The Shadow

Russell Mulcahy made one of my all-time favorite films which was HIGHLANDER. He also made one of the worst films I've ever seen which was HIGHLANDER II: THE QUICKENING. So no doubt you can understand the concerns I had when it was announced he would be in the director's chair for the long awaited big screen debut of this pulp and radio legend. I'm happy to say my fears were unfounded as this was one film that blew my socks off. The idea of Alec Baldwin also concerned me and once again my fears were unfounded as he was perfectly cast in the role. It doesn't hurt that THE SHADOW is a character dear to his own heart and it shows as he looks to be having the time of his life in this film. The plot here is of no import...this is a film of visual stylings and the acting is nowhere as bad as you might expect. Aside from Baldwin we are presented with the talents of the lovely Penelope Ann Miller as Margo Lane and Jone Lone as Shiwan Khan, last descendant of Genghis Khan. Good silly fun stuff taken right from the original Walter B. Gibson written magazines. Sir Ian McKellen and Tim Curry ham it up to the max while Jonathan Winters plays it straight for a change. Just plain wonderful fun and in a sidebar here, the pooch Yinko A.K.A. Mr. Yink was named after Lamont Cranston's former Tibetan handle which was Ying Ko which supposedly means THE SHADOW in Tibetan. For those new here who are not familiar with Mr. Yink, you can use the search on the side to find out more about him. All in all, I can't see how Mulcahy could have done any better here and it's a shame the film going public didn't take to this wonderful little film.