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Flickering Shadows: How Pulpdom's Master of Darkness Brightened the Silver Screen
Created as the mysterious narrator of a 1930 radio drama, The Shadow immediately enthralled listeners and became the star of his own pulp-fiction magazine, which at its peak had a paid circulation of some 300,000 copies per issue. And in the depths of the Depression, to boot! Success like this was bound to be noticed by Hollywood, which came calling right away. This fact-filled monograph charts The Shadow's lengthy history in movies, from modestly produced short subjects made in 1931 to the multi-million-dollar spectacular released in 1994 with Alec Baldwin as the legendary Master of Darkness. Brimming with behind-the-scenes production info and illustrated with rare photos, posters, lobby cards, magazine covers, and even frame captures from the movies themselves, FLICKERING SHADOWS is one of the most absorbing pop-culture histories published in years.
98 pages, Paperback
Published September 10, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 20, 2016
I've just finished up Ed Hulse's excellent new monograph detailing the history of THE SHADOW on the big and small screens.
As with his other treatise on the history of film, Ed has provided a cornucopia of information regarding the various incarnations of The Shadow on film and in his usual entertaining, inimitable style.
Highly recommended.
As with his other treatise on the history of film, Ed has provided a cornucopia of information regarding the various incarnations of The Shadow on film and in his usual entertaining, inimitable style.
Highly recommended.
April 11, 2025
There are four things wrong with this book.
1) The author is a fanboy. Movies are said to be flawed when they change the Shadow and his world for film incarnations. This is not necessarily bad to those of us who study adaptations, but it is necessarily bad to Mr. Hulse.
2) The book in one continuous chapter. It should have been divided by film or film series, either into chapters or with headers for the transitions.
3) The book ends abruptly. There is no conclusion or coda summarizing the ideas that went before or that identify trends in Shadow film adaptations.
4) There is no index, which is not necessary for those reading the book for the first time, but an index would be very useful for those of us who will keep the book for future reference.
There are two things right with this book.
1) Hulse writes in a very readable style.
2) There is a lot of information about film adaptations of the Shadow.
This is a deeply flawed book that pretends not to be self-published.
1) The author is a fanboy. Movies are said to be flawed when they change the Shadow and his world for film incarnations. This is not necessarily bad to those of us who study adaptations, but it is necessarily bad to Mr. Hulse.
2) The book in one continuous chapter. It should have been divided by film or film series, either into chapters or with headers for the transitions.
3) The book ends abruptly. There is no conclusion or coda summarizing the ideas that went before or that identify trends in Shadow film adaptations.
4) There is no index, which is not necessary for those reading the book for the first time, but an index would be very useful for those of us who will keep the book for future reference.
There are two things right with this book.
1) Hulse writes in a very readable style.
2) There is a lot of information about film adaptations of the Shadow.
This is a deeply flawed book that pretends not to be self-published.
September 1, 2020
There are many reasons to recommend this handy overview of the celluloid Shadow, not the least of which is that it is filled with stills ranging from movie photos to pressbook art.
More than that, Hulse chronicles the 15-year-saga to bring The Shadow to the big screen, a project conceived as a big budget feature during the era of the Superman movies and Tim Burton’s BATMAN and ultimately culminating in the 1994 feature film THE SHADOW starring Alec Baldwin in the title role. The best part is that Hulse has read the drafts of the several unfilmed scripts, inaccessible to the general public, and summarized them for the benefit of his readers. This is material not likely to be found anyplace else.
Definitely a worthwhile investment.
More than that, Hulse chronicles the 15-year-saga to bring The Shadow to the big screen, a project conceived as a big budget feature during the era of the Superman movies and Tim Burton’s BATMAN and ultimately culminating in the 1994 feature film THE SHADOW starring Alec Baldwin in the title role. The best part is that Hulse has read the drafts of the several unfilmed scripts, inaccessible to the general public, and summarized them for the benefit of his readers. This is material not likely to be found anyplace else.
Definitely a worthwhile investment.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews