Shadow, The MPAA Rating: PG-13 Entertainment: +2 Content: -2

High in the Tibetan mountains in the late thirties, opium dealer Lamont Cranston (Alec Baldwin) is kidnapped by mystic Tulku. Tulku assaults him and teaches him occult magic - all for the sake of Cranston's redemption. Seven years later, Cranston, now a billionaire playboy, is back in his hometown of New York City. And gangsters beware, for Cranston's alter ego is The Shadow, the elusive bane of evildoers, endowed with the powers of sorcery. When Cranston becomes The Shadow, his features take on the hawkish appearance described in the original Shadow radio show and pulp novels of the thirties and forties. Enter Shiwan Khan (John Lone), last descendant of cutthroat Genghis Khan. His mind-control powers and other witchery match the Shadow's. When Cranston refuses to join him in conquering the world, Khan pits his occultic powers against Cranston's. The Shadow battles Khan and his army to save the world. This fairly entertaining film is obviously meant to make money off persons attracted to violence and sorcery.

While not typically gory, violence in the film is constant, with people stabbed, bitten, punched, kicked, thrown through windows and off of buildings. Others are shot with pistols, machine guns and crossbows, exploded in a fiery car crash, nearly drowned, and impaled on a sharp piece of a mirror. Even worse is the film's glorification of evil occult magic. A face appears in the flames of a pillar of fire and flames come from a fireplace to encircle a woman. Both The Shadow and his nemesis use mind control, forcing some to commit suicide. Both can become invisible, leaving only their shadows. An evil demonic knife handle bites with needle-sharp teeth and screeches wickedly. The dialogue contains some mild crudities and two regular profanities. The film has no sexual conduct, but does have several suggestive remarks and incidents. All of these elements, particularly the exploitation and glorification of sorcery, thoroughly damage the moral quality of THE SHADOW.

Preview Reviewer: Bob Liparulo
Distributor: Universal Pictures, 100 Universal Plaza, Building 507A/3, Universal City, CA 91608