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The Invisible Man's Revenge More at IMDbPro »
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| Index | 19 reviews in total |
6 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Experiment in Terror, 9 February 2008
Author:
lugonian from Kissimmee, Florida
THE INVISIBLE MAN'S REVENGE (Universal, 1944), a promising title,
directed by Ford Beebe, suggested by "The Invisible Man" by H.G. Wells,
returns Jon Hall, recently from THE INVISIBLE AGENT (1942), in another
caper revolving around the no-sight and sound about a man out for
avenge those who had done him wrong.
The story opens on the docks of London where Robert Griffin (Jon Hall)
returns after five years of memory loss following a diamond field
expedition in Africa. Moments later, a newspaper clipping reveals
Griffin to be a homicidal maniac who had escaped from a Capetown
Asylum. After acquiring new clothing and a shave, he locates Sir Jasper
and Lady Irene Herrick (Lester Matthews and Gale Sondergaard), friends
and former partners of the expedition who had left him for dead, to
their luxurious mansion and founders of Herrick Mines Ltd., demanding
the share of the fortune due him. While talking things over a few
drinks, Griffin not only discovers their daughter, Julie (Evelyn
Ankers), his former girlfriend, to be engaged to Mark Foster (Alan
Curtis), a reporter for the Courier, but finds he's been drugged.
Unable to function, Griffin is escorted out by their butler, Cleghorn
(Halliwell Hobbes). Half crazed, Griffin is offered assistance by
Herbert Higgins (Leon Errol), a drunkard. Afterwards, Griffin stumbles
upon the home of Professor Drury (John Carradine), a scientist who has
discovered the formula of invisibility. Witnessing his experiment where
Drury's dog and other animals are heard but not seen, Griffin
volunteers on becoming Drury's human subject. As an invisible man,
Griffin gets his revenge, but in the process, does become what he is
accused of being, a homicidal maniac.
With this being the third "invisible man" story of the 1940s, not
counting the comedy outing of "The Invisible Woman" (1940) starring
Virginia Bruce in the title role, this latest installment gives some
indication that the writers were attempting an original concept to an
already unoriginal scenario. With comedian Leon Errol assuming second
billing, it's evident he's around for comedy relief. One scene finds
him impressing his friends at the pub in a friendly game of darts by
hitting a target every time, compliments of his invisible friend.
Evelyn Ankers, Universal's resident performer in the horror genre, who
arrives 48 minutes into the story, is given little to do, compare to
her secondary roles opposite Lon Chaney Jr. in "The Wolf Man" (1941);
"The Ghost of Frankenstein" (1942) and "Son of Dracula" (1943), In
fact, it's a wonder why Chaney never had the opportunity to assume the
role as an invisible man, considering that he's played everything else
in regards to Universal monsters. Gale Sondergaard and Lester Matthews
do well as friendly thieves, while Leyland Hodgeson as Sir Frederick
Travers, Doris Lloyd as Maud, and a dog named Grey Shadow lend some
moral support.
An average production that contradicts its predecessors, the screenplay
by Bertram Millhauser fails to mention Jack Griffin (Claude Rains) from
THE INVISIBLE MAN (1933), to be the true inventor of the invisible
formula, thus giving credit to another scientist, Drury. Secondly,
Robert Griffin doesn't appear to be related to any of the previous
Griffins from the earlier "Invisible Man" stories. His only connection
is that he becomes invisible, and the use of the traditional bandages
and sunglasses over his head to be seen by others. It would have been
logical had Carradine's character been a distant relative to Jack
Griffin carrying on his experiment, and using his formula on a human
subject, played by Hall, assuming another surname besides Griffin. Had
it not been for these inconsistencies, THE INVISIBLE MAN'S REVENGE
might have been hailed as a satisfactory entry. Overlooking that, it
actually is. Jon Hall may not have the charisma of Rains nor the
distinctive voice of Vincent Price, but he does have the distinction of
being the only actor to twice play an invisible man on screen, aside
the fact that he was playing two different characters bearing the name
of Griffin.
