Entertainment. Critical reception Opinion on the serial, especially as an adaptation on the pulp magazine source material, is mixed. Harmon and Glut are critical of the serial. Filming The Shadow in brightly lit environments undermines the mystery and menace of the character. The quality of the plotting is also brought into question for its lack of imagination and the fact that the hero appears to survive cliffhanger endings and other threats for no reason other than that he is the serial's masked hero. On the other hand, Cline praises the serial. The mystery of the pulp magazine was preserved by both the hero and villain being masked. This lent an ambiguity from the point of view of the other characters that also pervaded the source material, so "for the audience the result was perfectly compatible and a pure delight". See also List of film serials by year List of film serials by studio References External links Cinefania.com The Shadow 1940 films 1940s superhero films American black-and-white films Columbia Pictures film serials 1940s English-language films Films directed by James W. Horne 1940 adventure films The Shadow films American adventure films Films with screenplays by Joseph F. Poland 1940s American films