| The Invisible Man | |
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| Original work | The Invisible Man byH. G. Wells |
| Films and television | |
| Film(s) | |
The Invisible Man is a film series byUniversal Pictures. The series consists ofThe Invisible Man (1933),The Invisible Man Returns (1940),The Invisible Woman (1940),Invisible Agent (1942),The Invisible Man's Revenge (1944) andAbbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951). The film series borrows elements fromH. G. Wells's novelThe Invisible Man (1897), but it focuses primarily on the idea of a serum that causes someone to go invisible and its side-effects.
The series has been described as fragmented, with very few films in the series being connected. This is different from other Universal series of the time, such asFrankenstein andThe Mummy. Some films in theInvisible Man series, such asThe Invisible Man Returns andInvisible Agent, attempt to connect to the first film through characters who were related toGriffin. Others bear no relation to the original film beyond the inclusion of a plot involving amad scientist and a person who becomes invisible as a result of their experiments. Retrospective critics and film historians have commented that other films in the series borrow stories from previous films, withThe Invisible Man Returns,The Invisible Man's Revenge andAbbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man having the same stories asCharlie Chan in London (1934),The Walking Dead (1936) andThe Invisible Man's Revenge respectively.
From retrospective critiques, writers and authors such asDonald F. Glut andWilliam K. Everson found the original 1933 film to be the highlight of the series, while the other films varied in overall quality.The Invisible Man Returns,The Invisible Woman andInvisible Agent all receivedAcademy Award nominations for Best Special Effects. Various television series and films would follow featuring Invisible Man-styled characters, with the series establishing that the Invisible Man would often be driven to insanity due to his invisibility, a new trait in the series that would be applied to later films such asThe Invisible Man Appears (1949),The Invisible Maniac (1990) andHollow Man (2000).
Universal'sThe Invisible Man film series includesThe Invisible Man (1933),The Invisible Man Returns (1940),The Invisible Woman (1940),Invisible Agent (1942),The Invisible Man's Revenge (1944) andAbbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951).[1]Film historian Ken Hanke describedThe Invisible Man franchise as one of Universal's "most fragmented series".[1] The authors ofUniversal Horror wrote that attempts to connect the series to the first film "proved awkward" unlike Universal'sThe Mummy andFrankenstein series.[2] CriticKim Newman echoed this, saying that theInvisible Man sequels were not really sequels or reboots of the first film.[3] Examples of these connections includeThe Invisible Man Returns where the character Geoffrey Radcliffe (Vincent Price) receives the invisibility formula from Dr. Frank Griffin (John Sutton), a relative of Jack Griffin, andInvisible Spy where Frank Raymond is Griffin's grandson.[4][5] InThe Invisible Man's Revenge, the screenplay does not connect Robert Griffin with the previous Griffins who either created, understood and or operated with the invisibility formula.[6]
Some installments were described as being rewrites of previous entries or other films entirely. Hanke describedThe Invisible Man Returns's story being "more than slightly similar" toCharlie Chan in London (1934).[5] InPhil Hardy's bookScience Fiction, a review stated that theInvisible Man's Revenge was basically a rewrite ofThe Walking Dead (1936).[7]Abbott and Costello was described by the authors ofUniversal Horrors as being a semi-remake ofReturns with the title character rewritten as a boxer framed for murder.[8] Hanke describedThe Invisible Woman as being "curious offshoot" of the series, being directed byA. Edward Sutherland, who specialized in comedy films.[9]
Dr. Jack Griffin who is covered in bandages and has his eyes obscured by dark glasses, the result of a secret experiment that makes him invisible, taking lodging in a small village until his landlady discovers he is invisible. Griffin returns to the laboratory of his mentor, Dr. Cranley who soon learns that Griffin's discovery has driven him insane, leading him to prove his superiority over other people by performing harmless pranks at first and eventually turning to murder.
Geoffrey Radcliffe is condemned for a murder he did not commit by thecolliery owner Richard Cobb. Radcliffe requests doctor Frank Griffin to inject him with the invisibility formula, even Griffin warns him it could drive him mad. Radcliffe is able to expose Cobb without succumbing to insanity or murder.