Formerly available on video and currently on DVD as part of the
"Invisble Man" collection, THE INVISIBLE MAN'S REVENGE did have
occasional revivals on cable television's Sci-Fi Channel (1990s) and
American Movie Classics (2001). Not quite the closing chapter nor the
finish of John Fulton's special effects department, Universal concluded
this science fiction series with the comedy of ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET
THE INVISIBLE MAN (1951), which they most certainly did. (**1/2)
6 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Don't intimidate a man you can not see., 8 September 2001
Author:
Michael O'Keefe from Muskogee OK
Directed and produced by Ford Beebe, this invisible man installment is quite
interesting. Robert Griffin(Jon Hall) returns from the "left for dead" only
to find out his business partners have cheated him out of a fortune. Griffin
practically stumbles into the helping hands of Dr. Drury(John Carradine),
who experiments with a new formula that makes animals invisible. Griffin
feels if he himself was invisible he could better seek his revenge on his
double crossers. After becoming invisible, the weird doctor is in no hurry
to return Griffin to normal.
I have always liked Hall even though he is not an overly exciting actor.
Along with Carradine there is a very able supporting cast that includes:
Lester Matthews, Leyland Hodgson, Evelyn Ankers and Leon Errol. Very
creative for a small budget film. Well worth watching.
5 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Leon Errol meets the Invisible Man, 18 November 2006
Author:
JohnHowardReid
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
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.
3 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
Universal's second-best Invisible Man movie, 1 November 2008
Author:
mgconlan-1 from United States
Generally speaking, the horror films from the "New Universal" period (1937-1946) aren't as good as the ones from the era when Carl Laemmle, Sr. and Jr., were still in control of the studio (though "Son of Dracula," a moody masterpiece, is not only the best in Universal's vampire cycle but the finest vampire film ever made in the U.S.). "The Invisible Man's Revenge" isn't the equal of the peerless 1933 Laemmle-era original, but it's certainly better than the previous run of "New Universal" Invisible Man movies. Jon Hall, relatively dull as the hero in "Invisible Agent," proves surprisingly effective as a full-throated villain (in this version he's a psychotic madman BEFORE becoming invisible); Leon Errol's dry wit is several cuts above the usual un-funny "comic relief" in these films; Lester Matthews and Gale Sondergaard make a nice guilt-ridden couple for the Invisible Man to have his titular revenge on; Alan Curtis and Evelyn Ankers are certainly more than competent as the romantic leads; John Carradine is in good form as the rather dotty scientist with the invisibility formula; and the direction by Ford Beebe, usually a name associated with Universal serials, is convincingly Gothic and well-paced. Universal was on the downgrade as a horror studio by then (and their only further foray into invisible man-dom would be an Abbott and Costello vehicle in 1953) and some of the effects work is sloppy, but on the whole this film is convincing and vividly atmospheric. Incidentally, in "The Face of Marble" from Monogram two years later (another underrated film with a fine sense of atmosphere even though its plot doesn't make a lick of sense even by the meager standards of horror fantasies!), John Carradine also played a mad scientist who had a dog named Brutus.
3 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
"Have you been scolded or have you got the mange?", 2 September 2001
Author:
The_Movie_Cat from England
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
WARNING: REVIEW CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS
Amusingly, the blurb on the back of this film's recent UK video release
promises that the direction guarantees "the suspension of belief." Errrr...
shouldn't that be disbelief? Actually, on second thoughts, maybe they're
right.
In seriousness, the direction isn't so bad; it's more the starch acting (by
Gale Sondergaard in particular) that has a slight distancing effect. The
relentless procession of self-conscious Cockney stereotypes is also
wearying, though this isn't so bad a film. Obviously not a patch on the very
fine original, this fourth sequel nevertheless scores by having an actual
story. The legal wrangling between Griffin and a couple who cheated him may
not be the most exciting of events (What next – Frankenstein Meets The Tax
Rebate Form?) but it's leagues ahead of one-idea movies like The Wolf
Man.
Griffin (Jon Hall) sports one of those Clark Gable/Errol Flynn tashe
numbers, and is perhaps too dashing and too bland to be the villainous lead.
Much better is John Carradine as Doctor Drury, a camp old buffer who offers
"put out your hand, feel it" and even seems to ad-lib a few lines to his
"invisible dog". His mild sense of fun perks up the fairly flat screenplay,
though you do wonder why he gets so excited over creating an invisible man.
