As the final serious entry in a popular Universal franchise, The Invisible Man's Revenge is a slick-looking endeavor that focuses more on the title character's actions than his transparent state. The story contains an intriguing premise that becomes mired in an episodic screenplay which meanders all over creation as it struggles to develop the title's intention. Furthermore it squanders three of its greatest genre assets - John Carradine, Gale Sondergaard, and Evelyn Ankers - while devoting an inordinate amount of footage to actors we don't care about. John P. Fulton is on hand once again to deliver some creative invisible man moments which sometimes are not carefully rendered. While the film has its good points it struggles to overcome its glaring drawbacks.
The film begins with Robert Griffin (John Hall) arriving on the London docks as a stowaway. After a change of wardrobe he heads to the estate of Sir Jasper and Lady Jane Herrick (Lester Matthews and Gale Sondergaard), two old friends with whom, over five years earlier, he conducted an African expedition to locate a diamond field. Turns out they discovered the gems but Griffin was injured and left behind in hostile territory; the Herricks claim they were told he died and thus departed without him. Griffin produces a contract which stipulates he is owed half of the fortune they discovered but now demands everything plus the hand of their daughter Julie (Evelyn Ankers) in marriage. Having squandered this windfall and terrified by Griffin's erratic behavior the Herricks boot him out after Griffin suddenly succumbs to a glass of whiskey (possibly drugged by Jane). Fired by revenge Griffin rather improbably stumbles upon "old crank" Doctor Drury (John Carradine) who demonstrates his ability to render animals invisible. Naturally Griffin wants to take the next step and be the first human experiment . . .
As concocted by Bertram Millhauser the screenplay has no affiliation with other invisible man films besides assigning the name "Griffin" to the main character. The revenge premise is a good launch point for the plot and the narrative strives to be clever in the way it depicts the characters of Jasper and Jane. While Griffin is clearly established as a homicidal maniac from the opening frames there is some conjecture as to whether or not his beef with them is legitimate. Unfortunately the script does away with this ambiguity pretty quickly and anything the Herricks do to Griffin seems justified given how irrationally crazy he is. Meanwhile the plot rambles all over the place and instances of illogic, chance, and poor character decisions conspire to do the film in. For instance, Griffin carries a newspaper clipping from Capetown detailing his bloody escape from an insane asylum complete with a glamorous head shot of him; stupidly he leaves it in the pocket of his discarded clothes for someone to read. The way he literally stumbles onto the doorstep of the one man in the world who can render him invisible strains credulity as well. Narrative thrust really screeches to a halt with a painful pub scene wherein the invisible Griffin pilots darts supposedly thrown by his one "friend" Herbert Higgins (second billed Leon Errol) to win the grifter a few pounds. Millhauser injects an element of vampirism by having the invisible subject only able to return to his normal state by draining the blood of another person; the logistics of this are better off not pondered but add a macabre element to the proceedings. Unfortunately for horror fans John Hall spends most of the film in a visible state (most likely so female audience members could drool over his handsome features) that minimizes the more fantastic elements of the premise.
Director Ford Beebe provides a polished look to the movie and efficiently opens the tale with Griffin's arrival via a London-stamped cargo bale placed on the foggy dock. He establishes the character as unstable based on his behavior but goes the extra mile with the aforementioned newspaper clipping gag; informative for the audience but completely illogical within the story. The film then devolves into a very talky affair with minimal action and plenty of exposition before the invisibility shenanigans commence. As developed by John Fulton these effects are sometimes provocative but all too often sloppily rendered. There is a great moment where the invisible Griffin sticks his arm into a fish tank and splashes water on his face to deliver a startling visual. Rivaling that is the scene wherein Griffin, temporarily visible, begins to lose his corporeal state and turns albino before slowly fading away as he runs down a hallway. The film climaxes with a desperate fight in the Herrick wine cellar between Julie's fiancée Mark Foster (Alan Curtis) and an invisible Griffin that is both clever and well staged by Beebe.
