I was going to watch just the first and last of Universal's classic 'Invisible Man' films and ended up watching all six. The spoiler tags just include images to keep the post shorter and are safe to expand.
The Invisible Man (1933) - 8/10 (Loved it)
A scientist (Claude Rains) invents and drinks a potion that causes invisibility, but also insanity, leading to a violent rampage and a man hunt for him. James Whale's horror classic is better than I was expecting. It's thrilling, atmospheric, moody, and occasionally darkly funny. I liked that much of it takes place at night or in bad weather, which adds to the horror atmosphere, and that we don't get to see Rains' face until the end. What really impressed me, though, were the special effects, with parts of Rains' body missing and objects seeming to move by themselves. This was 1933, only 6 years after the introduction of talkies. Between this and King Kong, audiences must've been blown away that year like many of us were in 1993. Imagine going to the theater way back then and seeing this:
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The Invisible Man Returns (1940) - 5/10 (Didn't like or dislike it)
A condemned man (Vincent Price) is given an invisibility potion that allows him to escape his jail cell and puts him on the run. The opening credits reveal, after the title, that it's "A sequel to The Invisible Man." No, really? Unfortunately, this sequel loses the thrill, the atmosphere and even the humor of the original, while having a story that's a little too similar. The main difference is that Price's character is more sympathetic than Rains', making him less of a monster and the film less of a horror, which is a change not for the better. The one and only thing that it really preserves from the original is the special effects, though they don't have the same impact 7 years later. Still, there's a little innovation, like getting to see Price's outline in the rain and smoke and this particularly impressive transition (though shown about 10 times more slowly):
Also, I found this scene amusing. Remind you of anyone?
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The Invisible Woman (1940) - 5/10 (Didn't like or dislike it)
To get revenge on her unfair employer, a shop assistant (Virginia Bruce) responds to a scientist's ad in the newspaper requesting a subject to become invisible. This one is even further from the original and is just a straight up screwball comedy. There are a few good laughs, such as when one of the letters that the scientist receives asks him to make his wife disappear. A lot of the rest of the humor relates to the fact that, well, the subject needs to be completely naked to be truly invisible. This entry may be objectively worse than the last one with Vincent Price, but I must admit that it was a lot easier on the imagination.
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Invisible Agent (1942) - 5/10 (Didn't like or dislike it)
The original invisible man's grandson (Jon Hall) is recruited by the Allies to travel to Berlin to stand naked next to Nazis and memorize their secrets (because carrying a pad and pencil would give himself away, of course). It answers the question "Why wouldn't you use the power of invisibility to win the war?" before anyone could've thought to ask it. It's half spy adventure and half comedy, with a little romance and sexual tension thrown in for good measure. Casablanca, it most certainly is not, but it's hard to dislike a movie that has fun at the Nazis' expense. Peter Lorre has a small role, but, interestingly, not as a German.
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The Invisible Man's Revenge (1944) - 4/10 (Disliked it)
Left for dead by "friends," the same actor from the last film (Jon Hall), but sporting a thin mustache to indicate that he's now a bad guy, seeks his revenge with the help of a mad scientist who has discovered... you guessed it... the secret of invisibility. Just how many mad scientists with the power of invisibility are there in this world? Nearly every film has a character who's related to one in a previous film, so they're not independent of one another, yet there are all these mad scientists about who hold the same secret and aren't keeping it much of one. I suppose that we can't expect much to make sense in these run-of-the-mill studio 'B' pictures, though. This one is more serious, like the second film, but the lack of both comedy and horror and the familiar plot made it feel bland and as if the series had run out of ideas at this point.
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Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951) - 7/10 (Really liked it)
A boxer on the run for killing his manager needs the help of an invisibility serum and two gumshoes (one gummier than the other) to clear his name. Their plan involves Costello posing as a boxer and the invisible man doing the punching for him. At one point, the latter says, "Don't worry. When we get in the ring, I'll do the pitching," and Costello replies, "As long as I don't do the catching." When they finally do get in the ring, Costello accidentally knocks out the invisible man and the other boxer trips over him. It's all rather amusing. Fun fact: Costello was a boxer before getting into comedy (and all-you-can-eat buffets). William Frawley (Fred Murtz) has a minor role as the detective trying to catch the boxer. The special effects aren't anything new or special, but they're cleaner, without occasional visible traces of the actor like in the previous films. It's not one of the best Abbott and Costello films, but it's still amusing and ends Universal's original string of Invisible Man movies on a high note.
