The Shadow radio drama

[DanielJones]

But it probably has the best opening line in all radio" "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows! Mwaaahaahahahahahaaaaaa!!!"

The Whistler has a great opener as well.
"I am the Whistler, and I know many things, for I walk by night. I know many strange tales, hidden in the hearts of men and women who have stepped into the shadows. Yes ... I know the nameless terrors of which they dare not speak."


Cheers!

Dan

 

[Shangas]

Boy, I loved the opening to "The Whistler", although I stopped listening to that show because I found that it got rather repeditive after a few episodes.

 

[Blackthorn]

Cool thread, once I got to know FL a little bit I expected to find a Shadow thread. About 25 years ago I bought a set of 4 audio cassettes of the old radio show. I'm sure a Google search would turn up a source for them now.

 

[Jennifer Lynn]

I'm in the same boat as Blackthorn. Bought a set of The Shadow radio dramas (on cd) a number of years ago, and figured there'd be a few threads here that are/were attributed to it, and there are. I remember when I first bought the cds, I mentioned to a friend of mine who is a sound engineer that I was listening to them. Sadly he quipped that he didn't like old time radio drama, as he spends a lot of time cleaning up tracks to get rid of pops and crackles (such as the kind you hear in shows like these). Twas a shame to hear. As for me, I love 'em. I like to kick back on a late night with a bowl of popcorn and the lights down low and listen to an episode or three.

These, along with the movie with Alec Baldwin are the only way I've seen The Shadow so far. Are the pulp novels pretty good?

 

[ClassicMan1966]

I've listened to a great many OTR programs, from detective to comedy to scifi, but I have to admit that The Shadow is not my favorite.

I write audio drama myself, and I've given the series considerable thought to find out what I don't like, or what just doesn't work. I should admit that I've read a VERY large number of the original pulp novels (before they were pulled from various download sites) and the radio show doesn't hold a candle to them.

I think the concept is simply too visual a thing to work on radio. Unlike such series as Philip Marlowe, or Dragnet, or Jack Benny, the whole Shadow premise as done on radio needs to be seen, not heard. The radio version invented the "cloud men's minds bit, which is absent from the pulps, yet was incapable of reproducing it. Bret Morrison on a filter mike just doesn't cut it.

The stories themselves aren't bad, if often a bit "out there"

I've listen to some "Shadow" programs and I enjoy listening to them. You have to have some imagination while listening to the programs.

 

[Vornholt]

JL, I find I prefer the novels for their ability to get the scene across in a way that radio really can't do, at least for this character. Description works better for me than does the audio approach, again, that's for this character specifically. I do sound effects work for some privately produced audio dramas, and I often consider how I'd do the Shadow differently to get the images across better.