John Hall is given a broad canvas to work with as Robert Griffin and is the only actor in the Universal series to enact an Invisible Man in two films (albeit as two completely different characters). Hall doesn't play for tragedy or sympathy in the role and goes for straight lunacy; unlike previous incarnations where the formula to render one invisible also comes with progressive insanity Griffin is clearly nuts from the start. The character had all kinds of possibilities and a more subtle, sympathetic approach would have elevated the film tremendously but Millhauser's script isn't interested in providing a character study. Instead, Griffin is a scheming, irrational, hothead with a persecution complex and Hall spends his time playing up that angle. One wonders why Lon Chaney wasn't given this role and, given its limitations, it is easy to envision him delivering a superior portrayal. The beneficiary of this underwritten part is Leon Errol as Higgins who gobbles up screen time as Griffin's sometimes sidekick and jams the narrative into neutral whenever he's onscreen. This is a standard, comedy relief role that is way too common in these genre films but Errol is an ingratiating performer who at least makes it bearable.
One of my pet peeves with many of these Universal "horror" films is how they squander their best name assets and devote better roles and screen time to performers most people aren't interested in; The Invisible Man's Revenge is Exhibit A in this department. Blessed with such intriguing performers as John Carradine, Gale Sondergaard, and Evelyn Ankers the film unfathomably shuns them to the sidelines. Miss Ankers suffers the most egregiously as she has what amounts to a glorified cameo with maybe 5 minutes of screen time. After the intriguing opening sequence when being confronted by John Hall Miss Sondergaard disappears from the rest of the movie with only one brief reappearance. As for Carradine, he has two scenes with Hall and his enactment of the crackpot Dr. Drury is a refreshing take on a stock characterization. As with the ladies it's a pity he doesn't have more to do. Filling the void is Lester Matthews who could have nabbed costar billing with Hall for all the screen time he's given. Nothing against Matthews - who delivers a believable turn particularly in the scene where an invisible Griffin invades his boudoir to torment him - but he isn't someone the paying customers are interested in seeing emote. Rounding out the cast is Alan Curtis who delivers a forgettable performance as yet another vanilla hero out of his depth when coping with the villain. Keep an eye out for Universal regular Doris Lloyd as a cockney barmaid in the pub sequence and the ever-creepy Skelton Knaggs in a bit.
At the end of the day The Invisible Man's Revenge is a sharp-looking misfire that returns the concept to a more serious tone after the goofy hijinks of The Invisible Woman and Invisible Agent. The general notion is strong and in more creative hands the film could have emerged as the most terrifying in the series. It is always fascinating to watch the celluloid prestidigitations of John Fulton and contemplate how they would have thrilled 1944 audiences while, for the most part, still being enjoyable to this day. Unfortunately the movie ultimately resides as a tantalizing glimpse into what could have been rather than a tangible success. Fans of John Carradine, Gale Sondergaard, and especially Evelyn Ankers will be disappointed with their limited involvement in the story but fans of Fulton's special effects will likely find some amusement.
The film begins with Robert Griffin (John Hall) arriving on the London docks as a stowaway. After a change of wardrobe he heads to the estate of Sir Jasper and Lady Jane Herrick (Lester Matthews and Gale Sondergaard), two old friends with whom, over five years earlier, he conducted an African expedition to locate a diamond field. Turns out they discovered the gems but Griffin was injured and left behind in hostile territory; the Herricks claim they were told he died and thus departed without him. Griffin produces a contract which stipulates he is owed half of the fortune they discovered but now demands everything plus the hand of their daughter Julie (Evelyn Ankers) in marriage. Having squandered this windfall and terrified by Griffin's erratic behavior the Herricks boot him out after Griffin suddenly succumbs to a glass of whiskey (possibly drugged by Jane). Fired by revenge Griffin rather improbably stumbles upon "old crank" Doctor Drury (John Carradine) who demonstrates his ability to render animals invisible. Naturally Griffin wants to take the next step and be the first human experiment . . .
As concocted by Bertram Millhauser the screenplay has no affiliation with other invisible man films besides assigning the name "Griffin" to the main character. The revenge premise is a good launch point for the plot and the narrative strives to be clever in the way it depicts the characters of Jasper and Jane. While Griffin is clearly established as a homicidal maniac from the opening frames there is some conjecture as to whether or not his beef with them is legitimate. Unfortunately the script does away with this ambiguity pretty quickly and anything the Herricks do to Griffin seems justified given how irrationally crazy he is. Meanwhile the plot rambles all over the place and instances of illogic, chance, and poor character decisions conspire to do the film in. For instance, Griffin carries a newspaper clipping from Capetown detailing his bloody escape from an insane asylum complete with a glamorous head shot of him; stupidly he leaves it in the pocket of his discarded clothes for someone to read. The way he literally stumbles onto the doorstep of the one man in the world who can render him invisible strains credulity as well. Narrative thrust really screeches to a halt with a painful pub scene wherein the invisible Griffin pilots darts supposedly thrown by his one "friend" Herbert Higgins (second billed Leon Errol) to win the grifter a few pounds. Millhauser injects an element of vampirism by having the invisible subject only able to return to his normal state by draining the blood of another person; the logistics of this are better off not pondered but add a macabre element to the proceedings. Unfortunately for horror fans John Hall spends most of the film in a visible state (most likely so female audience members could drool over his handsome features) that minimizes the more fantastic elements of the premise.
