La rivincita dell'uomo invisibile

Ah, to be invisible. It is a fantasy that everyone has thought about from time to time. Never mind that if you really were invisible the liabilities would overwhelm the assets; for one thing you would be totally blind because light would pass right through your retinas without reflecting, so unless bumping into things is your idea of fun being invisible is no great shakes. Now most of the time I like invisible man movies but this time I am willing to make an exception.

Jon Hall took a break from costarring with Maria Montez to be in this thriller. Robert Griffin (Jon) and his pals discovered a diamond mine while they were in Africa. Said pals (Lester Mathews and Gale Sondergaard) double crossed Bob, knocked him over the head and left him for dead. Bob survived but lost his memory and ended up in a South African nuthouse. He escaped after killing 2 guards and stowed away on a ship that brought him back to England. Why did I tell you all this? Because all that took place before the movie even starts and we have to hear about it from various characters the the film progresses!

When Bob finally gets back to his not-so-great-friends Sir Jasper and Lady Irene he finds out that not only did they rob him they subsequently lost most of their fortune due to bad investments! Bob decides that no, that is not revenge enough, he wants whatever is left of the cash PLUS their daughter Julie (Evelyn Ankers) as his bride whether she likes it or not! Run out of the mansion Bob gets lost in a storm and ends up at the house of Dr. Drury (John Carradine) whose neighbours think he is batty because he has perfected a way to make living things invisible.

Now here is the part of the movie you have been waiting for. Anxious to experiment on a human being, Drury injects his serum into Bob and, as Fate and the scriptwriter would have it, Bob goes "poof" and becomes invisible. With the help of a local character (former Vaudeville comic Leon Errol, doing a believable Cockney accent) Bob tries to scare Sir Jasper into signing away what is left of his fortune. Does it work? Does it ever? And what about Dr. Drury? How will he feel about letting an invisible maniac loose on the countryside?

This is one time we don't have to worry about the invisibility serum driving the man mad because Bob is bonkers to begin with. The floating effects are predictable but fun and half the fun is spotting the wires. The cast is very recognisable if you like spotting character actors. Lester Mathews had gone up against THE WEREWOLF OF London and costarred with Karloff and Lugosi in THE RAVEN (both 1935) and later ended up battling Fu Manchu on a weekly basis on the "Adventures of Fu Manchu" TV series. Gale Sondergaard is forever identified as "The Spider Woman" from SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE SPIDER WOMAN and THE SPIDER WOMAN STRIKES BACK. Leon Errol costarred with fading starlet Lupe Velez in the Mexican Spitfire series and had his own series of 2 reel comedies. Watch also for Doris Lloyd (Mrs. Hudson in the Sherlock Holmes series), Ian Wolfe (too doggone many movies to list here), Billy Bevan (DRACULA'S DAUGHTER, RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE, etc.) and Skelton Knaggs (BEDLAM, ISLE OF THE DEAD, etc.). Brutus the dog who turns out to be the hero of the picture is played by animal actor Grey Shadow. John Carradine is a welcome addition but is not given enough to do. Wisely he does not play his character as a stereotype "mad" scientist. Director Ford Beebe had written and/or directed a lot of serials for Mascot and later for Republic. He also directed NIGHT MONSTER (1942) and even managed to impress Alfred Hitchcock by bringing in such an effective thriller in only 11 days.

INVISIBLE MAN'S REVENGE is far from the best of the series. You might want to check out INVISIBLE MAN RETURNS (1940) or even the 1933 original with Claude Rains for some real entertainment.

Robert Griffin (no relation to Jack) was apparently duped and left for dead in Africa several years ago by his partners who went on to discover a diamond mine. Not only did Griffin lose out on his fortune but he lost his mind too. Eventually, Griffin escapes from a mental institution and returns to England. By chance (or the stroke of the writer's pen) Griffin encounters Dr. Drury, a screwball scientist in search of a weirdo to test out his new invisibility formula. Griffin sees invisibility as a chance to get the vengeance he craves. So the demented doctor gives him the obligatory injection.

This is a long way from the quality of the original 1933 film, with Claude Rains. There are a few familiar special effects but Leon Errol's attempts to provide comic relief meet with mixed results. It soon becomes apparent that the film has nothing going for it other than invisibility as a gimmick. The plot is wafer thin and poorly written. There is little action to speak of just a lot of standing around and talking or sitting around and talking. Clearly, this was an exercise to squeeze a few more dollars out of an aging franchise. On the bright side, there are some decent invisibility effects, like when the invisible man dunks his hand into a fish tank or covers his face in flour. That's not enough to recommend this film however.

This Invisible Man film is easily the least significant of the four made. It tells of a gruff left-for-dead man coming back named Bob Griffin, having absolutely nothing to do with anyone in any of the other Invisible Man films, dealing with a couple that may or may not have left him in Africa. The couple's complicity in the crime is never stated one way or the other, and we as viewers are left with an overacting Jon Hall barking out orders to everyone he meets. Hall's character is so odious that we feel nothing for him at all except a desire to see him die. I will not spoil that bit of plot for you, but I will say that the ending is one of the few highlights of this film. Because the script takes no ground morally, I was in a lurch as to whom I should be concerned for. Were Jasper and his wife responsible for Griffin being left-for-dead? Did they purposely swindle him? Even when they do something to him, one is never really sure of their intent. The other actors are typical for a Universal film and give adequate performances. The sole bright light for me was John Carradine as a scientist with invisible animals that discovers he can make a man invisible too. Carradine seems to have a lot of fun with his role as he is garbed in white lab coat and pince-nez. The plot never really thickens and any real meat to the film is indeed invisible. Save for Carradine and some spectacular special effects of the day, one can see why this was the end of one of Universal's monsters.

