The Invisible Man Returns
Directed by Joe May
Written by Joe May, Curt Siodmak, and Lester Cole based on characters by H.G. Wells
1940/USA
Universal Pictures
First viewing/Netflix rental
[box] Helen Manson: Helen to Geoffrey as he removes his bandages and clothes to leave, “When will I see you”?[/box]
Vincent Price, with his mellifluous voice, makes a worthy successor to Claude Rains in the title role. I thought this was almost as good as the original, though it lacked some of that film’s humor.
Sir Geoffrey Radcliffe (Price) is on death row having falsely been convicted for the murder of his brother. When legitimate appeals fail to free him, Dr. Frank Griffin, scientist brother of the original “Invisible Man” gives him the serum which allows him to escape undetected. Griffin promises that he will be able to develop a antidote that will allow Radcliffe to return to normal before he goes insane. Needless to say he fails and Radcliffe proceeds to go on a rampage against those he holds responsible for his brother’s death. With Sir Cedric Hardwicke as a jealous and greedy mine owner and Nan Gray as Radcliffe’s lady love.
I think Vincent Price was born to play horror. He can come off as a big ham in straight dramatic roles but his gaudy acting style perfectly suits genre films. This is a product of its time as part of Radcliffe’s insanity has very Hitler-esque overtones of megalomania.
Trailer
Price’s over-the -top acting is perfect for horror films and you are right about his voice. It was a good choice altho’ it is hard to beat Claude Rain’s dulcet tones. This really was a pretty good film even though it was a “sequel”. I used to have two rules: (1) Don’t watch sequels as they are never any good. I was proven wrong after watching the second in The Thin Man series; but the series/sequels always get stale after a while; and (2) Don’t watch films that have Roman numerals after the original title. Again I was proved wrong by the second Godfather film…..but was vindicated by the third!!!!
I had very low expectations for this one and ended up enjoying it.
The main reason this is my favorite Invisible Man sequel is Nan Gray. Hubba hubba!
(Though I like The Invisible Woman quite a bit as well.)
This was a perfect roe for Price as well.