Review: "The Silent Seven" (The Shadow)

[John Olsen]

THE SILENT SEVEN was originally published in the February, 1932 issue of
The Shadow Magazine. Seven men garbed in floor-length robes of black...
cowled hoods conceal their faces. Wealthy, powerful, conscienceless,
this band of hidden supercriminals wage a death-filled battle with the
master of crime detection, The Shadow!

This novel "The Silent Seven" was also the seventh Shadow magazine story
published. Coincidence? Probably. But still it's pretty neat. And that
also describes this story. As is typical with the other early Shadow
stories, it's filled with an assortment of wonders that keep the reader
glued to his or her seat. The character of The Shadow isn't fully
realized yet at this point in his evolution. But we still see the super
hero as we prefer him: mysterious, all-powerful... a grim avenger. It's
a great story and one you'll want to read.

It seems that New York has been victimized by crimes of a startling
nature that have gone unsolved for several years, now. Although there
was no proof that they were the work of a single organization, the
number seven kept appearing in each case. A strange clue indeed! A bank
safe was cleaned out, except for seven pennies. A murdered man, seven
buttons clipped from his coat. A dying gangster gasped out the word
"seven" when captured by the police during a thwarted burglary. It all
points to a group known as the Silent Seven.

Originally, the Silent Seven was a secret organization of seven
businessmen, created to promote their interests legally. But gradually
it changed to a desperate group of master criminals who would stop at
nothing. The Silent Seven, identities unknown and hidden beneath a
dark-blue robe, topped by a cowl, command a crew known as the Faithful
Fifty. To them, all crimes are justifiable. They demand power and
wealth. Society is their prey. With inexhaustible funds and fifty
determined workers at their call, they create an unknown band of terror!

Our story begins when old Henry Marchand is murdered. Unbeknownst to
anyone, Marchand was one of the Silent Seven. He's killed, his secrets
stolen along with his scarab ring, the means of identification among the
Silent Seven. Someone is planning to take his place in the sinister
group. There's Oscar Schultz, faithful and honest servant of Henry
Marchand for more than twenty years. Harvey Willis,
twenty-eight-year-old secretary to Henry Marchand for two years. A weak
type, but very conscientious. Rodney Paget, a friend of Henry Marchand -
clubman - polo player - about forty. And Doctor George Lukens of the
Telman Hospital, Marchand's physician. Could it be one of those men? Or
perhaps someone else?

The Shadow is determined to find the murderer of Henry Marchand. But he
has no idea he will be catapulted into a whirlwind of intrigue and
danger, as he is forced to infiltrate the secret society known as the
Silent Seven. Forced to unmask and defeat the seven mastercriminals and
their hoard of fifty cutthroats. It's a task that only The Shadow has
even a slim chance of completing.

In this story, The Shadow appears usually in his typical black cloak and
slouch hat. He also appears twice as an unnamed man with a strange
countenance, smooth as parchment, masklike in expression, eyes obscured
by large heavy-rimmed, dark-tinted spectacles. He appears in one scene
as a James Michaels of Chicago, and in another as un unnamed fireman. No
mention is made of Lamont Cranston or any of this other normal disguises.

The story is notable in that it features Detective Joe Cardona's first
encounter with The Shadow. Previously, Cardona had known that The Shadow
existed, so he recognized the being in black when he discovered him
leaning over a dead body. But this story tells us that Cardona had never
actually seen or talked to The Shadow before.

And another strange thing: when in The Shadow's presence, Cardona
becomes lightheaded and unsteady. We aren't told why, but he can't
retain the captured Shadow because he becomes dizzy. Could it be some
odorless vapor released by The Shadow? Or perhaps some hypnotic trick?
Speculation is all we have, because Walter Gibson doesn't say.

Clyde Burke appears in the story. Here, he's an ex-reporter who writes
occasional feature stories, and has known Cardona for several years.
He's not reporting for a paper now, running a clipping bureau. But at
the story's end, he's offered a job with the Evening Classic, later to
become the New York Classic.

No mention is made of The Shadow's radio show, something that usually
got frequent mention in the early Shadow novels. But the system of
emphasized words is used, this time over the phone rather than over the
radio. The Shadow speaks an outwardly normal sentence, but gives slight
emphasis to certain words that his agents pick up to reveal a hidden
message. A cute trick that The Shadow used often in the early years.

Burbank appears in the story, but he's not hidden away in some room
answering phones. Instead, he's the attendant at a lunch counter in
Grand Central Station. He temporarily leaves his customers to make phone
calls to The Shadow. Hmmm... That certainly doesn't seem very efficient.

Harry Vincent is the other agent of The Shadow who appears here. He has
a fairly large role in the story, including getting caught and thrown
into a death trap of classic proportions. It's the famous cell with the
descending ceiling. He must speak and tell all he knows or be crushed to
oblivion beneath the pressure of the slow-moving ceiling. Ah, we love
the classics!

We get a visit to the obscure empty office of B. Jonas. Except it's
called M. Jonas, this time around. Remember, these details hadn't all
jelled, yet, in this early story. And it's not Burbank who delivers the
envelope of reports to that abandoned office. Burbank is briefly
mentioned a couple times at his lunch stand position, but it's Clyde
Burke who delivers the reports this time around.

Being an early story in the series, Hawkeye, Cliff Marsland and Moe
Shrevnitz aren't mentioned. They had yet to be introduced to the series.
So when The Shadow needs a ride, he has to call a cab instead of Moe.
When he needs a suspect tailed, he sends out Clyde Burke and Harry
Vincent, not Hawkeye and Cliff. Yes, The Shadow works with a
slimmed-down group of agents, but that doesn't stop him or the action.

Being a product of the early 1930s, there is a little racial
stereotyping that probably went unnoticed in the day, but stands out
clearly today. A Japanese servent is referred to with a common slur, and
speaks in a cringing pidgin English: "Bigee clock strike halfee past eight."

There is one thing that caused me slight annoyance, yet to be honest, it
was a typical style of writing at the time. Sometimes, things happen
that are never explained. For example, in one scene, the leader of the
Silent Seven throws The Shadow off the roof of an office building.
Minutes later, when the master criminal has exited the building and
entered his limousine, he finds The Shadow waiting for him in the back
seat. How our hero escaped that plunge to death is never fully
explained. There is just some passing comment that "I am used to
walls... When I go down them, I do not fall." We see unresolved action
sequences like this in other stories of the period, as well, but that's
no excuse. Author Walter Gibson could have done better, here.

And then there's the token of "seven" which early in the story we are
told keep showing up at crime scenes. Remember that bank safe, empty
save for seven pennies. And the murdered man with the seven missing coat
buttons. What was that all about? We are never told. The closest we come
is when The Shadow is wrapping up the case, he explains about the seven
criminals of the gang, "Each member kept a reminder of his duty. Like
Marchand's dice. Always the number seven." But that's no explanation for
the clues intentionally left behind. That's one of the weaknesses of
some pulp stories: a lot of strange and curious clues, all added to make
the story more interesting, but then never explained.

All nitpicking aside, however, this is still an amazing story. It was
one of a select few chosen for reprint in paperback form in the early
1970s. If you get the chance, this is a Shadow story you should read. It
won't let you down in the thrills department!

John

--


"Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!"
The wonderful old pulp mystery stories are all reviewed at:

http://home.comcast.net/~deshadow/