The Shadow of the Eagle

1932
Passed
3h 38m

ÉVALUATION IMDb

MA NOTE

John Wayne, James Bradbury Jr., Dorothy Gulliver, Walter Miller, and 'Little Billy' Rhodes in The Shadow of the Eagle (1932)

Ajouter une intrigue dans votre langueThe Eagle uses sky writing to make threats against a corporation. Nathan Gregory owns a traveling fairground and is thought to be the Eagle. Craig McCoy is a pilot who goes looking for the E... Tout lireThe Eagle uses sky writing to make threats against a corporation. Nathan Gregory owns a traveling fairground and is thought to be the Eagle. Craig McCoy is a pilot who goes looking for the Eagle when Gregory turns up missing.The Eagle uses sky writing to make threats against a corporation. Nathan Gregory owns a traveling fairground and is thought to be the Eagle. Craig McCoy is a pilot who goes looking for the Eagle when Gregory turns up missing.

Directors
- Ford Beebe
- B. Reeves Eason
Writers
Stars

Voir l’information sur la production à IMDbPro

ÉVALUATION IMDb

5,5/10

469

MA NOTE

Directors
- Ford Beebe
- B. Reeves Eason
Writers
Stars

Voir l’information sur la production à IMDbPro

Anecdotes
This serial is most remembered for its first chapter that ends with John Wayne, on a deserted country road, running and dodging a bi-plane that is trying to run him down. Similar to Alfred Hitchcock's La mort aux trousses (1959).

Gaffes
The long shot of the scene depicting John Wayne as Craig and Roy D'Arcy as Gardener are clearly shot with the men on a ferris wheel, but the closeups of both men are mismatches and none of the bars and struts of the ride can be seen since both actors are clearly on the ground and not moving.

Citations
The Midget: Who are you callin little boy, ya big palooka?

Autres versions
There is a 185-minute home video version (released on DVD by Platinum) which cuts the "episodic" aspects, such as episode titles and cliffhangers, to form a continuous story.

Connexions
Featured in Sprockets: Classic Serials (1991)

Commentaires des utilisateurs14

Commentaire

Commentaire en vedette

3/10

Very low quality early John Wayne serial

Others have mentioned the old movie serials. The cover on my Alpha Video DVD claims that "The Shadow of the Eagle" is "The Complete Serial." But one part is missing in the early series, and it ends with episode 11 -- but not the end of the story. So, I have no idea how it comes out.

"The Shadow of the Eagle" is an early John Wayne series. It was a stunt man's show, with lots of action and running about. The Duke's acting is OK and very good in places. We can't say that for most of the rest of the cast – especially not Dorothy Gulliver. She has several close-ups in which she has hammy glares at the camera. Was she still acting for silent films?

The attempt to show sky-writing is pathetic. An airplane in the sky making 90-degree and 180-degree turns in just a few feet? It looked exactly like what it was – a toy model. I'm sure they could have done something to seem a little more real. By 1932, many people would have seen skywriting at daredevil shows, air shows, county fairs and other events held around the country. So, this probably would have looked just as hokey to audiences then, as it does today.

Although the plot was interesting, with just enough intrigue to keep one watching – hoping to see the end, it soon reached the point of tedium. The action scenes were repeated car chases, repeated climbing up and down outside buildings, and repeated breaking into the same offices. John Wayne must have had a permanent concussion from this one – I think he got conked out at least once in each segment.

The segments were of varied lengths. The shortest was less than 10 minutes and a couple early ones were half an hour or more. Each one ran the full credits at the beginning. But there was very little continuity between episodes. They tended to skip some details where the next episode would open somewhere off from where the previous one ended.

This Mascot production clearly shows its poverty row origins. It has very poor writing, editing and other production values; and the film quality relegates this one to the dust bin.