One night a mysterious stranger wrapped in coat, hat, dark glasses and -- it turns out -- bandages, takes a room in a small country inn. But his reclusive behavior, periodic rages at the hosts, and damage to the premises (he's doing chemistry experiments in his room), eventually cause the innkeeper and his wife to demand his exit. Their guest turns out to be Jack Griffin, a scientist who discovered how to make himself invisible -- but lacks the formula to become his visible self again, and the process has also made him power-hungry and homicidal. As the terrified populace and police hunt him down, Jack's colleagues and fiancee try to get to him first and save him. Directed by classic British horror filmmaker James Whale, from a script partially doctored by Preston Sturges and Philip Wylie (uncredited) and based on an H.G. Wells novel, this early classic is decently scripted, beautifully photographed, and features surprisingly effective special effects for its time -- and of course the marvelous voice acting of Rains in his screen debut. For trivia lovers, Jack's boss Dr. Cranley is played by Harry Travers (best known as the angel Clarence Oddbody in "It's a Wonderful Life"), fiancee Flora Cranley is enacted by Gloria Stuart (who would play an old lady who drops a necklace in the ocean 54 years later in "Titanic"), and uncredited walk-on performers include Walter Brennan (bicycle owner) and John Carradine (man who suggests using ink to catch the killer). This film inspired four sequels, at least as many later versions of its story, and several dozen tributes in future films, from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" to "Face/Off" and "Fight Club."
Click here to see the rest of this review...
The review of this Movie prepared by David Loftus
