Feb 1, 2025
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“The Bride of Death”
When a quiet fishing village is rocked by an explosion from a nearby church, Lamont and Margot begin to investigate. Upon speaking with the wealthy residents, he learns a mysterious cult leader known as ‘The Prophet’ had been threatening the church’s Reverend Colby leading up to the attack. After the Reverend’s daughter Isabelle is kidnapped, Lamont invokes the powers of The Shadow to smash the Cult.
Note: This was actress Margot Stevenson’s debut on ‘The Shadow’, here playing the Reverend’s daughter, Isabelle. Though the character of Margot Lane was named after Ms. Stevenson, due to her thriving career on Broadway, she would not actually inhabit the role until the following season.
(Original Airdate: March 6th, 1938)
Orson Welles as Lamont Cranston/The Shadow Agnes Moorehead as Margot Lane Margot Stevenson as Isabelle Colby
Actress Margot Stevenson was born February 8, 1914. The Broadway actress may be best known to old time radio fans for her performance as "the lovely Margot Lane" opposite Orson Welles on The Shadow. Stevenson co-starred with Welles in the 1938 summer season of episodes sponsored by Goodrich Tires.
Even before she was cast in the show, Stevenson was linked to the character. When it was decided to create a female companion for the Shadow on radio, producer Clark Andrews named the new character after Stevenson, who we was dating at the time. Eager to avoid the appearance of nepotism, Andrews cast Agnes Moorehead as Margot for the first season. When another producer came on board, Stevenson took the role for the summer season.
Over her career, Margot Stevenson appeared in over a dozen Broadway shows and a number of plays across the country. She passed away in 2011 at the age of 98.
‘The Witch Drums of Salem’: When Margot and Lamont stumble into the village of Salem, they learn the body of a small boy has been recovered from a well. When the townspeople suggest the murder may be linked to witchcraft, The Shadow must discover the murderer’s identity... and the true source of the curse.
This episode is proof that, even nearly a century later, old time radio episodes are still being recovered. ‘The Witch Drums of Salem’ was believed lost to the ravages of time ever since its original 1938 airing, (a recent Pulp Reprint even describes it as such) only to have a well-preserved transcription disc of the episode (and several other lost Orson Welles treasures) materialize very recently.
Orson Welles as Lamont Cranston/The Shadow Margot Stevenson as Margot Lane
