Here's Jon Hall, fresh from his triumphs as 1942's Invisible Agent, back in a rather odd addition to Universal's Invisible Man saga. At first it seems that Jon is the heroic victim of villainous schemers Matthews and Sondergaard (and certainly they seem a rather dubious pair). Halfway through the action, however, the screenplay has Jon change sides (or perhaps just reveal his real obnoxious character). The blackguards then become the victims, but only temporarily. At film's end, we are led to believe (by a chief constable who fails to mention them at all in his summing up) they have been whitewashed, presumably to set the heroine free to marry the movie's real hero, Alan Curtis (who makes a rather belated entrance when the movie is more than half over).
Adding to the story confusion is Leon Errol in a major comedy role as a Cockney spiv who befriends the Hall character, and does a fair number of mildly amusing turns, including a happy scene in which he attempts to blackmail the villain who persistently outwits him; and a long, almost completely irrelevant sequence in the local pub in which he challenges the local champion to a game of darts and then tries out various throwing combinations that will have special effects fans really cheering him on. Yet, for all that, Errol is sidelined in the all-action climax where he might have proved useful.
As for heroine, Evelyn Ankers, she may as well have stayed at home. If she has more than five or six lines of dialogue in the whole movie, I'd be surprised.
My guess is that the script was made up on the run. It certainly plays that way. Only John Carradine's scenes seem to have a formal scenario (necessary because of the special effects), enabling the actor to invest his role with dignity and even credibility. Mind you, Hall does play the heavy rather well, even if it does come as a bit of a shock.
By the humble standards of producer/director Ford "Bomba" Beebe, the movie comes over as a fairly creditable production, although lensed on a considerably lesser budget than Frank Lloyd's Invisible Agent.
Adding to the story confusion is Leon Errol in a major comedy role as a Cockney spiv who befriends the Hall character, and does a fair number of mildly amusing turns, including a happy scene in which he attempts to blackmail the villain who persistently outwits him; and a long, almost completely irrelevant sequence in the local pub in which he challenges the local champion to a game of darts and then tries out various throwing combinations that will have special effects fans really cheering him on. Yet, for all that, Errol is sidelined in the all-action climax where he might have proved useful.
As for heroine, Evelyn Ankers, she may as well have stayed at home. If she has more than five or six lines of dialogue in the whole movie, I'd be surprised.
My guess is that the script was made up on the run. It certainly plays that way. Only John Carradine's scenes seem to have a formal scenario (necessary because of the special effects), enabling the actor to invest his role with dignity and even credibility. Mind you, Hall does play the heavy rather well, even if it does come as a bit of a shock.
By the humble standards of producer/director Ford "Bomba" Beebe, the movie comes over as a fairly creditable production, although lensed on a considerably lesser budget than Frank Lloyd's Invisible Agent.