Wealthy lawyer Richard Russell funds inventor Professor Gibbs creation of an invisibility machine. They test it first on Kitty Carroll, a department store model who uses her new power to get revenge former boss, Mr. Growley who fired her, all while gangsters are out to steal the invisibility machine.
Frank "Raymond" Griffin, a younger relative of the inventor of the original invisibility formula is sent to attack the Nazis. Raymond uses the invisibility formula and with the help of Maria Sorensen who may or may not be in league with . When Nazi agents try to coerce the secret formula out of Raymond, he eludes them by becoming transparent himself.
Dr. Peter Drury tests his new formula for invisibility on the escaped fugitive Robert Griffin. After taking it, Griffin seizes the opportunity to head to London to take revenge on the Herrick family, who he believes have abandoned him on an African safari.
Bud Alexander and Lou Francis are private-eyes and meet champion boxer Tommy Nelson, who is wanted for the murder of his manager. With the help of Dr. Philip Gray, the detectives use a new invisibility serum to try clear his name.
Following the success ofDracula, Richard L. Schayer andRobert Florey suggested toUniversal Pictures that an adaptation ofH.G. Wells'sThe Invisible Man as early as 1931.[10] Though promoted as being based onH.G. Wells' novelThe Invisible Man, the screenplay only follows the basics of the original novel.[1] After going through several potential directors, including Florey,Cyril Gardner,E. A. Dupont, withJames Whale eventually being chosen.[10][11] Shooting of the film began in June 1933 and concluded in late August.[12]
Universal Pictures first announced the development ofThe Invisible Man Returns in March 1939, around the timeSon of Frankenstein (1939) was performing well at the box office.[13]Hanke described the film's story being "more than slightly similar" to the 1934 filmCharlie Chan in London.[5] Though not a horror film,The Invisible Woman was originally written as a more serious horror film, about a mad scientist turning a woman invisible.[14][9] The story was then passed on toRobert Lees andFred Naldo who specialized in comedy.[14]Gertrude Purcell, who had written the screenplay for the western comedyDestry Rides Again (1939) was hired to add a woman's perspective on the story.[14]
Invisible Agent was announced under the titleThe Invisible Spy in early 1942.[15] ActorJon Hall who was Frank "Raymond" Griffin inInvisible Agent now portrays Robert Griffin, a killer who seeks revenge on men who framed him.[7] A retrospective review inPhil Hardy's bookScience Fiction commented that the film was basically a rewrite of the 1936 filmThe Walking Dead.[7]
Universal first announced the plan forThe Invisible Man's Revenge on June 10, 1943, with the hopes of havingClaude Rains performing in the lead.[16] Prior to the first day of shootingThe Invisible Man's Revenge, Universal's attorneys made a deal with H. G. Wells for the rights to make two moreInvisible Man sequels between July 1943 and October 1951.[17]Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man was described by the authors ofUniversal Horrors as being a semi-remake ofThe Invisible Man Returns with the title character rewritten as a boxer framed for murder.[8] Several lines of dialog fromThe Invisible Man Returns and some special effects were reused in the film.[8]
| Crew | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Invisible Man | The Invisible Man Returns | The Invisible Woman | Invisible Agent | The Invisible Man's Revenge | Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man | Ref(s) | |
| Director | James Whale | Joe May | A. Edward Sutherland | Edwin L. Marin | Ford Beebe | Charles Lamont | [10][15][18][19][20][21] |
| Producers | Carl Laemmle, Jr. | — | — | — | Ford Beebe | Howard Christie | |
| Screenwriters | R.C. Sherriff | Curt Siodmak Lester K. Cole | Robert Lees Gertrude Purcell Frederic I. Rinaldo | Curt Siodmak | Bertram Millhauser | John Grant Robert Lees Frederic I. Rinaldo | |
| Cinematographer | Arthur Edeson | Milton Krasner | Elwood Bredell | Les White | Milton Krasner | George Robinson | |
| Editors | Ted Kent | Frank Gross | Edward Curtiss | Saul A. Goodkind | Virgil Vogel | ||
| Visual Effects Supervisor | Frank D. Williams | John P. Fulton | John Hall John P. Fulton | John P. Fulton | David S. Horsley | ||
