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	...	Maj. Paul Krenner
Ivan Triesault	...	Dr. Peter Ulof
Boyd 'Red' Morgan	...	Julian (as Red Morgan)
Cormel Daniel	...	Maria Ulof
Ed Erwin	...	Drake (as Edward Erwin)
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:

psychotronic film | mushroom cloud | radio broadcast | invisibility | army | 

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Taglines:

What you can't see will kill you!

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

At least part of the equipment in the lab, i.e., the sparking machine, appears to have been the same one used in B-movies since the 1930's.

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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

Major Paul Krenner: I must know the full potential of your invention because my aim is to make an entire army invisible. Do you understand that? An entire army.

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits are shown on a gray prison wall.

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Alternate Versions

There have been three prints of this film:

• The original negative print by Miller Consolidated Pictures (MCP). The film opens with the MCP company logo, and retains the pre-credits prologue. The film does not have any end titles; it ends with Dr. Peter Ulof (Ivan Triesault) facing the camera, asking "What would you do?" And the film simply fades to black. This version is available on DVD by MGM Home Entertainment (with the MGM "Lion" logo added at the beginning and after the end).
• The theatrical release print by American International Pictures (AIP). The AIP logo (with ominous fanfare) replaces the MCP logo at the beginning, and is also added at the end (right after Dr. Ulof's "What would you do?" speech after fadeout). This is the version used on the movie-mocking TV series, "Mystery Science Theater 3000."
• A public domain print, possibly used for syndicated/local TV. The MCP logo and the film's prologue are omitted, and begins at the film's title. A "The End" title card (plain font placed within a four-square gray/screentone background) was tacked on (complete with a relieved, low-tone piano cue), fading in after Dr. Ulof's "What would you do?" speech, and fading out.

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Connections

Featured in AIP: Fast and Furious (1985)

User Reviews

Compact sci-fi crime featurette

Extremely compact (57 minutes) yet entertaining story of ruthless safe-cracker (Kennedy), sprung from gaol by a demented former military agent (Griffith) and his cheap-wine associate (Chapman), forced to endure radiation experiments that make him invisible in order to steal guarded uranium deposits so Griffith can build an invisible army to take-over the world. Street-wise Kennedy decides to turn his transparency into an opportunity to pull a bank heist, but things go awry when the invisibility wears off mid-way through the crime.

Griffith is an impeccably dressed, meek-looking but sadistic villain, keeping his associates subservient via various forms of duress, Chapman plays the life-of-crime broad, mistreated by Griffith (there's a great scene in which Griffith slaps her twice the second he calls "the dot on the i") seeing an opportunity to make it big with Kennedy's safe-cracking skills. Kennedy is the cornerstone, delivering an economical performance of a career criminal with no pride or patriotism, only a loyalty to his young daughter from whom he's forcibly estranged.

You won't get much in your special effects on this budget, nevertheless it's not a bad variation on the "invisible man" theme like an "Outer Limits" or "Twilight Zone" episode with real exteriors and a capable and reasonably distinguished cast. Look out for craggy-faced Pat Cranshaw ("Old School") as an inept security guard in an early film role.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

July 1960 (USA)

Also Known As:

Search for a Shadow

Filming Locations:

Berkshire Mountains, Massachusetts, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$100,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Miller Consolidated Pictures (MCP), Exclusive Roadshow Attraction

Technical Specs

Runtime:

58 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1