The Invisible Man Returns (1940)

Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The acting in this movie is really good.

The original film was aways going to be difficult to surpass, but while this is an occasionally pedestrian film (especially in its first half) it manages to pass muster and builds towards an engaging climax.The role of the Invisible Man is taken by a 28 year old Vincent Price. He isn't as good as Claude Raines in the role, and is suprisingly ineffective when taken over by megalomainia, but this was just a year or so into his film career and he was soon to mature into an outstanding character actor (and later King of the Horror Movie).Framed for the murder of his brother, he escapes the gallows after a quick visit from Dr. Frank Griffin, brother of the original Invisible Man, ensures he quickly escapes by emulating his homicidal predecessor and doing a disappearing act! Can Vincent prove his innocence and catch the real culprit before he falls into madness caused by the invisibility drug Duocaine?Nan Grey ably provides the romantic interest and Sir Cedric Hardwicke (boring as ever) is the true killer. Some splendid effects (and a few ropey ones) provide a decent addition to the original film. Price's return to visibility is superbly pulled off. Not one of Universal's best horror films but capable enough.

Released a surprising seven years after James Whale's fantastic and commercially successful The Invisible Man (1933), this sequel faces the problem of creating a story worth telling, without recycling the events and themes that ran through the original and H.G. Wells' novel of the same name. Pleasingly, Returns is an exciting little horror film, that boasts the same fantastic (and Oscar nominated) special effects as the first, as well as offering Vincent Price in one of his very first horror roles.Falsely imprisoned for the murder of his brother, Sir Geoffrey Radcliffe (Price), the owner of a mining corporation, awaits the death sentence. As his execution looms close, Radcliffe suddenly disappears from his cell, baffling the guards who are placed under suspicion. Knowing Radcliffe to be innocent, Dr. Frank Griffin (John Sutton), the brother of Claude Rains' original Invisible Man, has injected him with the invisibility drug so Radcliffe may conduct his own investigation into the murder. But with Scotland Yard detective Sampson (Cecil Kellaway) suspecting Griffin and the drug slowly turning him mad, Radcliffe faces a race against time to find the culprit and cure himself of the effects of the drug.This is one of those old-fashioned horror films that adhere to all the genre clichés and never really surprises you, but the cast and execution of the film is wholly charming. The plot keeps things interesting, as the sympathetic innocent man is slowly driven to madness that is beyond his control. Price, although only appearing for less than a minute, had yet to hone his acting craft, but manages to carry the film using only that voice which is now so embedded in horror culture. It's not a patch on Whale's masterful original, but The Invisible Man Returns is a worthy sequel, remaining thoroughly entertaining throughout, kick-starting one of many lucrative franchises for Universal Studios.www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com

Direct Sequel to "The Invisible Man" stars Vincent Price as Geoffrey Radcliffe, owner of a coal mining operation that is framed for the murder of his brother. His friend Dr. Frank Griffin(brother of the original Invisible Man) uses the same serum to render Geoffrey invisible, in order to escape the gallows and find the real murderer. Nan Grey plays Geoffrey's girlfriend Helen. They both must watch him carefully, as he may go insane like Frank's brother did, since that flaw in the serum hasn't been fixed yet, and indeed the symptoms turn up before long... Excellent continuation of the story has fine acting and atmosphere, with a smart script that cleverly references the first film without repeating it. Identity of the real killer may be obvious, but film is briskly directed by Joe May, and remains quite memorable.

Invisible Man Returns, The (1940) *** (out of 4) The brother of the invisible man from the previous film turns a prisoner (Vincent Price) about to die invisible so that he can try to prove his innocence. The prisoner, with the help of his girlfriend (Nan Grey) tries to prove that an evil mastermind (Cedric Hardwicke) was behind his brother's murder. This "sequel" to THE INVISIBLE MAN doesn't come close to matching the original movie but after a rather sluggish opening thirty-minutes, this film picks up and manages to deliver some nice special effects and a few effective performances. The biggest star of this film are the special effects, which are extremely good especially the scenes where Price is undressing. The effects from the original film hold up extremely well today but so do these. Another highlight is when the invisible man has some cigar smoke blown on him, which makes him visible. Towards the end there's a very effective scene with the invisible man walking down the street, with some clothes on, as people look in horror at him. Price, in his first horror film (if you don't count TOWER OF London as horror) is pretty good, although that great voice of his isn't used as effective as it would be later in his career. He makes for a good hero and Hardwicke is perfect as the cold blooded bad guy. I think this film lacks the humor of the original and again, the opening scenes of the film aren't that good but everything picks up and in the end this is an entertaining entry in Universal's new era.