# The Shadow (1994) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 4, 2013, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shadow-1994/660128 "2013-06-04T17:35:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shadow-1994/660128/41 "2013-06-06T16:20:42Z")
The Phantom was the first hero to wear a skin-tight uniform _and_ the first whose mask turned his eyes into white slits. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shadow-1994/660128/42 "2013-06-06T16:31:15Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Ah, but didn’t Zorro predate the Phantom in having a secret-HQ cave _under his stately manor,_ and in having a masked outfit _complete with black cape,_ the better to inspire Batman, right down to the ‘rich playboy fop’ identity? I think the early versions of Batman’s origin have Bruce and his parents leaving a screening of Errol Flynn in “Zorro” when Dave and Martha Wayne are killed. It was later that it was changed to a performance of “Der Fleidermaus” (though who would take a kid to that?) to take the bat theme to fetishist levels. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shadow-1994/660128/43 "2013-06-06T19:42:33Z")
I remember when the movie came out, and I remember wondering why such an old comic book character was being resurrected-I don’t think that The Shadow was anyway near as poplar as Batman or Superman. I do remember that he flew an autogyro aircraft-something long obsolete by the 1940’s. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shadow-1994/660128/44 "2013-06-06T19:46:08Z")
The Shadow was extremely popular in the days of radio and pulps, before comic books. Old Time Radio fans were greater in number when the Shadow was made, and nostalgia is a powerful motivator. The pulp novels are the best introduction to the character. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shadow-1994/660128/45 "2013-06-06T21:53:19Z")
I also think _The Rocketeer_ is one of the best movies ever made. So there. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shadow-1994/660128/46 "2013-06-06T23:56:50Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > I also think _The Rocketeer_ is one of the best movies ever made. > > So there. It was good solid entertainment. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shadow-1994/660128/47 "2013-06-07T00:35:40Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > I also think _The Rocketeer_ is one of the best movies ever made. . . . Best ever, maybe not, but darn good. And very true to the original comics (which, themselves, were relatively true to the old b&w serials. What the heck were those called, anyway? Guys with rocket backpacks and rocket ships and all.) (Always loved how, though the rockets were going really fast, the smoke from their exhaust always went up.) The recent comic “Rocketeer: Hollywood Horror” from IDW was quite good. Written by Roger Langridge, celebrated for his earlier “Snarked.” Stays mostly true to the spirit of the original comics and the movie. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shadow-1994/660128/48 "2013-06-07T01:20:08Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > The Shadow was extremely popular in the days of radio and pulps, before comic books. Old Time Radio fans were greater in number when the Shadow was made, and nostalgia is a powerful motivator. The pulp novels are the best introduction to the character. How hard are those to track down? I have listened to a ton of the old radio shows, but I haven’t ever read the pulps. Is there a particularly good starting point? ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shadow-1994/660128/49 "2013-06-07T01:43:27Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > It was good solid entertainment. > [@Trinopus](#): > > Best ever, maybe not, but darn good. And very true to the original comics (which, themselves, were relatively true to the old b&w serials. Yep, I liked that film a lot. And Jennifer Connelly could wear the heck out of vintage clothes. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shadow-1994/660128/50 "2013-06-07T12:38:57Z")
> [@epbrown01](#): > > I think the early versions of Batman’s origin have Bruce and his parents leaving a screening of Errol Flynn in “Zorro” when Dave and Martha Wayne are killed. It was later that it was changed to a performance of “Der Fleidermaus” (though who would take a kid to that?) to take the bat theme to fetishist levels. It’s still Zorro in most versions. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shadow-1994/660128/51 "2013-06-07T13:22:16Z")
> [@NAF1138](#): > > How hard are those to track down? I have listened to a ton of the old radio shows, but I haven’t ever read the pulps. Is there a particularly good starting point? The pulps are pretty easy to find. Amazon has a great many. Here’s the link to the first Shadow story, [The Living Shadow](http://www.amazon.com/dp/0515035971). This is the one you should read first. After that, it doesn’t matter as much. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shadow-1994/660128/52 "2013-06-07T13:24:36Z")
> [@CandidGamera](#): > > It’s still Zorro in most versions. In Detective #33 (Batman’s origin story), they’re leaving a movie theater, but they don’t mention the name of the movie. Once somebody thought of having it be Zorro, it stuck. Very recent versions, however, have had the movie be about a more Shadow-like character called “The Gray Ghost”. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shadow-1994/660128/53 "2013-06-07T13:42:45Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > In Detective #33 (Batman’s origin story), they’re leaving a movie theater, but they don’t mention the name of the movie. Once somebody thought of having it be Zorro, it stuck. Very recent versions, however, have had the movie be about a more Shadow-like character called “The Gray Ghost”. AFAIK the Animated Series used The Grey Ghost and The newer movies used Die Fledermaus. DC canon is so screwed up at this point it hardly matters anymore in the “official” continuity. Edit: Also the Grey Ghost was played by none othr than Adam West. It was a poignant and extremely well-done roe, and much more than a cameo or a one-note joke ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shadow-1994/660128/54 "2013-06-07T15:34:32Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > Edit: Also the Grey Ghost was played by none othr than Adam West. It was a poignant and extremely well-done roe, and much more than a cameo or a one-note joke Indeed. It was a particularly good episode of an excellent series, in no small part due to having Adam West in the role. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shadow-1994/660128/55 "2013-06-07T16:08:35Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > In Detective #33 (Batman’s origin story), they’re leaving a movie theater, but they don’t mention the name of the movie. Once somebody thought of having it be Zorro, it stuck. Very recent versions, however, have had the movie be about a more Shadow-like character called “The Gray Ghost”. That would be the Animated Series continuity, not the comics. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shadow-1994/660128.md?page=2)