Director Ford Beebe provides a polished look to the movie and efficiently opens the tale with Griffin's arrival via a London-stamped cargo bale placed on the foggy dock. He establishes the character as unstable based on his behavior but goes the extra mile with the aforementioned newspaper clipping gag; informative for the audience but completely illogical within the story. The film then devolves into a very talky affair with minimal action and plenty of exposition before the invisibility shenanigans commence. As developed by John Fulton these effects are sometimes provocative but all too often sloppily rendered. There is a great moment where the invisible Griffin sticks his arm into a fish tank and splashes water on his face to deliver a startling visual. Rivaling that is the scene wherein Griffin, temporarily visible, begins to lose his corporeal state and turns albino before slowly fading away as he runs down a hallway. The film climaxes with a desperate fight in the Herrick wine cellar between Julie's fiancée Mark Foster (Alan Curtis) and an invisible Griffin that is both clever and well staged by Beebe.
John Hall is given a broad canvas to work with as Robert Griffin and is the only actor in the Universal series to enact an Invisible Man in two films (albeit as two completely different characters). Hall doesn't play for tragedy or sympathy in the role and goes for straight lunacy; unlike previous incarnations where the formula to render one invisible also comes with progressive insanity Griffin is clearly nuts from the start. The character had all kinds of possibilities and a more subtle, sympathetic approach would have elevated the film tremendously but Millhauser's script isn't interested in providing a character study. Instead, Griffin is a scheming, irrational, hothead with a persecution complex and Hall spends his time playing up that angle. One wonders why Lon Chaney wasn't given this role and, given its limitations, it is easy to envision him delivering a superior portrayal. The beneficiary of this underwritten part is Leon Errol as Higgins who gobbles up screen time as Griffin's sometimes sidekick and jams the narrative into neutral whenever he's onscreen. This is a standard, comedy relief role that is way too common in these genre films but Errol is an ingratiating performer who at least makes it bearable.
One of my pet peeves with many of these Universal "horror" films is how they squander their best name assets and devote better roles and screen time to performers most people aren't interested in; The Invisible Man's Revenge is Exhibit A in this department. Blessed with such intriguing performers as John Carradine, Gale Sondergaard, and Evelyn Ankers the film unfathomably shuns them to the sidelines. Miss Ankers suffers the most egregiously as she has what amounts to a glorified cameo with maybe 5 minutes of screen time. After the intriguing opening sequence when being confronted by John Hall Miss Sondergaard disappears from the rest of the movie with only one brief reappearance. As for Carradine, he has two scenes with Hall and his enactment of the crackpot Dr. Drury is a refreshing take on a stock characterization. As with the ladies it's a pity he doesn't have more to do. Filling the void is Lester Matthews who could have nabbed costar billing with Hall for all the screen time he's given. Nothing against Matthews - who delivers a believable turn particularly in the scene where an invisible Griffin invades his boudoir to torment him - but he isn't someone the paying customers are interested in seeing emote. Rounding out the cast is Alan Curtis who delivers a forgettable performance as yet another vanilla hero out of his depth when coping with the villain. Keep an eye out for Universal regular Doris Lloyd as a cockney barmaid in the pub sequence and the ever-creepy Skelton Knaggs in a bit.
At the end of the day The Invisible Man's Revenge is a sharp-looking misfire that returns the concept to a more serious tone after the goofy hijinks of The Invisible Woman and Invisible Agent. The general notion is strong and in more creative hands the film could have emerged as the most terrifying in the series. It is always fascinating to watch the celluloid prestidigitations of John Fulton and contemplate how they would have thrilled 1944 audiences while, for the most part, still being enjoyable to this day. Unfortunately the movie ultimately resides as a tantalizing glimpse into what could have been rather than a tangible success. Fans of John Carradine, Gale Sondergaard, and especially Evelyn Ankers will be disappointed with their limited involvement in the story but fans of Fulton's special effects will likely find some amusement.