Generally speaking, the horror films from the "New Universal" period (1937-1946) aren't as good as the ones from the era when Carl Laemmle, Sr. and Jr., were still in control of the studio (though "Son of Dracula," a moody masterpiece, is not only the best in Universal's vampire cycle but the finest vampire film ever made in the U.S.). "The Invisible Man's Revenge" isn't the equal of the peerless 1933 Laemmle-era original, but it's certainly better than the previous run of "New Universal" Invisible Man movies. Jon Hall, relatively dull as the hero in "Invisible Agent," proves surprisingly effective as a full-throated villain (in this version he's a psychotic madman BEFORE becoming invisible); Leon Errol's dry wit is several cuts above the usual un-funny "comic relief" in these films; Lester Matthews and Gale Sondergaard make a nice guilt-ridden couple for the Invisible Man to have his titular revenge on; Alan Curtis and Evelyn Ankers are certainly more than competent as the romantic leads; John Carradine is in good form as the rather dotty scientist with the invisibility formula; and the direction by Ford Beebe, usually a name associated with Universal serials, is convincingly Gothic and well-paced. Universal was on the downgrade as a horror studio by then (and their only further foray into invisible man-dom would be an Abbott and Costello vehicle in 1953) and some of the effects work is sloppy, but on the whole this film is convincing and vividly atmospheric. Incidentally, in "The Face of Marble" from Monogram two years later (another underrated film with a fine sense of atmosphere even though its plot doesn't make a lick of sense even by the meager standards of horror fantasies!), John Carradine also played a mad scientist who had a dog named Brutus.

THE INVISIBLE MAN'S REVENGE (Universal, 1944), a promising title, directed by Ford Beebe, suggested by "The Invisible Man" by H.G. Wells, returns Jon Hall, recently from THE INVISIBLE AGENT (1942), in another caper revolving around the no-sight and sound about a man out for avenge those who had done him wrong.

The story opens on the docks of London where Robert Griffin (Jon Hall) returns after five years of memory loss following a diamond field expedition in Africa. Moments later, a newspaper clipping reveals Griffin to be a homicidal maniac who had escaped from a Capetown Asylum. After acquiring new clothing and a shave, he locates Sir Jasper and Lady Irene Herrick (Lester Matthews and Gale Sondergaard), friends and former partners of the expedition who had left him for dead, to their luxurious mansion and founders of Herrick Mines Ltd., demanding the share of the fortune due him. While talking things over a few drinks, Griffin not only discovers their daughter, Julie (Evelyn Ankers), his former girlfriend, to be engaged to Mark Foster (Alan Curtis), a reporter for the Courier, but finds he's been drugged. Unable to function, Griffin is escorted out by their butler, Cleghorn (Halliwell Hobbes). Half crazed, Griffin is offered assistance by Herbert Higgins (Leon Errol), a drunkard. Afterwards, Griffin stumbles upon the home of Professor Drury (John Carradine), a scientist who has discovered the formula of invisibility. Witnessing his experiment where Drury's dog and other animals are heard but not seen, Griffin volunteers on becoming Drury's human subject. As an invisible man, Griffin gets his revenge, but in the process, does become what he is accused of being, a homicidal maniac.

With this being the third "invisible man" story of the 1940s, not counting the comedy outing of "The Invisible Woman" (1940) starring Virginia Bruce in the title role, this latest installment gives some indication that the writers were attempting an original concept to an already unoriginal scenario. With comedian Leon Errol assuming second billing, it's evident he's around for comedy relief. One scene finds him impressing his friends at the pub in a friendly game of darts by hitting a target every time, compliments of his invisible friend.

Evelyn Ankers, Universal's resident performer in the horror genre, who arrives 48 minutes into the story, is given little to do, compare to her secondary roles opposite Lon Chaney Jr. in "The Wolf Man" (1941); "The Ghost of Frankenstein" (1942) and "Son of Dracula" (1943), In fact, it's a wonder why Chaney never had the opportunity to assume the role as an invisible man, considering that he's played everything else in regards to Universal monsters. Gale Sondergaard and Lester Matthews do well as friendly thieves, while Leyland Hodgeson as Sir Frederick Travers, Doris Lloyd as Maud, and a dog named Grey Shadow lend some moral support.         

An average production that contradicts its predecessors, the screenplay by Bertram Millhauser fails to mention Jack Griffin (Claude Rains) from THE INVISIBLE MAN (1933), to be the true inventor of the invisible formula, thus giving credit to another scientist, Drury. Secondly, Robert Griffin doesn't appear to be related to any of the previous Griffins from the earlier "Invisible Man" stories. His only connection is that he becomes invisible, and the use of the traditional bandages and sunglasses over his head to be seen by others. It would have been logical had Carradine's character been a distant relative to Jack Griffin carrying on his experiment, and using his formula on a human subject, played by Hall, assuming another surname besides Griffin. Had it not been for these inconsistencies, THE INVISIBLE MAN'S REVENGE might have been hailed as a satisfactory entry. Overlooking that, it actually is. Jon Hall may not have the charisma of Rains nor the distinctive voice of Vincent Price, but he does have the distinction of being the only actor to twice play an invisible man on screen, aside the fact that he was playing two different characters bearing the name of Griffin.

Formerly available on video and currently on DVD as part of the "Invisble Man" collection, THE INVISIBLE MAN'S REVENGE did have occasional revivals on cable television's Sci-Fi Channel (1990s) and American Movie Classics (2001). Not quite the closing chapter nor the finish of John Fulton's special effects department, Universal concluded this science fiction series with the comedy of ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET THE INVISIBLE MAN (1951), which they most certainly did. (**1/2)