The Invisible Man (1933) - 8/10 (Loved it)
A scientist (Claude Rains) invents and drinks a potion that causes invisibility, but also insanity, leading to a violent rampage and a man hunt for him. James Whale's horror classic is better than I was expecting. It's thrilling, atmospheric, moody, and occasionally darkly funny. I liked that much of it takes place at night or in bad weather, which adds to the horror atmosphere, and that we don't get to see Rains' face until the end. What really impressed me, though, were the special effects, with parts of Rains' body missing and objects seeming to move by themselves. This was 1933, only 6 years after the introduction of talkies. Between this and King Kong, audiences must've been blown away that year like many of us were in 1993. Imagine going to the theater way back then and seeing this:
The Invisible Man Returns (1940) - 5/10 (Didn't like or dislike it)
A condemned man (Vincent Price) is given an invisibility potion that allows him to escape his jail cell and puts him on the run. The opening credits reveal, after the title, that it's "A sequel to The Invisible Man." No, really? Unfortunately, this sequel loses the thrill, the atmosphere and even the humor of the original, while having a story that's a little too similar. The main difference is that Price's character is more sympathetic than Rains', making him less of a monster and the film less of a horror, which is a change not for the better. The one and only thing that it really preserves from the original is the special effects, though they don't have the same impact 7 years later. Still, there's a little innovation, like getting to see Price's outline in the rain and smoke and this particularly impressive transition (though shown about 10 times more slowly):
Also, I found this scene amusing. Remind you of anyone?
The Invisible Woman (1940) - 5/10 (Didn't like or dislike it)
To get revenge on her unfair employer, a shop assistant (Virginia Bruce) responds to a scientist's ad in the newspaper requesting a subject to become invisible. This one is even further from the original and is just a straight up screwball comedy. There are a few good laughs, such as when one of the letters that the scientist receives asks him to make his wife disappear. A lot of the rest of the humor relates to the fact that, well, the subject needs to be completely naked to be truly invisible. This entry may be objectively worse than the last one with Vincent Price, but I must admit that it was a lot easier on the imagination.
I've never appreciated stockings so much.
Invisible Agent (1942) - 5/10 (Didn't like or dislike it)
The original invisible man's grandson (Jon Hall) is recruited by the Allies to travel to Berlin to stand naked next to Nazis and memorize their secrets (because carrying a pad and pencil would give himself away, of course). It answers the question "Why wouldn't you use the power of invisibility to win the war?" before anyone could've thought to ask it. It's half spy adventure and half comedy, with a little romance and sexual tension thrown in for good measure. Casablanca, it most certainly is not, but it's hard to dislike a movie that has fun at the Nazis' expense. Peter Lorre has a small role, but, interestingly, not as a German.
Despite the urgency of his mission, our spy finds time to put on a woman's bath robe and makeup.
The Invisible Man's Revenge (1944) - 4/10 (Disliked it)
Left for dead by "friends," the same actor from the last film (Jon Hall), but sporting a thin mustache to indicate that he's now a bad guy, seeks his revenge with the help of a mad scientist who has discovered... you guessed it... the secret of invisibility. Just how many mad scientists with the power of invisibility are there in this world? Nearly every film has a character who's related to one in a previous film, so they're not independent of one another, yet there are all these mad scientists about who hold the same secret and aren't keeping it much of one. I suppose that we can't expect much to make sense in these run-of-the-mill studio 'B' pictures, though. This one is more serious, like the second film, but the lack of both comedy and horror and the familiar plot made it feel bland and as if the series had run out of ideas at this point.
I'm surprised that Universal didn't make The Invisible Dog next.
Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951) - 7/10 (Really liked it)
A boxer on the run for killing his manager needs the help of an invisibility serum and two gumshoes (one gummier than the other) to clear his name. Their plan involves Costello posing as a boxer and the invisible man doing the punching for him. At one point, the latter says, "Don't worry. When we get in the ring, I'll do the pitching," and Costello replies, "As long as I don't do the catching." When they finally do get in the ring, Costello accidentally knocks out the invisible man and the other boxer trips over him. It's all rather amusing. Fun fact: Costello was a boxer before getting into comedy (and all-you-can-eat buffets). William Frawley (Fred Murtz) has a minor role as the detective trying to catch the boxer. The special effects aren't anything new or special, but they're cleaner, without occasional visible traces of the actor like in the previous films. It's not one of the best Abbott and Costello films, but it's still amusing and ends Universal's original string of Invisible Man movies on a high note.
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