The Invisible Man's Revenge
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''The Invisible Man's Revenge'' is a 1944 American
horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...
directed by
Ford Beebe Ford Beebe (November 26, 1888 – November 26, 1978) was a screenwriter and Film director, director. He entered the film business as a writer around 1916 and over the next 60 years wrote and/or directed almost 200 films. He specialized in B-movi ...
and written by
Bertram Millhauser Bertram Millhauser (March 25, 1892 – December 1, 1958) was an American screenwriter. He wrote for more than 60 films produced between 1911 and 1960. He was born in New York City, New York and died in Hollywood, California from a myocardial ...
. The film stars
John Carradine John Carradine ( ; born Richmond Reed Carradine; February 5, 1906 – November 27, 1988) was an American actor, considered one of the greatest character actors in American cinema. He was a member of Cecil B. DeMille's stock company and later Jo ...
as a scientist who tests his experiment on Jon Hall, a psychiatric hospital escapee who takes the invisibility serum and then goes on a crime spree. The film was announced on June 10, 1943, and began shooting on January 10, 1944 finishing in mid-February. On its release, reviews in ''
The New York Herald-Tribune The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the ''New-York Tribune'' acquired the '' New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and competed ...
'', ''
The New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ta ...
'' and ''
The New York World-Telegram The ''New York World-Telegram'', later known as the ''New York World-Telegram and The Sun'', was a New York City newspaper from 1931 to 1966. History Founded by James Gordon Bennett Sr. as ''The Evening Telegram'' in 1867, the newspaper began ...
'' noted that the film series and its special effects became tired, while a review in ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' declared it as one of the best in the series.


Plot

After murdering two orderlies, Robert Griffin escapes from the secluded Cape Town mental institution where he has been committed, and now he is looking for revenge on the respectable Herrick family. A family consisting of Sir Jasper and lady Irene, and their daughter Julie, who are engaged in entertaining, and inspecting, Julie's new boyfriend, newspaper journalist Mark Foster, in the family residence. Later that night Julie and Mark leave the residence together, and Sir Jasper and lady Irene are left alone. That's when Robert decides to pay the couple a visit. Quite unexpectedly he enters the residence and accuses the couple of leaving him to die out in the African wild, injured when they were on a safari together. The Herrick couple defends themselves, claiming they were told that he was dead and not injured, but Robert doesn't buy their explanation. He demands they give him his share of the diamond fields they all discovered together on the safari. Jasper tries to tell Robert that the diamond fields were all lost in a series of bad investments. Robert refuses to give in, threatening to sue the Herricks, and to calm him down and get him off their backs, they offer him a share in an estate, the Shortlands. His counter-proposal is that they should arrange for him to be married to their daughter Julie. After saying this, he is drugged by Lady Irene and passes out in their home. The Herricks realize that their old friend and companion has gone completely mad, and while they are frightened of what he could do to them if they don't comply to his wish, they see no problem with stealing the agreement made or pushing him further along the path of insanity with their betrayal. They search Robert's clothes and find the written partnership agreement they all entered into some time ago. Taking the paper, they next callously throw Robert out of their house. Robert nearly drowns where he lies, unconscious, but is saved by a local Cockney cobbler by the name of Herbert Higgins. Herbert decides to use this newfound possibility - the information he got from Robert - to blackmail the Herricks. He is unsuccessful, as Jasper calls on chief constable Sir Frederick Travers. The chief constable declares Robert's claims to the Herricks' estate as void and orders him to leave his jurisdiction. Robert leaves for London, but on his way he happens to come by the home of eager scientist Dr. Peter Drury. This scientist is involved in some questionable research, and is very eager to find a suitable subject to test his new experimental formula on - a formula for invisibility. Robert asks that the doctor try it on him, and he agrees, completely in the dark of the fact that Robert wants to use this to get his revenge on the Herricks. Robert forces Jasper to sign over their entire estate to him. He also finds time to help his saviour Herbert to win a game of darts at the local inn. Jasper secretly also agrees to give his daughter's hand in marriage to Robert - if he ever regains his visibility. Robert goes back to the scientists laboratory and witnesses how the doctor restores visibility to his dog Brutus, by giving him a blood transfusion. Robert breaks into the laboratory and knocks the doctor unconscious, before performing a blood transfusion on himself, using the doctor's blood. The transfusion results in the doctor's death, and to avoid capture, Robert sets the laboratory on fire and takes off just before the police arrive on the scene. Robert changes his identity to "Martin Field" and moves in with the Herricks at the estate which he is now owner of. When Herbert finds out about Robert's return he makes a futile attempt to blackmail him too, and out of pity - and perhaps thankfulness - Robert pays the man one thousand pounds to get rid of him. Robert has one condition for paying the money: that Herbert kills the doctor's dog Brutus, who has followed Robert back to the Herrick estate after the fire. Robert starts losing his visibility one day at the breakfast table, with Julie and her fiancé Mark present. He tricks Mark to follow him down into the wine cellar, where he knocks the man out, starting another, second blood transfusion with Mark's blood. Chief Constable Travers arrives at the estate after he has found out about Robert's return. With some help from Herbert and Jasper they break into the cellar just as the transfusion is about to be completed, in time to save Mark's life. Robert is attacked by the still very much alive Brutus, and killed. Mark tells the others that Griffin went insane when he was locked up in the asylum, and meant no one any harm until he escaped.