After all, his claims of a science breakthrough are pretty much contradicted
by the first four films – or doesn't he go to the cinema? As a change from
the usual "misuse of science" fable, Griffin is actually mad to start with,
the invisibility merely a means to an end. As a result, it's not the power
that destroys him, but rather a rabid dog. This could be seen as something
of a come-down, but Revenge always feels like it has a little bit of care in
its work.
Special effects are still pretty good today, and more ambitious than before,
with extensive "headless" shots throughout. There are also shots where
Griffin's face gets covered in water and flour. It's not exactly Hollow Man,
but coming fifty years before the age of CGI it's extremely
impressive.
Yet because you never really care about any of the characters, it does start
to drag around the middle. Not only that, but in many important respects the
plot would have reached a natural end around the middle, meaning it's
extended past its natural lifespan. The pretty shoddy ending is also not
only abrupt but mixes about a hundred metaphors in a "moral of the story"
for the hard of thinking. However, many of the artificially added elements –
the darts game notwithstanding – are quite imaginative, particularly the
invisible man using blood transfusions to make himself visible
again.
Yes, The Invisible Man's Revenge is not brilliant, but it has a level of
invention and originality uncommon to sequels.
4 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Imagine that, a movie without a hero, unless you count Brutus the dog., 1 July 2006
Author:
reptilicus from Vancouver, Canada
Ah, to be invisible. It is a fantasy that everyone has thought about
from time to time. Never mind that if you really were invisible the
liabilities would overwhelm the assets; for one thing you would be
totally blind because light would pass right through your retinas
without reflecting, so unless bumping into things is your idea of fun
being invisible is no great shakes. Now most of the time I like
invisible man movies but this time I am willing to make an exception.
Jon Hall took a break from costarring with Maria Montez to be in this
thriller. Robert Griffin (Jon) and his pals discovered a diamond mine
while they were in Africa. Said pals (Lester Mathews and Gale
Sondergaard) double crossed Bob, knocked him over the head and left him
for dead. Bob survived but lost his memory and ended up in a South
African nuthouse. He escaped after killing 2 guards and stowed away on
a ship that brought him back to England. Why did I tell you all this?
Because all that took place before the movie even starts and we have to
hear about it from various characters the the film progresses!
When Bob finally gets back to his not-so-great-friends Sir Jasper and
Lady Irene he finds out that not only did they rob him they
subsequently lost most of their fortune due to bad investments! Bob
decides that no, that is not revenge enough, he wants whatever is left
of the cash PLUS their daughter Julie (Evelyn Ankers) as his bride
whether she likes it or not! Run out of the mansion Bob gets lost in a
storm and ends up at the house of Dr. Drury (John Carradine) whose
neighbours think he is batty because he has perfected a way to make
living things invisible.
Now here is the part of the movie you have been waiting for. Anxious to
experiment on a human being, Drury injects his serum into Bob and, as
Fate and the scriptwriter would have it, Bob goes "poof" and becomes
invisible. With the help of a local character (former Vaudeville comic
Leon Errol, doing a believable Cockney accent) Bob tries to scare Sir
Jasper into signing away what is left of his fortune. Does it work?
Does it ever? And what about Dr. Drury? How will he feel about letting
an invisible maniac loose on the countryside?
This is one time we don't have to worry about the invisibility serum
driving the man mad because Bob is bonkers to begin with. The floating
effects are predictable but fun and half the fun is spotting the wires.
The cast is very recognisable if you like spotting character actors.
Lester Mathews had gone up against THE WEREWOLF OF London and costarred
with Karloff and Lugosi in THE RAVEN (both 1935) and later ended up
battling Fu Manchu on a weekly basis on the "Adventures of Fu Manchu"
TV series. Gale Sondergaard is forever identified as "The Spider Woman"
from SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE SPIDER WOMAN and THE SPIDER WOMAN STRIKES
BACK. Leon Errol costarred with fading starlet Lupe Velez in the
Mexican Spitfire series and had his own series of 2 reel comedies.