In his bookClassic Movie Monsters (1978),Donald F. Glut referred to the original as a classic, while finding the series in the 1940s were more in the line ofb films or programmers that were still "all entraining thrillers" specifically those with special effects byJohn P. Fulton.[22]William K. Everson discussed the series in his bookMore Classics of the Horror Film (1986) finding the first two films as "relatively tame today in terms of shock and sensation, but dramatically and pictorially they survive rather well", theInvisible Agent as having the best single shot in the series where the invisible man portrayed by Jon Hall slowly having water sprinkle on his face as sinister expression is revealed, whileThe Invisible Man's Revenge, was the least menacing feature of all of the films.[23] James L. Neibaur discussed the series in his bookThe Monster Movies of Universal Studios (2017), stating that outside the 1933 filmThe Invisible Man, "none of its sequels were particularly impressive" findingThe Invisible Man's Revenge "average",The Invisible Woman "amusing" andInvisible Agent benefitting from the appearance ofPeter Lorre in the cast, andThe Invisible Man's Revenge "pedestrian".[24][25] Peter Hutchings responded to the negative retrospective reception of 1940s Universal horror product, saying "is often intertwined with a prejudice against the sequel itself as a particular cinematic format, with the sequelisation process seeming to mark the moment where innovation ends and exploitation begins."[26]
Three films in the series led toAcademy Award nominations for Best Special Effects.[27] These included Fulton, Bernard B. Brown and William Hedgcock forThe Invisible Man Returns, Fulton and John Hall forThe Invisible Woman, and Fulton and Brown forInvisible Agent.[27]
Unlike other Universal properties,The Invisible Man did not receive any remakes from companies such asHammer Film Productions.[2] In Japan,Daiei Film made their own Invisible Man films. The first wasThe Invisible Man Appears (1949), one of Japan's first science fiction films.[28][29] The film resemblesThe Invisible Man's Revenge as its plot revolves around using the Invisible Man for a heist.[28] Special effects involving the invisible man unravelling himself from bandages and objects moving themselves across the rooms were described by Newman as being "lifted" from the 1933 film.[30] Daiei Film generally did not make many science fiction films until the 1950s withWarning from Space (1956) and another Invisible Man themed film withThe Invisible Man vs. The Human Fly (1957).[31] Universal's film series added a key plot element of invisibility driving the invisible person insane that would be in many of the later Invisible Man-themed films.[32] This is seen in films such asThe Invisible Man Appears (1949),The Invisible Maniac (1990) andHollow Man (2000).[33]
Television series were later developed such as a 1958 British seriesThe Invisible Man which featured a bandaged clad character named Peter Brady who fought crime and sought a cure for his own invisibility.[34]The Invisible Man andGemini Man were made in the 1970s which were more oriented towardsspy fiction, borrowingInvisible Agent's style of the Invisible Man as a patriotic hero.[35]
Aremake entered development as of February 2016, whenJohnny Depp was announced to star withEd Solomon writing the script, andAlex Kurtzman andChris Morgan producing.[36][37] Kurtzman and Morgan moved on to other projects the following November.[38] In 2019, Universal announced and began production on the remake, written and directed byLeigh Whannell and produced byJason Blum under hisBlumhouse Productions banner. It featuredOliver Jackson-Cohen as the titular character.[39][40]
When a trailer was released that December, Robert Moran ofThe Sydney Morning Herald commented that it was "met with the kind of confusion that could rattle a filmmaker, not to mention a studio. It seems monster movie fans, long-attuned to the bandage-wrapped antics of The Invisible Man of yore, weren't expecting Whannell's allegory on domestic violence trauma".[41] Whannell commented on his change from the norm on the style, explaining that he knew there was going to be some backlash as he was "modernizing it and centering it not around the Invisible Man but his victim".[42] Whannel compared hisInvisible Man to the popular image of the character: "The iconic image of the Invisible Man is one of a floating pair of sunglasses, you know? I knew I had to move it away from that".[42]The Invisible Man was released on February 28, 2020.[42]
