WasAnnon Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Humbersi The first must-see film of the year.

Jemima It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Staci Frederick Blistering performances.

Richard Chatten The title of this garrulous and uninvolving retread set largely in New Orleans of the radio character popularized in the thirties by Orson Welles may be vaguely familiar to some from its presence as a rather mysterious footnote to the illustrious filmography of the Oscar-winning cameraman James Wong Howe. Howe directed one feature film, 'Go, Man, Go!' (1954), with the Harlem Globetrotters, and between his Oscars for 'The Rose Tattoo' (1955) and 'Hud' (1963) directed a few TV episodes, of which this may have been his first. Assembled from two unsold pilot episodes for a TV series (of which only one was directed by Howe, hence the joint credit) which were spliced together under the intriguing title 'Invisible Avenger' and released as a feature film, it thus finds itself by default among Howe's film credits.The drab photography, however, belies Howe's contribution; and as an avowed stickler for realism I hope he wasn't responsible for the multiple set-ups employed on the public execution shown being screened on American television. Apart from the "Daddy O" jazz talk and the topical storyline about revolutionaries plotting against a Latin American dictatorship, it feels more like a Republic serial from the forties. Using his radio name of Lamont Cranston, the Shadow hangs out with a mystic sidekick named Jogendra who's taught him how to think himself invisible (hence the title), but rather than simply prowling about invisible he usually waits until he gets caught and then confound his captors by disappearing; sometimes for effect he casts a shadow only, and he only ever emits his trademark diabolical cackle when invisible.Although billed third and cutting a striking figure as a hard-boiled nightclub hostess, Helen Westcott's role proves surprisingly irrelevant to the action.

Adam Graham A nice waste of an hour. The acting was passable, though the Shadow's mentor guy was a little creepy. The plot was mostly predictable with a few plausibility issues. (Yeah, we're going to show what we believe to be an execution on television.) Having listened to quite a few episodes of the radio Shadow, my conclusion is the Shadow does best when operating like a Super Hero, as he did with Orson Welles in the lead. When the Shadow operates as a shamus with a special trick, it's a lot cheaper.This is okay, but if it was a pilot for a TV show, I can see why it didn't make it. Still, for fans of the Shadow, this is a rare opportunity to see an attempt at bringing that mysterious voice to film.

disdressed12 for me,this is the best of the six movies in The Shadow series.i found it entertaining,and well paced.there's more action,excitement and suspense.Richard Derr(in his only outing as Lamont Cranston/The Shadow) is the best actor for the character,out of these six movies.he just seems more convincing and believable in the role.this story is a bit different than the previous ones,in that Cranston is shown here as he has just begun to understand his powers.along for the ride is his teacher in the mystic arts,Jogendra,Played by Mark Daniels.in this one we get to see the Shadow utilize his powers,something we haven't actually seen before.this incarnation seems to me to be the most fitting for the character.for me,The Invisible Avenger is a 6/10

behrens-2 This 57 minute film is of some historical interest, especially to collectors of films based on comic book characters. The plot is only mildly interesting and certainly not very original, the acting wooden, the production values low budget. In fact, I began to wonder if this was an early made-for-television effort rather than a film for cinemas.At any rate, it does not follow the original concept except for Lamont Cranston's ability to "cloud men's minds" so that he seems to disappear. He does not don the familiar broad-brimmed hat and cape (although it is shown on the cover drawing), nor does he consort with Margo Lane, "the only person to know the Shadow's true identity." Instead he is in the constant company of a certain gentleman named Jogendra, who is trying to discipline him in the Oriental art of they are practising.But all this aside, it is really a lot of fun in its own way because of its defects and a good example of how Hollywood had no respect for its sources. I have sought in the recent and in back copies of Maltin for some mention of this item, but it seems to have been forgotten by all except Video Yesterday--for which I thank them.