Review: "The Hydra" (The Shadow)
John Olsen
Shadow Magazine. The Hydra is a vast evil organization with many heads.
And just like with the Hydra of mythology, whenever one head is cut off,
two sprout to take it's place. How, then, can The Shadow defeat this
sinister organization? It takes two Cranstons to do it!
This is probably the definitive tale involving the two Cranstons - The
Shadow in disguise and the real millionaire Lamont Cranston. It's a
wonderful story. This one gets my hearty recommendation. Lots of action,
some fantastic death traps in the Museum of Mechanical Science and a
climax that involves six - yes, six - of The Shadow! It's a story you
won't want to miss.
In most stories that involve the "real" Lamont Cranston, he usually
appears only briefly in a scene or two. But in this story, the
millionaire world traveler appears in the entire story. He assists The
Shadow and becomes a de-facto-agent for the master of the night. In this
unique story, the two team up and combine forces to fight The Hydra.
Normally, the real Cranston is out of the country on one of his many
trips to foreign lands. But in this story, he's back to stay. As he puts
it, "Globe-trotting is an obsolete sport nowadays, with world conditions
as they are." He is referring to World War II which was hotly ablaze by
then.
Lamont Cranston - the real one - is our proxy hero throughout the entire
story. And his continuing presence makes for some intriguing situations.
The real Cranston goes to the club to have dinner with Commissioner
Weston, not having seen him for quite a while. But from the
Commissioner's standpoint, he's dined with Cranston only recently. He
dined with the disguised Shadow, but of course he doesn't know that. And
the real Cranston finds that he is expected to show interest in the
police cases discussed by Weston, even to the point of making comments
and suggestions. This is something that The Shadow often has done, when
in his Cranston disguise. But the real Cranston feels a bit out of his
element in this situation.
When the two Cranstons drive home to New Jersey in the limousine,
chauffeured by Stanley, only one can openly get out and go into the
house. The other has to hide in the shadows and sneak into the house -
the same house he knows so well and has entered openly so many times before.
When the two are inside the house, the real Cranston has to explain some
changes to his imitation self. He's done some renovations, and needs to
explain them to The Shadow, so The Shadow won't be caught off-guard when
posing as Cranston. A floor-length mirror has been moved, which affects
The Shadow's stealthy movements. And the rifles have also been moved,
which is vital information for The Shadow.
In Cranston's New Jersey mansion, there is a huge cabinet filled with
trophies and awards won by Cranston for marksmanship. The real Cranston
is a big-game hunter, remember, and an excellent shot. But The Shadow is
also an expert marksman, and has often won additional trophies in
Cranston's name, when in his disguise. When visiting the mansion, The
Shadow smiles when he realizes that Cranston has arranged the awards on
the shelves so that the ones won by The Shadow are on a special Shadow
shelf by themselves. A fact that only two people would recognize, and
one that The Shadow appreciates with irony.
So, what's the plot? Well, there's this sprawling criminal organization
known as The Hydra. And it seemingly can't be stopped. Whenever one of
the lieutenants, known as "heads" is captured or killed, two more are
recruited to replace him. The underlings in the organization are split
into "eyes," "ears" and "teeth." Each "head" has an assortment of each
reporting to him. They are usually butlers, chauffeurs and other menials
working for the rich, who observe and listen. The "teeth" are the thugs
who add muscle to the organization.
This sinister group known collectively as The Hydra is scooping in
millions of dollars from Manhattan's wealthy upper crust. They stop at
nothing, including murder. Nothing can stop them, not even The Shadow.
Or so it would seem. Every time he removes one head, the organization
grows two more. How can our hero prevail? Just wait until the rousing
climax where the six Shadows mentioned earlier appear. Wow, what a finish!
Just about all of the familiar characters appear in this story.
Appearing for the law is Commissioner Weston and Inspector Cardona.
Cranston's servants Richards the valet and Stanley the chauffeur both
appear. As for agents of The Shadow, we have Harry Vincent, Moe
Shrevnitz, Clyde Burke, Cliff Marsland, Hawkeye, Burbank, Rutledge Mann,
Jericho Druke. Miles Crofton and Dr. Rupert Sayre. And then there's
Margo Lane. We mustn't forget her.
One thing that makes this story stand out is the "origin" of Margo Lane.
Of course Margo had appeared in the pulp stories for over a year before
this. But she just appeared without any explanation. It was just as
though she had always been there. In this story her appearance is
explained when the real Cranston comments to The Shadow about how he
first met Margo on a Caribbean cruise. The Shadow met her shortly
thereafter when she assumed he was the same man she had met a few days
before on the boat.
Moe Shrevnitz cracks up his cab in an encounter between The Shadow and
some thugs... make that "teeth"... of The Hydra. We're told that repairs
will take weeks, and new cabs are hard to come by. Another reference to
the rationing of World War II, here. So Moe takes a job working for a
cab company.
Chauffeur Stanley gets to do more than just drive Cranston around. He's
sent out to some ticket agencies and is instructed to buy up a block of
fifty seats for a local stage performance. The import of that task later
proves to be vital. And good old Stanley is allowed to assist The Shadow
in this matter, even though he innocently believes he is acting on
behalf of his master, the millionaire. Stanley never did figure out that
there was a second person who assumed Cranston's identity. Not even up
until the final 1949 magazine story.
In this story, we learn that The Shadow is a bit of a conservationist
and animal-rights proponent. He comments that Cranston can "make amends
for any elephants you may have killed." A growing awareness of a
environmentalist conscience, it would seem.
Another point of interest is at the end of a scene that takes place in
Cranston's New Jersey mansion. Both Cranston and The Shadow are present
when Willard Mance, one of The Hydra's Heads, attempts to kill The
Shadow and is himself killed by Cranston. The Shadow's parting comment
is, "Be ready later to admit my agents. They will remove the body..."
This brings up the obvious question as to the fate of that dead body.
What do The Shadow's agents do with the dead bodies that they frequently
encounter... or create? Is there some secret cemetery that is their
clandestine burial ground? Or do they just dump it off in front of the
morgue? Maybe cremation removes the evidence? Readers were never told,
but it does create room for some intriguing speculation.
There was one scene that seemed a bit atypical. One of the "teeth" of
The Hydra - that is to say, one of the thugs working for the
organization - is a cabby. He's out to do murder and mayhem. The Shadow
disarms him, and then tells him to get going. Yes, he lets a criminal
go! The relieved cabby hits the accelerator and speeds off, never to be
seen again. It's not often that The Shadow lets a criminal go
intentionally, and deserves mention. But there is no explanation, which
is a bit confusing.
In this story, we also get to see the chemical paste known as "The
Devil's Whisper." This is the mysterious mixture first appeared in the
1933 tale "Treasures of Death." The Shadow smears a paste (or in some
stories a powder) on his thumb and finger, so that when he snaps his
fingers there is a terrific explosion and blinding flash of light.
Pretty amazing stuff, and it's good to see it here again.
There's a lot packed into this 43,000 word Shadow adventure. And it all
makes for fantastic reading. Read how the two Cranstons work together.
Read how Margo Lane met Cranston and The Shadow. Read how the multiple
monster of crime that called itself the Hydra is finally brought to justice.
Will you like it? Yes. Trust me!
John
--
"Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!"
The wonderful old pulp mystery stories are all reviewed at:
Dave
"Oh, wow!" moments for the shadow fan
dave