History YMMV / TheShadow

* SpecialEffectsFailure: In the establishing shot on the bridge, the Shadow's long cloak is ''supposed'' to ominously billow out behind him, but he isn't wearing one. This is because the cloak was intended to be a CG element, but there wasn't time to composite it in.

* AwesomeMusic: JerryGoldsmith's beautiful score for the movie, as well as Taylor Dane's "Original Sin" and The Shadow's theme-tune.

* JumpingTheShark: While the quality of the stories was said to have declined after the war (they were very certainly shorter -- the magazine had been cut to digest-size due to wartime paper rationing), the true shark jump would have to be after Walter Gibson was summarily fired, along with the magazine's editorial staff. In Gibson's place was Bruce Eliott, a friend and fellow magician who also dabbled in pulp writing. In place of the previous editor was Babbette Rosamund, who strove to turn the pulp into a more "literary" mystery magazine. The exercise failed. Eliott's stories became [[FairPlayWhodunnit stock detective stories]] often starring Lamont Cranston and Commissioner Weston, with, at most, a token cameo by The Shadow. More often than not, the shadow did not appear or was mentioned in the Eliott stories. The covers lost their lush painted pulp illustrations in favor of pop-art-style pieces. In the end, amid a nose-dive in sales Street And Smith decided to cut their losses. They fired Elliott and Rosamund, and begged Gibson and old ''Shadow Magazine'' editor William de Grouchy to return. They returned to the old formula. Fans may have been happy, but the move was too little, too late. The magazine folded four issues after Gibson's return.

* AwesomeMusic: "Omphale's Spinning Wheel" by Camille-Saint-Saens for the radio version, and JerryGoldsmith's beautiful score for the movie, as well as Taylor Dane's "Original Sin" and The Shadow's theme-tune.

!!The 1994 movie:

* CompleteMonster: Many of the Shadow's foemen would count, but special mention has to be made of Huxley Drune and Gordon Colgarth from ''The Salamanders''. Their base plan, [[spoiler: which is setting arson fires so they can steal safes]], is bad enough, but they leap with wild abandon over the MoralEventHorizon when [[spoiler: their final planned arson will destroy an entire town]] ''and they figure that in as part of the plot.''

** The Perfur is pretty scary as well.

* AwesomeMusic: "Omphale's Spinning Wheel" by Camille-Saint-Saens for the radio version, and JerryGoldsmith's beautiful score for the movie.
* CrowningMusicOfAwesome: Taylor Dane's "Original Sin" and The Shadow's theme-tune.

* JumpingTheShark: While the quality of the stories was said to have declined after the war (they were very certainly shorter -- the magazine had been cut to digest-size due to wartime paper rationing), the true shark jump would have to be after Walter Gibson was summarily fired, along with the magazine's editorial staff. In Gibson's place was Bruce Eliott, a friend and fellow magician who also dabbled in pulp writing. In place of the previous editor was Babbette Rosamund, who strove to turn the pulp into a more "literary" mystery magazine. The exercise failed. Eliott's stories became [[FairPlayWhodunnit stock detective stories]] often starring Lamont Cranston and Commissioner Weston, with, at most, a token cameo by The Shadow. More often than not, the shadow did not appear or was mentioned in the Eliott stories. The covers lost their lush painted pulp illustrations in favor of pop-art-style pieces. In the end, amid a nose-dive in sales Street And Smith decided to cut their losses. They fired Elliott and Rosamund, and begged Gibson and old ''Shadow Magazine'' editor William de Grouchy to return. They returned to the old formula. [[AndTheFandomRejoiced Fans may have been happy]], but the move was too little, too late. The magazine folded four issues after Gibson's return.

* JumpingTheShark: While the quality of the stories was said to have declined after the war, the true shark jump would have to be after Walter Gibson was summarily fired, along with the magazine's editorial staff. In Gibson's place was Bruce Eliott, a friend and fellow magician who also dabbled in pulp writing. In place of the previous editor was Babbette Rosamund, who strove to turn the pulp into a more "literary" mystery magazine. The exercise failed. Eliott's stories became [[FairPlayWhodunnit stock detective stories]] often starring Lamont Cranston and Commissioner Weston, with, at most, a token cameo by The Shadow. More often than not, the shadow did not appear or was mentioned in the Eliott stories. The covers lost their lush painted pulp illustrations in favor of pop-art-style pieces. In the end, amid a nose-dive in sales Street And Smith decided to cut their losses. They fired Elliott and Rosamund, and begged Gibson and old ''Shadow Magazine'' editor William de Grouchy to return. They returned to the old formula. [[AndTheFandomRejoiced Fans may have been happy]], but the move was too little, too late. The magazine folded four issues after Gibson's return.

* CompleteMonster: Shiwan Khan makes the Shadow's evil side look like a pretty nice guy.

** Literally. Lamont's nightmare that he tears off his own face, revealing Shiwan Khan's undeneath.

* AwesomeMusic: "Omphale's Spinning Wheel" by Camille-Saint-Saens for the radio version, and JerryGoldsmith's beautiful score for he movie.

* CompleteMonster: Shiwan Khan makes the Shadow's evil side look like a pretty nice guy.

* {{Narm}}: The Lanes are hypnotized by a... cigarette billboard.

* AndTheFandomRejoiced: The first Shadow comic since [[TheMovie something effectively killed the franchise in 1995]] is being written by GarthEnnis.

** Come to think of it, Shiwan Khan [[NightmareFuelStationAttendant in general]]. Any guy who can hypnotise you into killing yourself and does so for fun is pretty NF.

* AwesomeMusic: "Omphale's Spinning Wheel" by Camille-Saint-Saens for the radio version, and AwesomeMusic/JerryGoldsmith's beautiful score for he movie.

* AwesomeMusic: "Omphale's Spinning Wheel" by Camille-Saint-Saens for the radio version, and Jerry Goldsmith's beautiful score for he movie.

* HighOctaneNightmareFuel: Literally. Lamont's nightmare that he tears off his own face, revealing Shiwan Khan's undeneath.
** Come to think of it, Shiwan Khan [[NightmareFuelStationAttendant in general]]. Any guy who can hypnotise you into killing yourself and does so for fun is pretty HONF.

* {{Narm}}: The Lanes are hypnotized by a... cigarette billboard.

AndTheFandomRejoiced: The first Shadow comic since [[TheMovie something effectively killed the franchise in 1995]] is being written by GarthEnnis.

** Come to think of it, Shiwan Khan. Any guy who can hypnotise you into killing yourself and does so for fun is pretty HONF.