The Amazing Transparent Man (1960)

A crazed scientist invents an invisibility formula. He plans to use the formula to create an army of invisible zombies.

Director:

Edgar G. Ulmer

Writer:

Jack Lewis (original screenplay)

Stars:

Marguerite Chapman, Douglas Kennedy, James Griffith

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Marguerite Chapman	...	Laura Matson
Douglas Kennedy	...	Joey Faust
James Griffith	...	Major Paul Krenner
Ivan Triesault	...	Dr. Peter Ulof
Boyd 'Red' Morgan	...	Julian (as Red Morgan)
Cormel Daniel	...	Maria Ulof
Edward Erwin	...	Drake
Jonathan Ledford	...	Smith
Norman Smith	...	Security Guard
Patrick Cranshaw	...	Security Guard
Kevin Kelly	...	Woman
Denis Adams	...	State Policeman (as Dennis Adams)
Stacy Morgan	...	State Policeman

Storyline

Paul Krenner, an ex-major with delusions of grandeur, has forced scientist Peter Ulof to develop a radiation-based technique to turn men invisible, with which process he plans to create an invisible army to sell to the highest bidder. He busts safecracker Joey Faust out of prison and forces him to undergo the invisibility treatment so he can steal more radium to further the experimentation. Plans go awry when Faust discovers there is a side-effect to the invisibility treatments he didn't count on.

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Plot Keywords:

invisibility | scientist | army | safecracker | negligée | 

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Taglines:

The Most Amazing Picture Of The Year! He's Invisible! He's Deadly!

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Genres:

Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

July 1960 (USA)

Also Known As:

El increíble hombre transparente

Filming Locations:

Berkshires, Massachusetts, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$100,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Miller Consolidated Pictures (MCP)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

57 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was shot back-to-back with Beyond the Time Barrier. The combined shooting schedule was only two weeks. They became Edgar G. Ulmer's last American films.

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Goofs

When Drake uses binoculars to view what is left of ground zero for the lab explosion, the perspective of what he is seeing through the binoculars changes four times (one of the views is from ground up at a man in a fallout suit), all of which are technically impossible from his vantage point.

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Quotes

Dr. Peter Ulof: There is a man who has unlocked every door, except the one to his own soul...

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Connections

Featured in Trailer Cinema (1992)

User Reviews

Better than the title suggests - but that suggested stinker

A title like "The Amazing Transparent Man" does have you seriously wondering on how poor the movie you are about to watch will be - - for a start, he can't even achieve invisibility (only transparency), so what is 'amazing' about that?

But the opening titles suggest you might get something a bit better than you were bracing yourself for. It's quite a good mood setting, with the music involving a cello grinding 4 repeating notes ominously. The other give away is that in the opening credits, the directors and producers names are shown in running-writing style - clearly both artists. And the opening prison escape bit is good, as well as the police checkpoint scene, and they involve some nicely framed external shots.

In fact its all looking like this might be a surprisingly enjoyable film, until the escaped safe-cracking crim Faust (played by Douglas Kennedy) has his first real indoor talking scene. And then you realize that for some reason only known to him, Mr Kennedy plays Faust like some "John Wayne" cowboy. Why a safe cracker would also be a swaggering tough guy who looks like he is ready to say "Ok Pilgrim" is a constant annoyance which does tend to cripple the film.

Anyway - - I don't think I'm giving much away to point out the early setup in the film when Krenner (the Bad Guy) says something like "Dr, make sure the radioactive material is kept away from the beam, or else we will all blow up", and then Dr Ulof repeating something similar back to Krenner five minutes later - - clearly, something is eventually going to go wrong along these lines much later in the film, and they really don't want you to miss it.

The other annoying thing about this movie is how quickly the characters (Faust, Krenner, Dr Ulof, Laura (the bad guys girl), and Julian (the bad guys hired help)) seems to keep swapping alliances and personality, all as a result of some simple statement that would even make a daytime soap opera blush.(eg: a "But your son is dead" has Julian swapping sides without a thought that "Hey, maybe she is lying because I have a gun pointed at her?").

So, the film is not too strong on the logic of how and why the characters act and respond. When combined with its over-earnestness, the final sentence uttered in the film, instead of being the deep and meaningful thought provoker the director and producer obviously intended, resulted in me chuckling for quite a while after the closing credits finished.

Ultimately - The Amazing Transparent Man is better than its title suggests, but not something to recommend.