The Shadow Knows, Part 1

The documentary starts out by talking about the time when the Shadow began. It was a time of considerable crime in the streets, which included mob killings and blowing up places. It was also the time of the Great Depression.

Then it talks about the pulp magazines of the time.

Then it goes into how Street and Smith decided to make a pulp that could be tied in to their radio program. The host of the radio program was the Shadow.

Many people were interested in the Shadow and wanted one of his magazines, but there wasn't any. In addition, Street and Smith wanted to make sure no one else took their “invention” and started their own magazine. The only solution was to start a Shadow magazine of their own.

Walter Gibson had an interest in X-Files types of things and had already written for various magazines when he was picked to write the Shadow. The documentary then goes into a biography of Walter Gibson. He had to make up a pen name, and used the name Maxwell Grant.

The documentary then talks about various influences on the Shadow character development.

With the initial story written, it turns out the company was going to use an older piece of artwork, and Gibson had to modify his story to fit the art.


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