cranston is shown here as he has just begun to understand his powers.along for the ride is his teacher in the mystic arts,Jogendra,Played by Mark Daniels.in this one we get to see the Shadow utilize his powers,something we haven't actually seen before.this incarnation seems to me to be the most fitting for the character.for me,The Invisible Avenger is a 6/10
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5/10
Video Killed the Radio Star
wes-connors16 June 2009
"The legendary mind-clouding man of mystery is back in this film noir tale set in New Orleans, where nothing is ever as it seems. Exiled Spanish leader Pablo Ramirez is hiding out on Bourbon Street as plans are laid to overthrow the oppressive dictatorship that currently exists in his country. A fascist generalissimo has planted assassins in the city to dispose of Ramirez and thwart his impending coup d'etat. Lamont Cranston (Richard Derr) - aka the Shadow - is summoned to protect Ramirez and thus ensure a successful revolution. The Shadow summons up his supernatural powers of hypnosis and invisibility to save Ramirez and stop his enemies' diabolical exploits," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.

This TV try-out may be re-edited to include the execution footage, which seems a little heavy for 1950s television - or, maybe did they did show executions in westerns back then - anyway, the eerie "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men… the Shadow knows!" line interrupting the drama a couple of times perfectly illustrates why this series was successful on the radio - and, also, why this visual representation was unsuccessful; the picture simply does not live up to the mystery inherent in the series' famous catchphrase. Mr. Derr is a good lead, but not very mysterious; mystical sidekick Mark Daniels (as Jogendra), creepy Dan Mullin (as Pablo & Victor Ramirez), and shadowy James Wong Howe are interesting.

***** The Shadow: Invisible Avenger (12/2/58) James Wong Howe ~ Richard Derr, Mark Daniels, Dan Mullin
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6/10
"How can you see a shadow if there ain't nobody there?"
classicsoncall23 April 2012
Warning: Spoilers
You could have floored me with the fact that this flick was made in 1958; it has the look and feel of something at least a decade older. Also the sensibility. The Shadow wasn't a favorite character of mine growing up so I don't know a lot about his origin or history, but I always assumed him to be sort of a detective with an uncanny ability to make himself invisible, as if blending into the dark of night. This story takes on more of a mystical bent, and even includes a mentor for Lamont Cranston (Richard Derr), a mystic who trains him to develop his powers of mind reading and invisibility. They exchange thoughts via telepathy, and one could make a case that the real power behind the Shadow is his partner Jogendra (Mark Daniels).

In this effort, the Shadow is summoned by a friend to New Orleans who winds up murdered. The victim was helping to protect one Victor Ramirez, who was plotting to overthrow Generalissimo Valdez of Santa Cruz and set up his brother in the general's place. I thought the plot a rather odd one for a Shadow movie given my earlier comments, but as I say, I'm a relative newcomer to the character.

Historically speaking, the picture seems to draw a parallel to events of the era as they were occurring in real life. Fidel Castro was plotting to overthrow the Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista, assembling a group of revolutionaries that included his brother Raul. The Ramirez brother connection in the picture could have possibly been based on the Castro's, but who knows. The story starts out in the city of New Orleans, apparently near enough to the mythical country of Santa Cruz to parallel Cuba's location to mainland Florida. If it all sounds like a stretch, well I'm just trying to figure out what relevance a military coup has to do with The Shadow.
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Just to Clear a Few Things Up
blackcurtain13 February 2005
Personally I am a radio drama fan who enjoys learning about the old time radio series's and I have come across a little information I would like to share about this movie.

1) The film was made in the attempt to make a series based upon the radio series. The movie was originally intended to be a pilot episode of a "Shadow" television series.

2) Someone made a comment about Margo Lane being needed. However, the creation of the Shadow as a character predates the creation of Margo Lane. The Shadow was originally a mysterious host of the "Street and Smith Dectective Story" program. Soon, however, the creators of the series realized that the mysterious host was more famous than the series. Thus, a series of novels came out identifying the Shadow as having the ability to steal identities of other people. He did not seem to have an identity of his own. Originally, Margo Lane first met him when he was pretending to be Lamont Cranston (originally, she meets the real Lamonte Cranston and mistakes the Shadow for him. Also, the identity of Lamonte Cranston was originally an identity that the Shadow stole).

