The Shadow On July 31, 1930 a sinister voice came over the radio into American Homes. The voice of the Shadow appeared for the first time. In the beginning the Shadow was not a crime fighter. He was a mysterious narrator of mystery tales taken from the pages of Street & Smith's Detective Story Magazine. The publisher Street & Smith began to use radio as an advertising medium to promote their fiction publications. The Shadow was a perfectly creepy teller of tales promoting Street & Smith. This format continued until 1935 when creative differences between Street & Smith and NBC called a halt to the Shadow on the air. On September 26, 1937, the Shadow reappeared on radio with the voice of Orson Welles playing the part. The Shadow was now a full-fledged character on radio, not just narrating and introducing stories. The Shadow had an identity as Lamont Cranston, a wealthy man about town. He was accompanied by Margo Lane, originally played by Agnes Moorehead. Margo Lane was the only person who knew that Lamont Cranston and the Shadow were one and the same. No other agents assisted the Shadow, as did in the Walter Gibson fictional accounts. This radio Shadow had hypnotic power to make himself invisible to those around him and he possessed mental telepathy to read minds. Orson Welles played the Shadow from 1937 through March 1938. The Shadow became the highest rated radio show on the air at that time. In September of 1939, a new voice of the Shadow appeared in the form of radio actor Bill Johnstone. Later in 1939, Agnes Moorehead left the show and was replaced by Marjorie Anderson as Margo Lane. The plot lines began to follow the standard formula of Margo Lane being in danger and the Shadow rescuing her from the clutches of evil. Bill Johnstone would be the voice of the Shadow for five seasons, until March 1943. Bret Morrison took over the Shadow role in 1943 for one season. John Archer and Steve Courtleigh took the Shadow role through the 1944-45 season. Bret Morrison then returned to be the Shadow for the duration of the program's run which lasted until December 26, 1954. The Shadow radio program became a part of American culture with its mystic phrase, "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!" The show used its popularity to try and deter crime with its admonition, "The weed of crime bears bitter fruit. Crime does not pay!" Every listener knew that the Shadow was out there, fighting the forces of evil and bringing wrong-doers to justice. Classic Pulp Art A gift of Murder - 12/21/1947 Aboard the Steamship Amazon - 07/17/1938 Altar of Death - 03/15/1942 Appointment with Death - 03/12/1939 Black Rock - 11/13/1938 Blind Beggar Dies - 06/26/1938 Blood Money - 10/20/1946 Bones of the Dragon - 01/11/1955 Brief Fame of John Copper - 03/11/1945 Burning Manor - 02/19/1950 Can the Dead Talk - 03/19/1939 Carnival of Death - 11/10/1940 Cat that Killed - 12/31/1939 Caverns of Death - 08/11/1938 Chess Club Murders - 02/23/1941 Chill of Death - 01/04/1948 Collectors of Death - 02/27/1949 Comic Strip Killer - 11/23/1947 Crystal Globe - 10/03/1943 Curse of Shiva - 12/01/1940 Curse of the Gypsies - 10/05/1947 Dead Men Talk - 09/24/1939 Death and the Black Fedora - 01/18/1948 Death and the Easter Bonnet - 03/28/1948 Death Coils to Strike - 03/21/1948 Death from the Deep - 06/12/1938 Death has Eight Arms - 11/02/1947 Death in A Minor Key - 06/02/1946 Death keeps a Deadline - 11/01/1942 Death on the Bridge - 03/03/1940 Death on the Rails - 04/13/1941 Death Prowls at Night - 