The Invisible Man Returns (1940)

Director:

Joe May

Writers:

H.G. Wells (characters)
Joe May (story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

12 January 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Plot:

The owner of a coal mining operation, falsely imprisoned for fratricide, takes a drug to make him invisible, despite its side effect: gradual madness.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Antidote | Madness | Scotland Yard | Invisible Man

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Cedric Hardwicke	...	Richard Cobb
Vincent Price	...	Geoffrey Radcliffe
Nan Grey	...	Helen Manson
John Sutton	...	Doctor Frank Griffin
Cecil Kellaway	...	Inspector Sampson of Scotland Yard
Alan Napier	...	Willie Spears
Forrester Harvey	...	Ben Jenkins
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ernie Adams	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Jimmy Aubrey	...	Plainclothesman (uncredited)
Billy Bevan	...	Jim (uncredited)
Clara Blore	...	Woman (uncredited)
Stanley Blystone	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Matthew Boulton	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Ed Brady	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Louise Brien	...	Griffin's Secretary (uncredited)
Charles Brokaw	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Jean Brooks	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Tom Coleman	...	Miner at Colliery (uncredited)
Frank Coletti	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Harry Cording	...	Miner Saying 'Keep the Wig on Willie' (uncredited)
Paul England	...	Detective (uncredited)
Rex Evans	...	Constable Briggs (uncredited)
Mary Field	...	Passerby at Willie's House (uncredited)
Edward Fielding	...	Prison Governor (uncredited)
Raoul Freeman	...	Detective (uncredited)
Mary Gordon	...	Cookie, the Cook (uncredited)
Sidney Grayler	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Kit Guard	...	Miner at Colliery (uncredited)
Frank Hagney	...	Bill (uncredited)
Bobby Hale	...	Miner at Colliery (uncredited)
Barry Hays	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Frank Hill	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Leyland Hodgson	...	Chauffeur (uncredited)
Hugh Huntley	...	Secretary (uncredited)
George Hyde	...	Miner at Radcliffe Colliery (uncredited)
Ellis Irving	...	Miner at Radcliffe Colliery (uncredited)
Boyd Irwin	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Colin Kenny	...	Plainclothesman (uncredited)
George Kirby	...	Miner at Radcliffe Colliery (uncredited)
Bruce Lester	...	Chaplain (uncredited)
George Lloyd	...	Miner at Radcliffe Colliery (uncredited)
Jack Low	...	Miner at Colliery (uncredited)
Edmund MacDonald	...	Miner at Radcliffe Colliery (uncredited)
William Newell	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Frank O'Connor	...	Constable at Coal Train (uncredited)
Alexander Pollard	...	Footman (uncredited)
Frances Robinson	...	Clinic Nurse (uncredited)
Ivan F. Simpson	...	Mr. Cotton (uncredited)
Harry Stubbs	...	Constable Tewsbury (uncredited)
Denis Tankard	...	Miner at Radcliffe Colliery (uncredited)
Cyril Thornton	...	Policeman (uncredited)
David Thursby	...	Bob (uncredited)
Crane Whitley	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Eric Wilton	...	Fingerprint Expert (uncredited)

Directed by
Joe May

Writing credits
H.G. Wells		(characters)
Joe May		(story) and
Curt Siodmak		(story) (as Kurt Siodmak)
Lester Cole		(screenplay) &
Curt Siodmak		(screenplay) (as Kurt Siodmak)
Cedric Belfrage		(additional writer) uncredited

Produced by
Ken Goldsmith	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Hans J. Salter		(as H.J. Salter)
Frank Skinner

Cinematography by
Milton R. Krasner		(as Milton Krasner)

Film Editing by
Frank Gross

Art Direction by
Jack Otterson

Set Decoration by
Russell A. Gausman		(as R.A. Gausman)

Costume Design by
Vera West		(gowns)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Phil Karlson	....	assistant director (as Phil Karlstein)

Art Department
Martin Obzina	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Bernard B. Brown	....	sound supervisor
William Hedgcock	....	sound technician

Special Effects by
David S. Horsley	....	special effects (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
John P. Fulton	....	special photographic effects

Music Department
Charles Previn	....	musical director

Production Companies

• Universal Pictures

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1940) (USA) (theatrical)
• Realart Pictures (1947) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Screen Gems (1957) (USA) (TV)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (199?) (USA) (VHS)
• Universal (1946) (France) (theatrical) (as Universal Films S.A.)
• Universal Home Entertainment (????) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

81 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #5921)

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Vincent Price's first horror film, 13 years before House of Wax (1953) typecast him in the genre. He also provided the voice of the Invisble Man in Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948).

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In many places, the matte process used in the production is visible.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Mr. Cotton:I - I can't believe it's going to happen. Just two more hours, and they're going to kill him.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Who Made Roger Rabbit (2003) (V)

Chills, Humor, Tenderness and Passion

There are a lot of reasons why this 1940 sequel is better than the original INVISIBLE MAN. In the first movie, the Invisible Man was a dilettante, a haughty scientist who shot himself up with the invisibility drug "for kicks." Claude Rains played the character with such a supercilious air that it was hard to care when he lost it all.

But in this well-written sequel, the Invisible Man is a true hero. Geoffrey Radcliffe is a wealthy gentleman with class, courage, and a sense of humor. Someone has framed him for murder, and with the help of his devoted girl friend and trustworthy company doctor, he sets out to make things right.

Vincent Price is perfect as Geoffrey. He gives this invisible man plenty of guts, along with goodness, humility, and a wonderfully self-deprecating sense of humor. When madness sets in, of course, Price can babble with the best of them. But this time around, you care. This is a man who ran his business empire for the benefit of the workers, a man who can tease his weeping girl friend about how "lucky" she is not to see his face.

Ladylike and innocent-looking Nan Grey is a horror legend for her bit role as the waif-like streetwalker in Dracula's Daughter. Here she gets to play the same gentle, sensitive type, only warmer and more womanly. Watching Helen Manson sit up all night watching over her suffering love, falling asleep in her chair, and fainting at the sight of his disfiguring bandages, you will fall in love with her yourself. It's easy to see why Geoffrey loves her enough to risk madness and death to be by her side, and why the villain was willing to stoop to murder for her sake.

Sir Cedrick Hardwicke is mostly remembered today for playing kindly, kingly old gentlemen in epics like THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. But here he is a ruthless, cold villain, a murderer who fights for greed and gain. The attraction to lovely Helen is only hinted at, just a glance here and a tender word there. But it gives just the right touch of depth and tragedy to an amazingly nuanced performance.

Just as many critics feel Dracula's Daughter was a deeper film than Dracula, so INVISIBLE MAN RETURNS may well be an improvement over the original classic.

Long live Universal Horror!