Watch also for Doris Lloyd (Mrs. Hudson in the Sherlock Holmes series),
Ian Wolfe (too doggone many movies to list here), Billy Bevan
(DRACULA'S DAUGHTER, RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE, etc.) and Skelton Knaggs
(BEDLAM, ISLE OF THE DEAD, etc.). Brutus the dog who turns out to be
the hero of the picture is played by animal actor Grey Shadow. John
Carradine is a welcome addition but is not given enough to do. Wisely
he does not play his character as a stereotype "mad" scientist.
Director Ford Beebe had written and/or directed a lot of serials for
Mascot and later for Republic. He also directed NIGHT MONSTER (1942)
and even managed to impress Alfred Hitchcock by bringing in such an
effective thriller in only 11 days.
INVISIBLE MAN'S REVENGE is far from the best of the series. You might
want to check out INVISIBLE MAN RETURNS (1940) or even the 1933
original with Claude Rains for some real entertainment.
4 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Under-appreciated Gem of the Genre, 9 March 2001
Author:
lodger3 from Southern California
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
This, the last of the Universal 'Invisible Man' series (before meeting Abbott & Costello), is a very enjoyable film that showed there was still life left in the concept. I won't outline the entire plot here, but be warned that spoilers will follow. Jon Hall, in his second invisible outing, plays a criminal named Robert Griffin who uses a formula for invisibility to exact his revenge on those that wronged him. It is interesting to note that in all the other films in the series it is the potion that affects the mentality of the respective invisible men, but in this film Griffin is unhinged to begin with and uses the opportunity invisibility allows him to realize his mad ambitions. In this particular aspect, and in a few other instances, this film is closer to the book than the other films (although the first film is an unrivaled masterpiece). As an audience we feel no real sympathy for the Griffin in 'Revenge', only fear. This is a dangerous man from the start who will do whatever it takes to get what he wants. Another enjoyable feature of this entry is the very creative use of special effects, something that each film toyed with in new ways. Although the budget must have been pretty small for a film of this type (the matte effect isn't as perfect as in other films) the crew still managed to perform some amazing tricks. Of particular note is the scene where Griffin puts his invisible arm into an aquarium, the arm becoming visible like a bubble, and then confronting his foes with water outlining his invisible face. Very eerie and very effective. This film has something to offer any fan of classic horror. Granted, computer effects have done away with the types of effects done decades ago, this film did more with them that other invisible man movies have in later years (especially the hollow attempt done recently) and remains enjoyable to this day.
5 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
So Invisible You Can't Even See Him, 15 January 2008
Author:
bkoganbing from Buffalo, New York
A rather weak and confusing script makes The Invisible Man's Revenge
not nearly up to the standard set by the first Invisible Man film and
the stylish performance of Claude Rains as the scientist who discovers
the secret of invisibility and its trap.
Our invisible protagonist in this film is Jon Hall who has come over to
Great Britain from South Africa in the belief that Lester Matthews and
Gale Sondergaard cheated him out of his half share of a diamond mine.
Let's say that their actions don't allay his suspicions and Hall gets
quite the bum's rush out of their house.
Alone and paranoid Hall stumbles on scientist John Carradine who's been
working on the matter of invisibility. He offers himself as a guinea
pig to Carradine and of course Carradine sees Nobel Prize in his
future.
Of course Hall has other plans to use the invisibility as a method of
revenge. He also considers an alternative to killing and stealing from
Matthews and Sondergaard. Hall gets one look at their lovely daughter,
Evelyn Ankers, and decides it might be easier to marry the fortune.
That is if he can get rid of her boyfriend Alan Curtis.
The motivations of these characters is quite confusing at times, you're
not quite sure who to root for. Even in the end, someone had a
marvelous idea for the Invisible Man to get his comeuppance involving
man's best friend and blew it in the execution.
One very interesting performance in the film is Leon Errol, away from
the comic parts he usually had. He's still got some funny moments, but
he's also a blackmailing scoundrel as well.
The Invisible Man's Revenge is far from the best in the series. Even
Abbott&Costello's film with them ranks better than this.
2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
Not that bad at all, 28 October 2008
Author:
slayrrr666 (slayrrr666@yahoo.com) from Los Angeles, Ca
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
"The Invisible Man's Revenge" isn't that bad of an entry in the series.