I have not personally seen the movie "Invisable Avenger". I just wanted to clear some things about the Shadow up.
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5/10
For Shadow Fans Only
adam-46222 May 2010
A nice waste of an hour. The acting was passable, though the Shadow's mentor guy was a little creepy. The plot was mostly predictable with a few plausibility issues. (Yeah, we're going to show what we believe to be an execution on television.) Having listened to quite a few episodes of the radio Shadow, my conclusion is the Shadow does best when operating like a Super Hero, as he did with Orson Welles in the lead. When the Shadow operates as a shamus with a special trick, it's a lot cheaper.

This is okay, but if it was a pilot for a TV show, I can see why it didn't make it. Still, for fans of the Shadow, this is a rare opportunity to see an attempt at bringing that mysterious voice to film.
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6/10
The best of the early Shadow films, even if only by default
gridoon202411 February 2024
Warning: Spoilers
"Invisible Avenger", originally intended as a TV pilot, is probably the best, or at least the most Shadow-y, of the early "Shadow" films. It is the only one where The Shadow does not simply look like an amateur detective who occasionally puts on a cape and a mask, but has supernatural powers, including hynotizing people, telepathic communication, and invisibility - or, more accurately, making people THINK he's not there. Apart from that, the story is dull, the thrills are few, and the actors - except maybe Mark Daniels as the Shadow's mentor - lack charisma, but there is a good plot twist at the end, some decent special effects, and - as the film is set in New Orleans - plenty of jazz music if you are so inclined. **1/2 out of 4.
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4/10
Lacking the thrills you might be expecting.
planktonrules2 July 2018
Proposed series looks cheap santa cruz ovrethrow of disctator films in NO despite thrilling movie, a low speed show sibling irvalry

"Invisible Avenger" was a pilot for a proposed series from Republic Studios that was never okayed by the networks as a weekly series. So, to recoup some of the production costs, the studio released it in theaters as a film. In some ways, the show looked pretty good, filming on location in New Orleans. But in most, it just seemed cheap and surprisingly dull. After all, the Shadow is a pretty cool character....just not in this incarnation.

The story is about the fictional country of Santa Cruz. It's ruled by a dictator and the opposition is hiding out in the States. Lamont Cranston (the Shadow) makes it his responsibility to protect the man and do what he can to help bring freedom to the people of Santa Cruz. However, a little bit of sibling rivalry is tossed into the mix...and you wonder how Cranston will manage to stay alive!

The biggest problem is the lack of energy in the film. For a TV show of the 50s, you might expect this....but not from a film released in theaters. I am pretty sure audiences left this one a bit bored and disappointed.
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7/10
Closest yet to the 'real' thing!
Milk_Tray_Guy22 July 2023
Twelve years after the last entry in the series, we finally get a Shadow who can appear to be invisible (if that's not an oxymoron), hypnotise and 'cloud men's minds', and laugh in a very creepy way!! This was originally two pilot episodes for a proposed Shadow TV show (not picked up), subsequently edited together and released as a movie by Republic Pictures. The action takes place in and around New Orleans, as the Shadow is asked to help the exiled former President of 'Santa Cruz' (think Cuba) to return to his country, overthrow the dictatorship, and reunite his people. Cue lots of assassination attempts, car chases, and kidnappings.

Richard Derr stars as Lamont Cranston/The Shadow, alongside Mark Daniels as his ever-present mentor, Jogendra. There's no Margo Lane - although Cranston and Jogendra sometimes come off as though she'd be a bit of a third wheel, if you know what I mean. I'm sure it's just my cynical 'modern' eyes. Derr makes a good Shadow, convincing as a likeable playboy, as well as handling the rough stuff. There's no iconic hat/coat, but as I say, we get powers - which also include Cranston and Jogendra being able to communicate telepathically. The invisibility/living shadow effects aren't bad for the time (and low budget). Some of the supporting acting is a little shaky, but the story is pretty good. And if you're into jazz the score isn't bad. 7/10.
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5/10
The Shadow Knows!
boblipton21 September 2019
Is that Orson Welles intoning at the beginning and end of this pilot for a THE SHADOW TV pilot, "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?" He had played the role on the radio for a few years, and it sounds like him.