03/23/1941 Death Rides a Broomstick - 03/02/1941 Death Shows the Way - 12/03/1939 Death Speaks Twice - 02/15/1942 Deathhouse Rescue - 09/26/1937 Destroyer - 03/25/1945 Devil takes a Wife - 12/08/1946 Doom and the Limping Man - 11/16/1947 Dreams of Death - 04/28/1946 Etched with Acid - 03/17/1946 Fine Art of Murder - 12/22/1946 Flight of the Vulture - 12/10/1939 Gang Doctor - 11/24/1946 Ghost Building - 01/12/1941 Ghost of Caleb Mackenzie - 01/26/1941 Ghost of the Stair - 12/29/1940 Ghost Town - 10/05/1940 Ghost Walks Again - 03/16/1941 Ghost without a Face - 02/11/1945 Ghost wore Silver Slippers - 04/07/1946 Giant of Madras - 05/16/1948 Gibbering Thing - 09/26/1943 Gorilla Man - 04/21/1946 Green Man - 11/24/1940 Gun Island - 10/23/1938 Hiss of Death - 02/24/1946 Hoodoo Ship - 10/19/1941 Horror in Wax - 02/26/1939 Hounds of Hills - 02/20/1938 House of Fun - 10/22/1939 House of Horror - 11/17/1940 House that Death Built - 01/25/1948 Hypnotized Audience - 06/05/1938 Island of Ancient Death - 03/03/1946 Isle of the Living Dead - 10/13/1940 Inventor of Death - 11/12/1939 Joeys Christman - 12/22/1940 Killers Rendezvous - 12/15/1940 Laughing Corpse - 03/10/1940 League of Terror - 01/09/1938 Leopard Strikes - 01/05/1941 Little Man who wasn't there - 04/08/1945 Makeup for Murder - 12/01/1946 Man who live twice - 02/09/1941 Man who Murdered Time - 01/01/1939 Man who was Death - 02/29/1948 Mark of the Black Widow - 10/27/1940 Message from the Hills - 07/31/1938 Mind over Murder - 03/31/1946 Monkey Woman - 05/29/1949 Murder and the Medium - 11/30/1947 Murder in E Flat - 12/04/1938 Murder in the Death House - 01/07/1940 Murder Incorporated - 12/17/1939 Murder on Approval - 08/21/1938 Murder Underground - 03/09/1941 Murderers Vanity - 03/17/1940 Murders in Wax - 07/24/1938 Night Marauder - 10/01/1939 Night without End - 10/16/1938 Nightmare at Gaelsberry - 02/02/1941 Nursery Rhyme - 02/22/1948 One Dead and Two to go - 02/01/1948 Oracle of Death - 10/20/1940 Out of this World - 01/21/1945 Phantom of the Lighthouse - 09/07/1947 Phantom Voice - 02/06/1938 Phantom Voyage - 02/16/1941 Plot Murder - 02/27/1938 Plot that Failed - 03/24/1940 Poison Death - 01/30/1938 Power of the Mind - 04/24/1938 Precipice Called Death - 01/21/1940 Prelude to Terror - 01/29/1939 Preview of Terror - 06/05/1949 Return of Carnation Charlie - 02/04/1940 Ring of Mahlalay Lee - 03/13/1949 Ruby of Karavahl - 10/19/1947 Sabotage - 01/16/1938 Sandhog Murders - 11/26/1939 Scent of Death - 02/02/1947 Seance with Death - 05/25/1947 Shadow Challenged - 01/19/1941 Shadow of Suspicion - 12/29/1946 Shadow Returns - 11/19/1939 Shadows Revenge - 05/11/1947 Shyster Payoff - 11/06/1938 Silent Avenger - 03/13/1938 Society of the Living Dead - 01/23/1939 Spider Boy - 06/01/1947 Spotlight on Natches - 11/18/1945 Stake Out - 03/14/1948 Stockings were Hung - 12/24/1939 Temple Bells of Neban - 10/24/1937 Tenor with the Broken Voice - 08/14/1938 Terrible Legend of Crownshield Castle - 12/28/1947 Terror of Madmans Deep - 10/24/1942 The Face - 09/21/1947 They Kill with a Silver Hatchet - 05/26/1946 Thing in the Cage - 02/08/1948 Three Ghosts - 10/31/1937 Tomb of Terror - 08/28/1938 Touch of Death - 02/28/1943 Trial of the Knifer - 02/20/1949 Unburied Dead - 04/14/1946 Until Death do us Part - 03/06/1946 Werewolf of Hamilton Mansion - 01/05/1947 When the Grave is Opened - 09/14/1947 White Witchman of Lawaiki - 02/28/1943 Copy and paste link into Itunes, Juice or other podcast aggregator. 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