The Shadow Fan Central: Tidbits about The Master of Darkness

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Movie Tidbits

Note: I'm accepting submissions for this page. Know of any good tidbits about The Shadow? Email me!

Movie Music

The Shadow (1994) movie soundtrack was used in 3 movie trailers:

John Carpenter's Village of the Damned 1995) used the opening of "The Hotel"
The Saint (1997) used "The Poppy Fields"
Cold Creek Manor (2003) used the opening of "The Hotel"

Any Relation?

Did you know that director/writer Sam Raimi (Evil Dead, Army of Darkness, Spider-Man) wrote a script for a Shadow movie? He even wanted Bruce Campbell (Army of Darkness, Spider-Man) to play the title role. Unfortunately, Raimi could not get the rights to the character, and had to rewrite the script and create a new hero. The movie that resulted was Darkman (1990), starring Liam Neeson (Schindler's List, Star Wars Episode I, Batman Begins) . (Thanks to Michael M. for the information!)

What Could've Been...

In 1996, Universal Pictures supposedly had plans to release a direct-to-video sequel of The Shadow. This was following the successful sequel releases of Darkman and Tremors. Unfortunately, the plans never came to fruition and the project was shelved. (Thanks to Michael M. for the information!)
By the way, that Shadow sequel was rumoured to be an adaptation of the pulp novel The Voodoo Master.

Big Guns

Looking for a replica of the .45s from the 1994 movie? The closest match today is the .45 or .50 Grizzly Win Mag . Coming in a close second is the AMT Hardballer .45, made famous in the first Terminator movie. You can find a replica of the AMT as an airsoft at Tokyo Marui (unfortunately this web site is in Japanese, but try searching Google for dealers). As for a replica of the Grizzly, try searching the internet. (Thanks to Peter Lukas for the information and picture!)

Webmistress's Note: For the 1994 movie, The Shadow's Silver Heat .45 automatics were designed to have a more dramatic effect on screen.
According to Steve Karnes, the armorer on the 1994 movie, the guns were "special order Grizzly .45 Win Mag pistols custom built by LAR Grizzly for the movie. They added some to the slide and left off the groves on top of the slide to make it appear as oversized Colt 1911 .45 autos". For more information, read this interview with Mr. Karnes. (Thanks to Steve Karnes for the information!)
According to the special edition issue of Starlog for the movie, the barrels of the guns were sawed off and extended until they were three and a half inches longer than a regular .45. The handles themelves were also "beefed up". Placed side by side, a Silver Heat .45 could easily dwarf a real .45 automatic from The Shadow's era!

The Real Phurba

If you're at the San Francisco Asian Art Museum, check out their Tibetian section.There you'll find an actual Phurba on display. The information about this dagger reads:

Ritual Dagger - 1500 to 1600, Tibet, bronze and iron
This type of Tibetan ritual instrument for subjegating demons is known as a phurba. Padma Sambhawa with its introduction when he brought Buddhism to Tibet in the eight century. The three heads of the Vajrakila are shown on top, each one slightly different but each with a third eye, frowning eyebrows, and fangs to accentuate the god's wrathful appearance. The handle is formed by a knob with lotus petals situated between two knots, below which is a ritual crocodile called a Makara, from whose jaws issue the iron blade and two serpents. The triple blade symbolizes overcoming the three root poisons: desire, ignorance and hatred.

The comments submitted along with this information were quite intriguing as well. I'll let Kame (the person who sent me the phurba info above) explain:

(Comparison to the 1994 movie): So, the 'head' of phurba was the Vajrakila that bit Lamont in the temple of the Cobras. When it suddenly sprouted legs and was walking about, it was the Makara. The part that struck me the most was the triple blade, the overcoming of desire, ignorance and hatred (something that Lamont seemed to have a lot of when he was living a bad life).

(Thanks to Kame for the information and picture!)

Movie Connections

School Ties (1992)
There is a scene near the beginning when the main character is meeting his college dorm-mates. One character, nicknamed "Mack" [Andrew Lowery] , is introduced leaping into the room in a brown trenchcoat, fedora, and sunglasses and quoting the opening and closing radio show catchphrases, along with "The Shadow knows!", and the laugh.
(Thanks to Don for the information!)
The Recruit (2003)
In one scene, CIA agent Walter Burke (played by Al Pacino) says, "Who knows, who knows. The Shadow knows." (Thanks to NeGrosky Black for the information!)
Sky Captain and the World of Tomrrow (2004)
Check out the production artwork in the Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow DVD. One of the costume design concepts for the villainess, the Mysterious Lady, looks very much like The Shadow's outfit (complete with slouch hat and scarf)! This artwork also appeared on the movie's official Web site. The outfit itself never made it into the movie. (Thanks to Don for the information!)
Madagascar (2005)
Near the beginning of the movie, one of the penguins tells Marty the Zebra about their secret plan to escape the zoo. Afterwards, he waves his flippers around and says "You didn't see anything", as if to hypnotize Marty. A nice reference to the the Cobalt Club scene in the 1994 movie where Lamont is hypnotizing Commissioner Barth.

Batman Begins (2005)
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then this is quite a tribute.

Batman: Gotham Knight (2008)
View this sneek peek for the direct-to-DVD six-part anime anthology film that follows on Batman's further adventures picking up from the end of Batman Begins and leading into The Dark Knight. Includes an interview with Dennis O'Neil, who wrote some of the 1970s Shadow comics. Worth noting is a mention of Batman's inspiration by The Shadow (about 50 to 60 seconds into the preview). (Thanks to Doug for the link!)

Hollywood and The Shadow

This mini-report from the 2005 Comic Con by Mile High Comics talks about director Kevin Smith (Clerks, Dogma) bowing out of doing a movie version of The Green Hornet. But scroll down to the comments below, it talks about Hollywood and the pulp heroes, and especially of the 1994 movie and how it was done wrong. A nice primer for those keeping an eye out for the next Shadow movie.
Read it here
(Thanks to Doug Rice for the information!)