The story, such as it is, consists of Lamont Cranston being called down to New Orleans to deal with the death of a jazz man, only to get wrapped up in a South American revolution. He's worried about turning permanently into a shadow if he clouds men's minds too much, making himself invisible or causing a ship's pilot to imagine an iceberg dead ahead. Richard Derr makes an okay Lamont Cranston, and James Wong Howe is credited as the director, for his third movie directorial credit. He had gotten a job in Paramount's camera shop, and one day Cecil B. Demille found that he seemed to beat everyone into the studio, including him, so he promoted him. In actuality, Howe had been sleeping in the camera room rather than taking the trolley back home, to save time and money. By 1925, he was a respected cinematographer, and by the time he retired in the 1970s, was considered a genius. Which he pretty much was.

The Shadow had been invented as a character to read stories from Street & Smith's DETECTIVE STORY magazine in 1930. He quickly grew popular, so S&S created a magazine around him. He was popular on the radio and in pulp magazines, but a dozen attempts to transfer him to the movies, TV and video games failed to take. the meandering sotry line and cheesy special effects here explain why.
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6/10
Not too bad by the humble standards of the independent "B" or "C'!
JohnHowardReid31 October 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Also known by its re-issue title, "Terror in the Night", this el cheapo production with its cast of nonentities – Bill Bloom had previously played a waiter in "The Party Crashers" (1958) and a role in the Mr. Novak television series, but none of the other players seem to have enjoyed any other credits at all – is not too bad by the humble standards of the non-mainstream exploitation flick, and it certainly has a time warp curiosity value. Director Bill Parker/Ben Posner did have a modest Hollywood career and went on to film in 1964 a re-make of "The Shepherd of the Hills" with Richard Arlen in the title role. Most of his movies, however, were shorts. So "Teenage Strangler"/"Terror in the Night" is really a somewhat incompetent but not too bad a flick for completests like me, rather than the casual DVD buyer. Yes, you can buy at least a thousand murder mystery/teenage trauma movies better than this one And yes, this particular film is now available on DVD from Alpha in a very good print.
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3/10
A Mere Shadow of His Former Self on Radio
richardchatten21 August 2017
The title of this garrulous and uninvolving retread set largely in New Orleans of the radio character popularized in the thirties by Orson Welles may be vaguely familiar to some from its presence as a rather mysterious footnote to the illustrious filmography of the Oscar-winning cameraman James Wong Howe. Howe directed one feature film, 'Go, Man, Go!' (1954), with the Harlem Globetrotters, and between his Oscars for 'The Rose Tattoo' (1955) and 'Hud' (1963) directed a few TV episodes, of which this may have been his first. Assembled from two unsold pilot episodes for a TV series (of which only one was directed by Howe, hence the joint credit) which were spliced together under the intriguing title 'Invisible Avenger' and released as a feature film, it thus finds itself by default among Howe's film credits.

The drab photography, however, belies Howe's contribution; and as an avowed stickler for realism I hope he wasn't responsible for the multiple set-ups employed on the public execution shown being screened on American television. Apart from the "Daddy O" jazz talk and the topical storyline about revolutionaries plotting against a Latin American dictatorship, it feels more like a Republic serial from the forties. Using his radio name of Lamont Cranston, the Shadow hangs out with a mystic sidekick named Jogendra who's taught him how to think himself invisible (hence the title), but rather than simply prowling about invisible he usually waits until he gets caught so he can then confound his captors by disappearing; sometimes for effect he casts a shadow only, and he only ever emits his trademark diabolical cackle when invisible.

Although billed third and cutting a striking figure as a hard-boiled nightclub hostess, Helen Westcott's role proves surprisingly irrelevant to the action.
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9/10
Great Thriller
dbborroughs30 June 2004
A Shadow movie thats rarely ever listed as a Shadow movie. Richard Derr plays Lamont Cranston, a man with the power to cloud men's minds and become the Shadow. Cranston is on the trail of the people responsible for the disappearance of a friend in New Orleans.

I really like this film. Its not completely faithful to the Shadow myth, but then again what film ever was? (Come to think of it even the stories and radio show changed things as they went along) It certainly plays better than the Rod LaRocque nightmares where the Shadow is some beefy guy in a cape and hat trying to solve some awfully plotted crimes. And it better than the Kane Richmond Shadow movies which are okay, but have the Shadow able to be seen by people. (it's not fair to compare the Alec Baldwin film or the serials since they are different animals)

Derr makes a good Cranston, although one wonders about the relationship with his teacher. Its fast paced and breezy with a good jazz score. It looks as cheap, due no doubt to the budget, but that somehow give it a grittiness it shouldn't have. The film also shows signs of the films troubled production, intended to be one thing it ended up another. There are also two directors listed. Still its a great film to put on at 2am and watch.

What the film really needs are bumpers for The Late Late Late Show and cheesy commercials to go with it for a perfect viewing experience. If you like films from the heyday of late night TV before cable, vcr's and infomercials then this is the movie for you.
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2/10
Even at under an hour, it was just brutally painful.
mark.waltz21 February 2022
Warning: Spoilers
An extremely tedious political thriller involving a fictional Latin American country results in the murder of a trumpet player at a sleazy New Orleans jazz club. Richard Derr is "the shadow", aka Lamont Cranston, protecting an expatriate, utilizing his powers of hypnosis (seen through his bulging eyes that we know are hypnotizing because of the weird music that goes along with it) and maniacal laughter that appears out of nowhere.

This is difficult to watch even on TV, so how they could get away with utilizing a TV pilot edited together with extra footage to be released on the big screen (two times, once in 1958 and again in 1962!) is unbelievable. The edited in footage (a TV broadcast of a supposed execution) looks just as bad, if not worse, than what was done for the pilots. Dull and plodding, this convoluted mess has absolutely no entertainment value. Even as an episode of an ancient TV show, it has no value whatsoever.
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An amusing curiosity but I keep hoping for something better.
rlupoff-17 October 2004
If not a "made-for-TV-movie," this film may have been intended as a pilot film for a TV series that never got made. When I saw it in a theater more than 30 years ago, that was my impression.

The Shadow is of course a grand old multi-media figure. A generation of kids grew up on the Shadow radio show and comic books, millions of other readers bought the pulp magazine or Shadow books, anywhere from the early 1930's to the 1960's. And of course there was the Alec Baldwin film -- also, not a bad effort. But they just couldn't decide whether to play it as a real adventure story or as parody. Like other attempts in the same era (The Phantom, Doc Savage) that's a prescription for failure.

To me, the best screen "Shadow" of all time was the late Victor Jory, but probably that's because I saw the Jory version when I was a little kid and didn't have very tough critical standards.

I'm still hoping for a Shadow movie with a first rate production from a good, solid script. In the meanwhile, watching earlier efforts like "The Invisible Avenger" aka "Bourbon Street Shadows" just gives me the old "glass-half-empty-glass-half-full" sensation.

Dick Lupoff
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Margo Lane: you are needed!
behrens-225 October 2000
This 57 minute film is of some historical interest, especially to collectors of films based on comic book characters. The plot is only mildly interesting and certainly not very original, the acting wooden, the production values low budget. In fact, I began to wonder if this was an early made-for-television effort rather than a film for cinemas.

At any rate, it does not follow the original concept except for Lamont Cranston's ability to "cloud men's minds" so that he seems to disappear. He does not don the familiar broad-brimmed hat and cape (although it is shown on the cover drawing), nor does he consort with Margo Lane, "the only person to know the Shadow's true identity." Instead he is in the constant company of a certain gentleman named Jogendra, who is trying to discipline him in the Oriental art of they are practising.

But all this aside, it is really a lot of fun in its own way because of its defects and a good example of how Hollywood had no respect for its sources. I have sought in the recent and in back copies of Maltin for some mention of this item, but it seems to have been forgotten by all except Video Yesterday--for which I thank them.
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