The Shadow

Lamont Cranston is The Shadow. Through his travels throughout Asia, he acquired the power to "cloud men's minds," so that they can not see him, even though he is physically present.

He uses those powers to fight crime and confound evil-doers. The show's opening tagline, "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows," has become a part of American popular culture, as has its closing line, "The weed of crime bears bitter fruit! Crime does not pay. . . . The Shadow knows."

The Shadow originated as a comic book and pulp fiction character. The radio episodes here are from a series that started in 1937 and ran until 1954, but it was not the first appearance of The Shadow on the radio; The Shadow had darkened, as it were, several previous shows of various names.

This series was distinctive in introducing a female sidekick, Margo Lane, the only person to know Cranston's secret identity. Over the years, numerous actors portrayed the continuing roles, including a young Orson Welles as The Shadow and Agnes Moorehead as Margo Lane.

The Shadow was popular throughout the bulk of its run and was one of the best written and acted old time radio crime shows.

Learn more at Wikipedia.

Series description provided by Frank Bell.