"The Invisible Man" The Invisible Man (1975)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Robert Michael Lewis

Writers:

Harve Bennett (story)
Steven Bochco (screenplay)

TV Series:

"The Invisible Man" (1975)

Original Air Date:

6 May 1975 (Season 1, Episode 0)

Genre:

Adventure | Sci-Fi

Plot:

Having nothing to do with H.G. Wells novel beyond the premise of a scientist making himself invisible, this is a TV-series pilot which even changes the characters' names.

Plot Keywords:

Scientist | Mask | Spy | Remake | Invisible Man

Cast

David McCallum	...	Dr. Daniel Westin
Melinda O. Fee	...	Kate Weston (as Melinda Fee)
Jackie Cooper	...	Walter Carlson
Henry Darrow	...	Dr. Nick Maggio
Alex Henteloff	...	Rick Steiner
Arch Johnson	...	General Turner
John McLiam	...	Blind Man
Ted Gehring	...	Gate Guard
Paul Kent	...	Security Chief
Milt Kogan	...	Doctor
Jon Cedar	...	Lobby Guard
Tamar Cooper	...	Receptionist
Lew Palter	...	Motel Clerk
Richard Forbes	...	Motel Guest

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Silverton Productions

Movie Connections:

Version of Chelovek-nevidimka (1984)

A fairly uninteresting pilot that is pointless as a standalone film

Dr Daniel Weston is a brilliant scientist working on a groundbreaking new invention. When his bosses get fed up seeing their money being eaten up with no results, Weston shows them his work by making a pen vanish in front of them. The potential for this invisibility machine is enormous and it is not long before Weston's bosses have brought in the US military and their funding. Objecting to working on a powerful weapon instead of helping mankind, Weston is removed from the project and locked out of his own lab while his ex-employers start to handover the whole project to military scientists without Weston's conscience or morals to slow it all down.

Despite the fact that HG Wells gets a writers credit for this TVM, the actual plot has less to do with his classic story and more in common with TV series of the 70's and 80's where a character with a gimmick goes around helping people and righting wrongs. I watched this as a standalone film because it has not been followed by a rerun of the whole series and it is not how it was meant to be watched. As a result the film basically just sets up the future story and has an ending which would be OK if you were going to tune in every week but as a film it doesn't have anything interesting in an ending. For what it is, the story explains why Weston is invisible, sets him up with a mask, gets a "baddie" on his tail and sees him heading off to new adventures. Like I said, this is all well and good if you then follow it with the series but as a stand alone episode it doesn't do anything of value at all.

The special effects are good I suppose although they have dated badly and the film spends too much time just "marvelling" at Weston appearing or partially disappearing, things moving by themselves etc. These things take the place of plotting or character and the film manages to do very little – it doesn't even set a formula for the rest of the series. Without character or feelings to work with, McCallum manages to have more impact on the film by not being on screen than being on it. He only has a vague moral outrage at the idea of his work being a weapon but never has any emotions of his own about his struggle, his mission or the situation he is in. Likewise O'Fee just seems to be waiting for the regular work to start up and never does much. If Cooper and Darrow were set to become the regular baddies of the series then things can't have been that great because neither make much of an impression here.

Overall it is a bit unfair to watch this as a standalone film but when it is presented as such then it isn't too much to hope that it can be enjoyed as such; it is hard to see how this film convinced anyone that regular trips back into this story would be a good idea. It does nothing but set up a very basic frame for further "adventures" and forgets to entertain, engage or stimulate the audience at the same time. Not bad – just totally pointless.