The Invisible Man

Talented direction from James Whale. Mildly chilling tale based on the imagination of H.G. Wells. Introduction to a versatile star, Claude Rains. Short movie in length, but the mixture of thrills, chills and humor help make this a real classic. The special effects of the 30's seem so unsophisticated, but very enjoyable to this day. Rain's starring debut is 99.98 percent vocal and very memorable. The changes in his voice from glee to madness gives certain character to his invisible role.

A brilliant chemist/scientist(Rains) discovers how to make himself invisible. He wrecks havoc in a small British country village as pranks turn to murder. Memorable are the scenes of the invisible man smoking and riding a bicycle; and of course unwrapping.

Also in the cast are:William Harrigan, Gloria Stuart, E.E. Clive and Una O'Connor. At a certain point you wish that O'Connor's funny, but obnoxious character was shorter lived. Dated or not, this is a classic that still demands watching. Creepy and fun for all.

James Whale is, for good reason, most famous for his Frankenstein films. However, better than both (albeit marginally) is this film - The Invisible Man. When I first saw this, I couldn't believe that it's over seventy years old and upon a second viewing; the film just gets better and better. Considering the time in which it was made, The Invisible Man is one of the most amazing films of all time. The special effects are what really make the film. CGI has pretty much spoilt this sort of reaction to a movie. The Invisible Man really has that 'how did they do it?' feel, which movie audiences of yesteryear so often enjoyed, and it's done such a good job with it that I'm still wondering today. The plot gives way to lots of trickery and visual magic as it follows a mad scientist who has turned himself invisible. However, things aren't so simple because one of the drugs he used has properties that can turn a man insane; and this side of the drug has had a huge effect on our man. Believing he can take over the world, he recruits the help of one of his fellow scientists and sets about a reign of invisible terror.

You would think that it would be hard to convince an audience that one of your characters is invisible; but Whale makes it look easy! Claude Rains spends much of the film either under the cover of bandages or not even in it, but it doesn't matter because it's not him but his voice that makes the performance. The fiendishness of his voice is compelling and pure evil, and I don't believe that there is a better man in existence for this role. There isn't a lot of physical acting for him to do, but this is made up for with a dazzling array of special effects. We get to see a shirt move on it's own, things fly around rooms and havoc is caused. It really shows Whale's genius to pull this off. Whale is best known as a horror director, but it's obvious that he has a great respect for comedy also as his Frankenstein films were very tongue-in-cheek, and so is this film. The scenes that see the invisible man causing mayhem are hilarious, and will delight anyone who sees the film. Whale's ability to entertain is absolute, and that is why the films he made for the studio were always the biggest successes. The Invisible Man is one of the greatest achievements in cinema history, and anyone who tells you otherwise is wrong!

Writing about 30's Black-And-White movies can be difficult, as they need to be considered in light of the era the films were made. You have to adopt the mind-set of some-one viewing it for the first time, without the baggage of umpteen remakes and special effects improvements, to remain objective. Here goes:

Claude Rains does a good job with a mainly "speaking" part - lots of emotion and command there. Una O'Connor as the Innkeepers wife does a bit too much shrieking for my liking - but required "reaction" acting fodder for the time, I assume.

The effects still hold up, and must have been cutting edge at the time. The storyline covers all the basics of the Wells Novel - a quest for knowledge and power, alienation and drug inducessed madness. It's an enjoyable watch with good pacing and steady performances throughout. A sort of lazy Sunday afternoon type of movie.

Universal's take on a British Pub raises a smile, with some fantastic looking weathered-faced locals populating the place. I love the way the gag with a local "fake-playing" a coin driven piano gets a roaring laugh (as if that's the first time the pub's drinkers have seen it). However, the British film-industry was putting out the same type of stereotypes, so Universal can be forgiven there.

A part of Sci-Fi/Horror movie making history, and worth watching for this fact alone.

This film version of the H.G. Wells science fiction classic works very well. It has a number of strengths, but it benefits most of all from James Whale's direction, creativity, and technical excellence. Both the flashier aspects of the movie (such as the "invisibility" effects) and also most of the basic elements are done with skill.

The story is for the most part based on the one main idea of "The Invisible Man" who combines his scientific genius with a generous supply of madness. The story is interesting enough in itself, and of course it provides all kinds of opportunities for visual tricks. Whale hits just the right balance in making good use of these opportunities without over-indulging himself.

The visual effects themselves are of excellent quality, and they are far better than all but the very best of the present-day computer imagery. While it is usually rather easy to spot which parts of a movie are computer-generated, Whale's effects are all but seamless, with the exception of a handful of brief moments. They are often quite impressive, without resorting to tired devices, such as explosions and the like, in order to impress those with shorter attention spans.

Claude Rains does quite well for having such limitations on what he could do. The rest of the cast is solid, if mostly unspectacular, letting the story do the work. Una O'Connor somewhat overdoes it with the screaming this time, but otherwise the characters are believable. The acting may seem slightly quaint to those who are accustomed to the pretentious styles of the present generation of performers, but it's certainly better than the grating, self-important performances in some of the recent movies of the same genre.

While the story does not have the thematic depth or the suggestive imagery of horror classics like "Frankenstein" or "Dracula", this adaptation gets everything it can out of the material, telling the story in an entertaining fashion and with technical skill.

I actually saw The Invisible Man (1933) shortly after I saw the James Whale bio-pic Gods and Monsters (1998), starring Ian MacKellan and Brendan Fraser. So it was with that image of the director in my head that I watched this film. Claude Rains (Casablanca) is perfectly cast as the mad scientist/invisible man. The remainder of the cast, though not really challenged much, are more than serviceable in what they are required to do. As has been mentioned by most of the other posters, the special effects hold up rather well even today. An amazing feat considering the film is over 70 years old! The DVD has several interesting documentaries / commentaries that made me appreciate not only this film's entertainment value but its historical significance as well.