**SPOILERS**
Returning to London, Robert Griffin, (Jon Hall) meets up with old
friend Jasper Herrick, (Lester Matthews) and wife Irene, (Gale
Sondergaard) and, after having too much to drink, finds himself thrown
out of the house. Wondering in the wilderness, he happens upon the
house of eccentric Dr. Peter Drury, (John Carradine) a scientist
working on the possibilities of invisibility. Agreeing to become a test
subject, he is injected with the formula and becomes invisible. Using
the opportunity to seek revenge on the Griffin's for betraying him
earlier, he carries it out and manages to fully avenge it. Still not
satisfied, he takes to the streets of London with his friend Herbert
Higgins, (Leon Errol) to make full advantage of his condition before he
is found out.
The Good News: This here wasn't that bad. The invisible man's hijinks
in the film aren't that bad. After becoming invisible, the first thing
to do is to see an old friend, who now invisible, spends the whole
affair doing certain activities that indicate he's still there. From
twirling a knife in the air to waving papers around and other such
tricks as pulling chairs and denting seat cushions, this is one of the
creepiest scenes in the film, due to the amount of antics on display
that come across beautifully. There are some good invisibility effects
in here that still look great now, with the Invisible Man splashing
water and flour on his face at various points, leaving only the touched
parts to become ghostly visible. A later effect where they are
undergoing the transformation and a ghostly outline running in front of
a window is executed flawlessly. As with the first one, a little humor
is injected into the film. The drunkard who becomes the Invisible Man's
visible assistant is responsible for some really funny moments, the
best of which is the invisibly-assisted darts game in the pub, which is
a comedic gem. From the different positions to the fact that the darts
are clearly not being thrown on their own trajectory to hit the
targets, this is hugely funny and gets the film's best laughs. Also
quite hilarious is the frequent attempts to keep a barking guard dog
from getting at it's intended target to the dismay of those who own the
dog. It's finale is quite action-packed, filled with several great
scenes packed inside a tiny space and featuring a couple of pretty
nifty ideas as well, and is the clear highlight as the best part of the
film. It's a decent enough entry in the series.
The Bad News: There wasn't a lot wrong, but there was a few problems in
it. One of the main problems is the really off pacing in the film. It
attempts to recapture that combination of comedy and horrific suspense
that was the earmark of the first movie in the series, but whereas that
movie balanced the elements in such a way that they played off of and
enhanced each other, here we just have suspense scenes giving way to
comic scenes giving way to suspense scenes without really building to
an organic whole. This makes it seem like it was really two different
movies put together and thrown into the mix, with an effort made to
link them together. The switch in tones is quite apparent, though,
where in one scene the invisible man helps an old friend win a
dart-throwing game, then a few minutes later threatening to kill
someone. That illustrates the problem quite readily. Also quite off is
the long amount of time until the invisible man appears on-screen. It
takes a good twenty-to-thirty minutes before it transpires, and that
leaves the first half to consist of some really slow scenes as the race
to the switch happens. Unlike the others, which had the antics
transpire on-screen fairly rapidly in the pace, this one's wait is a
curious inclusion. It's not a noticeable distraction, but it is one
nonetheless. Otherwise, this is a really OK entry in the series.
The Final Verdict: While not all that much of a classic, it has enough
moments of fun to be more than the total wasted entry many had claimed
of it. It's good enough to warrant a rental first, as it's not near the
classic original, but if judged on it's own, it's not that bad at all.
Today's Rating-PG: Mild Violence
1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Just another formula sequel, 27 May 2006
Author:
sergio choren (psychoren2002@yahoo.com.ar) from Argentina
Final entry in the original Invisible Man series, and last on the Legacy Collection DVD set, this film clearly shows the lack of ideas around the character. This time the invisible man is just a mental patient trying to do some kind of mad justice, but the script is poor and the plot is unconvincing. There's a few good special effects, but the DVD transcription is so clear that you can see how they use to do it. The comedy parts are OK, and or those who enjoy the Invisible Man funny rendition on "Amazon Women on the Moon", this is the movie you need to see...believe me. Once again, is good to have all the films in a luxury pack, so if you are interested, The Legacy Collection is a perfect choice, but only if you already have the Dracula, Frankenstein and The Wolf Man better sets.
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