The Invisible Man (1933)

A scientist finds a way of becoming invisible, but in doing so, he becomes murderously insane.

Director:

James Whale

Writers:

H.G. Wells (novel), R.C. Sherriff (screenplay)

Stars:

Claude Rains, Gloria Stuart, William Harrigan

3 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Claude Rains	...	Dr. Jack Griffin aka The Invisible Man
Gloria Stuart	...	Flora Cranley
William Harrigan	...	Dr. Arthur Kemp
Henry Travers	...	Dr. Cranley
Una O'Connor	...	Jenny Hall
Forrester Harvey	...	Herbert Hall
Holmes Herbert	...	Chief of Police
E.E. Clive	...	Constable Jaffers
Dudley Digges	...	Chief Detective
Harry Stubbs	...	Inspector Bird
Donald Stuart	...	Inspector Lane
Merle Tottenham	...	Millie

Storyline

Working in Dr. Cranley's laboratory, scientist Jack Griffin was always given the latitude to conduct some of his own experiments. His sudden departure, however, has Cranley's daughter Flora worried about him. Griffin has taken a room at the nearby Lion's Head Inn, hoping to reverse an experiment he conducted on himself that made him invisible. Unfortunately, the drug he used has also warped his mind, making him aggressive and dangerous. He's prepared to do whatever it takes to restore his appearance, and several will die in the process.

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Plot Keywords:

invisibility | experiment gone wrong | world domination | mad scientist | police station | 

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Taglines:

Catch me if you can!

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 November 1933 (USA)

Also Known As:

Der Unsichtbare

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

71 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The first time Claude Rains' daughter ever saw her father in a movie was in 1950, when he took her to a showing of 'The Invisible Man' in a small Pennsylvanian theater. While the film was playing, Rains was telling his daughter all about how it was made. The other theater patrons stopped watching the movie and instead listened to Rains tell how it was made.

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Goofs

The film appears to be set in England; however, the train that gets wrecked has a distinctly American appearance.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Man in Pub: Did you hear about Mrs. Mason's little Willy? Sent him to school and found him buried ten-foot deep in a snow drift.
Man in Pub # 2: How did they get him out?
Man in Pub: Brought the fire engine 'round, put the hose pipe in, pumped it backwards and sucked him out.

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Crazy Credits

Claude Rains is the only actor in the film whose character is identified in the credits. We are not told which roles the other actors play, even though the cast is listed twice: at the beginning and at the end. Rains is billed as "The Invisible One" in the opening credits and as "The Invisible Man" in the closing credits.

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Alternate Versions

When the film was released to home video, Universal Studios replaced a snippet of music heard on the radio when Dr. Kemp is reading a newspaper in his house, and the Invisible Man enters through a set of French doors. Universal was unable to secur the rights for the original music and replaced it, covering the original sound effects (the sound of the newspaper and the door latch) in the process.

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Connections

Referenced in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (2004)

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Soundtracks

Hearts and Flowers
(1893) (uncredited)
Music from "Wintermärchen" by Alphons Czibulka
Played on a radio
(re-release version only)

User Reviews

Fun to watch and almost flawless

I really enjoyed this film. Claude Raines commanding voice is great, you get to really feel for his character and his ever-winding road to madness and megalamanical hunger. The film itself is amazingly fun to watch. Sure the film is quite short, but it gets to the point. The special effects are truely amazing and fun to watch, espically when you consider this was made BEFORE CGI ruined films.

This film, backed with tight editing, scripting and good acting makes for a wonderfully pleasing to watch film. I certainly enjoyed it.

Overall: 8/10