The Invisible Man Returns (1940)

     Ok, so the Invisible Man doesn't exactly return here.   Instead of Claude Rains, we get a 29 year old Vincent Price in the sequel, playing an invisible man that's a bit more gentle and heroic, and a little less chaotic and murdersome.   Don't get me wrong, Price's character of Geoffrey Radcliffe does encounter some of the same egocentric and power mad delusions that would plague Rains' Dr. Griffin in the first installment, but never at such a high level of madness.  This time, instead of an invisible man that we fear, we end up with a noble one that is in need of help if he is to get his name cleared in the killing of his own brother.   A crime that Geoffrey Radcliffe is set to hang for.

    

     When the film opens we learn that Geoffrey Radcliffe, played by Vincent Price, is already in prison awaiting his execution for the murder of his brother.  A murder that his fiance nor his friend believe him to be guilty of.  Well, it just so happens that this friend of his is Dr. Frank Griffin, brother of Dr. Jack/John Griffin, otherwise known to the viewer as the original Invisible Man from the first film.  Frank has his brother's old invisibility formula, and though he hasn't yet found a cure these past nine years, time is running out for Radcliffe, so the decision is made to put the invisibility formula to use in order to help his friend escape.  Of course the police connect the dots fairly quickly here.  Inmate vanished into thin air after getting a visit from a scientist related to a guy that made himself invisible you say?   Of course we still have to prove this theory and a little bit of convincing, but eventually the manhunt for the second invisible man is on.  From there, the police chase after Vincent Price, Mr. Price chases after the real bad guys that framed him, hopefully proving his innocence before he goes power mad crazy.

    

     I like that we are treated to a performance by Alan Napier in this movie.  For those that don't remember, Alan Napier played Alfred, the butler in the 1960's Batman TV series.  I had no idea he was in this until I saw the opening credits.  Seems every so often we are treated with an actor at a time we aren't suspecting him.  It made me think of the Dwight Frye cameo in the first Invisible Man, though Napier has a bigger role in this movie.

    

     And as Alan Napier caused me to recall Dwight Frye, so too did the annoying dog that wouldn't quit barking cause me to remember how annoying I found Gloria Stuart and/or Una O'Connor to be in the first film.  Don't get me wrong though,  I'd much rather listen to Una O'Connor's over the top screams than the whiney howls of this dog.

    

     The special effects weren't as impressive this time around but they do work for the most part.  Overall, I enjoyed this movie.  How does one not enjoy any sort of Vincent Price performance?  Even if Mr. Price only really shows himself at the end of the movie.

                                                                  GRADE: B-

The Invisible Man (1933)

     Before Heath Ledger's Joker, there was Claude Rains' Invisible Man.  That is the thought that runs through my mind every time the subject of this movie comes up.  Rains is about as maniacal and off the rails as one is going to find back in 1933, and he is perfect at it.  And to think that we almost got Karloff or Clive in this role.  I find the prospect of Colin Clive as The Invisible Man particularly interesting, but it was not to be.  The role went to Claude Rains and he ran with it.  Director James Whale took quite a chance hiring the unknown Rains, but it paid off in a big way.

 

     Now, I do also find this movie to have a bit of silliness to it but I believe those moments to be largely on purpose.  When the policeman and his two buddies chase the shirt around the chair, was it really necessary?  Una O'Connor's over exaggerated screams?   I suppose some people find those moments to simply add to the finished film but I found them to be a bit too Mel Brooks in a pre-Mel Brooks world.  I'm sure that in this movie, it was easy to take things over the top.  The scene where Rains skips down the road, singing in nothing but a pair of pants could have easily pushed itself too far as well, but it didn't.  I think it was very important for Whale to find the correct balance for this movie, and for the most part he did.

     The special effects of The Invisible Man hold up really well.  Especially if you are fortunate enough to view the Blu-Ray version of it.  When I first saw this movie, I expected a lot more visible wire work and cheap parlor tricks.  Boy was I wrong.  The effects are outstanding and not nearly as dated as one might think.

     Still, the real attraction of this movie is in Claude Rains' performance as Dr. Griffin, a scientist that has managed to turn himself invisible but can't seem to find the privacy or time he requires to turn himself back.   And this invisibility comes with a price.  His mind.  The longer Dr. Griffin remains in this invisible state, the more egocentric and power mad he becomes.   Before too long, Dr. Griffin's motives become less about curing himself and more about causing chaos.  De-rail a train?  Sure.  Kill a policeman by bashing him in the head to prove you exist?  Why not?  And that's just what Dr. Griffin does to people that he doesn't hold a grudge against.  Just ask his lab partner Dr. Kemp.  Oh wait, we can't.  Poor Kemp.  Then again, he was a filthy sneaky rat coward wasn't he?

     Part of me wishes that Gloria Stuart's character of Flora was in that car that went over the cliff.  I just found her to be a bit whiney and over dramatic, even for a 1933 film.  Still, there was way more to love about this movie than to nitpick about, and it's become one of my favorite Universal Monster films.

                                                              GRADE: A-