The Invisible Man (1933)
Directed by James Whale

Film Review

Buoyed by the phenomenal success of Dracula (1931) and Frankenstein (1931), Universal Pictures were eager to deliver another film in the fantasy-horror genre and so sought to make an adaptation of H.G. Wells's 1897 novel The Invisible Man, for which they had bought the exclusive rights. The story had all the right ingredients for a thrilling monster movie, except that, on this occasion, the monster was entirely invisible - something which presented an enormous technical challenge. 

The first difficulty that Universal encountered was getting a workable screenplay.  Eleven versions of the story were rejected before the production team settled on a final version by R.C. Sherriff.  The rejected screenplays paid scant regard to Wells's story but instead used ideas from another novel, The Murderer Invisible (1931) by Philip Wylie.  Sheriff was the author of Journey's End, the play which James Whale had directed for the theatre in London and then as his first film.

Whilst Sherriff's screenplay did include some elements of Wylie's novel (most notably the central character going on a killer rampage), it was more faithful to H.G. Well's story.   One notable departure from Well's original novel was the introduction of Griffin's fiancée and his former tutor, in an attempt to bring out the human side of the main protagonist.   The presence of these characters emphasises the similarity between this film and the earlier Frankenstein film.  In broad narrative terms, the two films are very similar, the essential difference being that, in The Invisible Man, the mad scientist and the monster are one in the same.

Finding a director for this film proved to be almost as fraught as getting the screenplay.  The job finally went to James Whale, who had previously directed Frankenstein (1931) and The Old Dark House (1933) for Universal.  By this stage, Whale enjoyed the complete confidence of his producer, Carl Laemmle Jr, and was given free reign.

Boris Karloff, the actor who had famously played Frankenstein's monster in the 1931 film, was originally slated to play the invisible man, but he refused after a contract dispute with Universal (who refused to honour a pay rise).  Colin Clive - who had played Dr Frankenstein in the film that had made Karloff a star - was also considered, but he wasn't available.   In the end, the part went to an English character actor, Claude Rains, who, after several years in theatre, was eager to begin a career in Hollywood.

Claude Rains's first screen test was a disaster - he was judged too theatrical to merit serious consideration for movies.  However, when he saw Rains's screen test, director James Whale knew immediately that the actor's overly expressive performance - particularly the rich texture and commanding delivery of his voice - was ideal for the part of the invisible man.  Claude Rains had only appeared in one film prior to this, the British silent film Build Thy House (1920).

When he accepted the part of the invisible man, Rains had no idea that his face would be hidden throughout the film.  In fact, we only see his face briefly in the final shot.  Despite this, Rains brings a great presence to the film, one that combines sinister menace and searing pathos.   In terms of its impact on the audience, his portrayal of the invisible man is in the same league as Karloff's Frankenstein and Bela Lugosi's Dracula.   It was this role which established Claude Rains in Hollywood.  From this springboard, he went on to have a very successful film career, his appearances including: The Wolf Man (1941), Casablanca (1942) and Phantom of the Opera (1943).

After Rains's memorable performance, the thing which really sells The Invisible Man are the special effects, which are extraordinary for a film of this period.   Credit for these goes to effects designer John P. Fulton, who refined techniques which were available to him and developed quite a few more specifically for this film.  The most sophisticated of these was matte composition (also known as the "travelling mat" technique), whereby an image is built up by superimposing several shots when the film is printed.  An example is the scene where the invisible man walks around in his shirt.  This is achieved by superimposing onto a shot in which the invisible man is absent another shot of an actor dressed entirely in black velvet and wearing a white shirt.  In this latter shot, the entire set around the actor is draped in black velvet, so all that can be seen is a white shirt seemingly dancing against a black background.   Any imperfections in the final composite shot were removed by manually painting the film with ink, one frame at a time (it is estimated that around 64 thousand frames were corrected in this way for this film).

The Invisible Man also relies heavily on "wire effects".  Here, wires which are virtually invisible to the camera are manipulated out of shot to propel objects around the set.  Stop motion was also used, in the final sequence in which the invisible man gradually appears, passing through an intermediate skeletal stage.  There are also some spectacular model sequences, notably the one where a train is sent crashing down a mountainside (which would be re-used later in the 1942 film Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror).  

Whilst Claude Rains dominates the film, it is worth pointing out the contributions from his fellow actors.   Gloria Stuart brings a note of poignancy as the invisible man's love interest; she would be famously nominated for an Oscar, many years later, for her part in James Cameron's Titanic (1997).  Then there's Una O'Connor, who is gloriously over the top as the innkeeper's wife; her penchant for hysteria would be put to good use in Whale's later Bride of Frankenstein (1935).  The distinguished character actor Henry Travers plays Griffin's tutor - he would later become famous for the role of Clarence in Frank Capra It's a Wonderful Life (1946).  Walter Brennan and John Carradine also appear very briefly, both being unknown at the time.

Just as Universal had anticipated, The Invisible Man proved to be a great success.  A sequel of a kind came a few years later - The Invisible Man Returns (1940), with Vincent Price now playing the monomaniacal see-through man.  Over the following years, the formula was milked for all it was worth with The Invisible Woman (1940), Invisible Agent (1942), The Invisible Man's Revenge (1944) and Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951).  

What most distinguishes The Invisible Man from its two predecessors in the Universal horror series is its unbridled sense of fun.  There are still a few chilling moments in the film, but the comedy is much more apparent than the horror.  Director James Whale had a preference for black comedy - evidenced by many of his better films, Bride of Frankenstein being a good example - and many sequences in this film are irresistibly funny.  It may lack the spine tingling impact of Dracula and Frankenstein, it won't have you checking under your bed in the way that The Mummy and The Wolf Man may, but The Invisible Man is nonetheless one of the most enjoyable of Universal's classic horror films.

Film Synopsis

One winter's day, a stranger arrives at a small village inn and demands a room.  His appearance causes consternation amongst the locals.  His face and hands are fully concealed by his clothes and bandages, as if to hide some horrible disfigurement. He gets the room he asked for, but within a few days he has so antagonised the innkeeper and his wife that they insist he leaves.  Angered, the stranger tears off his clothes - to reveal that he is completely invisible.  Having caused mayhem in the village, the invisible man visits his friend, Kemp, and tells him his story.  For years, Jack Griffin had been conducting secret experiments to discover the secret of invisibility.  By taking a specific drug, Griffin finally succeeded in rendering himself invisible - but he has so far been unable to find a way to reverse the process.   He appeals to Kemp to help him, offering him a share of the power which invisibility will give him.  Horrified by his friend's manifest insanity, Kemp betrays him to the police.  When he discovers this treachery, Griffin tells Kemp that he will soon die.  Slipping through a police cordon, the invisible man returns to the village and, with maniacal delight, begins to instigate his reign of terror...