''The Vanishing Shadow'' is a 1934

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a ...

science fiction

film serial A serial film, film serial (or just serial), movie serial, or chapter play, is a motion picture form popular during the first half of the 20th century, consisting of a series of short subjects exhibited in consecutive order at one theater, gene ...

directed by Lew Landers. It features what is believed to be the first appearance of a hand-held

ray gun A raygun is a science-fiction directed-energy weapon that releases energy, usually with destructive effect.Jeff Prucher, '' Brave New Words: The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction,'' Oxford University Press, 2007, page 162 They have variou ...

in film. (apart from '' The Death Ray''). Many science fiction gadgets, including a robot and The Destroying Ray, are also featured in the serial.

Plot

Stanley Stanfield is the inventor of the Vanishing Ray, a wearable device which, when active, leaves only the user's shadow still visible. After meeting with fellow scientist, Carl Van Dorn, a prototype Ray is built. Stanley intends to sell bonds to finance his invention. He inherited them from his late father, the publisher and editor of the local ''Tribune'' newspaper, but the stockbroker he meets is corruptly involved with Wade Barnett, the businessman who hounded Stanley's father to his death. Barnett wants the bonds and will go to any length to acquire them. A conflict ensues between Stanley and Barnett during the 12 chapter serial. However, Stanley's new girlfriend, Gloria Grant, is really Gloria Barnett, his enemy's estranged daughter. Neither hero nor villain wants to see Gloria hurt and must work around this motive in their on-going struggle. Dorgan, Barnett's "spear-point heavy", is unhappy with having to hold back to protect Gloria. Eventually, he captures both Stanley and Gloria, but blackmails his boss to ensure her safety. Barnett turns up with both the ransom money and the police, but he is shot in the ensuing fight. Before dying, he makes his peace with his daughter. Gloria and Stanley finally marry and take over operation of the ''Tribune''.

Cast

Onslow Stevens Onslow Stevens (born Onslow Ford Stevenson; March 29, 1902 – January 5, 1977) was an American stage, television and film actor. Early years Born in Los Angeles, California, Stevens was the son of British-born character actor Houseley St ...

as Stanley Stanfield, inventor of the Vanishing Ray and son of the late editor of the ''Tribune'' newspaper. * Ada Ince as Gloria Grant, Stanfield's girlfriend, who is also the estranged daughter of Wade Barnett, having changed her name from the original Gloria Barnett. * James Durkin as Carl Van Dorn,

mad scientist The mad scientist (also mad doctor or mad professor) is a stock character of a scientist who is perceived as " mad, bad and dangerous to know" or " insane" owing to a combination of unusual or unsettling personality traits and the unabashedly a ...

ally of Stanfield * Walter Miller as Wade Barnett,

villain A villain (also known as a " black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character ...

ous businessman *

Richard Cramer Richard Earl Cramer (July 3, 1889 – August 9, 1960) was an American actor in films from the late 1920s to the early 1950s. Burly, menacing and gravel-voiced, Cramer specialized in villainous roles in many low-budget westerns, but is today ...

as Dorgan, Barnett's spear-point heavy * Edmund Cobb as Kent, one of Barnett's henchman *

Monte Montague Monte Montague (April 23, 1891 – April 6, 1959) was the stage name for Walter H. Montague, an American film actor. He appeared in more than 190 films between 1920 and 1954. He was born in Somerset, Kentucky, and died in Burbank, Californi ...

as Badger, one of Barnett's henchman * Al Ferguson as Stroud, one of Barnett's henchman *

Sidney Bracey Sidney Bracey (born Sidney Bracy; 18 December 1877 – 5 August 1942) was an Australian-born American actor. After a stage career in Australia, on Broadway and in Britain, he performed in more than 320 films between 1909 and 1942. Early li ...

as Denny, Barnett's office clerk *

J. Frank Glendon J. Frank Glendon (October 25, 1886 – March 17, 1937) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 70 films between 1915 and 1936. He was born in Choteau, Montana, and died in Hollywood, California. Selected filmography * '' Canni ...

as John Cadwell, stockbroker * William Desmond as Editor MacDonald *Beulah Hutton as Sal, a

gun moll A gun moll or gangster moll or gangster's moll is the female companion of a male professional criminal. "Gun" was British slang for thief, derived from Yiddish ''ganef'', from the Hebrew ''gannāb'' ( גנב). "Moll" is also used as a euphemism for ...

Lee J. Cobb Lee J. Cobb (born Leo Jacoby; December 8, 1911February 11, 1976) was an American actor, known both for film roles and his work on the Broadway stage. He often played arrogant, intimidating and abrasive characters, but he also acted as respectabl ...

as Roadwork Foreman in chapters 3 and 4. This was Cobb's first appearance in films

Chapter titles

# Accused of Murder # The Destroying Ray # The Avalanche # Trapped # Hurled from the Sky # Chain Lightning # The Tragic Crash # The Shadow of Death # Blazing Bulkheads # The Iron Death # The Juggernaut # Retribution _Source:

Availability

In his 1998 book on science fiction film serials, Roy Kinnard noted that the serial was difficult to assess as no print of it appeared to have survived. A 35mm nitrate preview trailer containing three minutes of the serial was held by the

George Eastman House The George Eastman Museum, also referred to as ''George Eastman House, International Museum of Photography and Film'', the world's oldest museum dedicated to photography and one of the world's oldest film archives, opened to the public in 1949 in ...

archive in Rochester, New York. It was unavailable in 1998 for screening, due to it never having been transferred to safety film stock. In 2010 all 12 Chapters of the serial were made available for viewing on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

. In August 2019, it was finally released on DVD by VCI 2019.Archived a
Ghostarchive
and th
Wayback Machine

References

External links