Cast


Production

Universal first announced the plan for ''The Invisible Man's Revenge'' on June 10, 1943 with the hopes of having
Claude Rains William Claude Rains (10 November 188930 May 1967) was a British actor whose career spanned almost seven decades. After his American film debut as Dr. Jack Griffin in ''The Invisible Man'' (1933), he appeared in such highly regarded films as '' ...
performing in the lead. Other cast members who were lined up for the film were
Edgar Barrier Edgar Barrier (March 4, 1907 – June 20, 1964) was an American actor who appeared on radio, stage, and screen. In the 1930s he was a member of Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre and was one of several actors who played Simon Templar on ''The Saint'' ...
who opted out of the production on January 6, after being disenchanted with the roles he had in films like ''
Phantom of the Opera ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serial in from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910, and was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pierr ...
'' and ''
Cobra Woman ''Cobra Woman'' is a 1944 American South Seas adventure film from Universal Pictures, directed by Robert Siodmak that stars Maria Montez, Jon Hall, and Sabu. Shot in Technicolor, this film is typical of Montez's career at Universal, and, altho ...
''. Jon Hall had also played an Invisible Man character for Universal in ''
Invisible Agent ''Invisible Agent'' is a 1942 American action and spy film directed by Edwin L. Marin with a screenplay written by Curt Siodmak. The invisible agent is played by Jon Hall, with Peter Lorre and Sir Cedric Hardwicke as members of the Axis, and ...
'' (1942), two years before this film. Prior to the first day of shooting the film, Universal's attorneys made a deal with
H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''
on June 9, 1944. The film's worldwide gross was $765,700. The film was released on DVD on as part of the "Invisible Man: The Legacy Collection" set, which included ''
The Invisible Man ''The Invisible Man'' is a science fiction novel by H. G. Wells. Originally serialized in ''Pearson's Weekly'' in 1897, it was published as a novel the same year. The Invisible Man to whom the title refers is Griffin, a scientist who has devote ...
'', ''
The Invisible Man Returns ''The Invisible Man Returns'' is a 1940 American horror science fiction film directed by Joe May. The film stars Cedric Hardwicke, Vincent Price, Nan Grey and John Sutton. The film is a sequel to the 1933 film ''The Invisible Man'', and the sec ...
'', ''
The Invisible Woman The Invisible Woman (Susan "Sue" Storm-Richards) is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member of the Fantastic Four and was the first female superhero created by Marvel dur ...
'' and ''
Invisible Agent ''Invisible Agent'' is a 1942 American action and spy film directed by Edwin L. Marin with a screenplay written by Curt Siodmak. The invisible agent is played by Jon Hall, with Peter Lorre and Sir Cedric Hardwicke as members of the Axis, and ...
''. It was released again on blu ray as part of the "Invisible Man: The Complete Legacy Collection" on August 28, 2018.


Reception

From contemporary reviews, Howard Barnes of ''
The New York Herald-Tribune The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the ''New-York Tribune'' acquired the '' New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and competed ...
'' found the film "singularly unexciting" finding John Fulton's special photography as "the most striking aspect of the picture utthe tricks have been done too often before by the camera to make them particularly effective by themselves". Wanda Hale of ''
The New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ta ...
'' echoed this statement, finding that "the frightening creature ..is no novelty" and that the film was "not the stimulating thriller that ''The Invisible Man'' was". A reviewer in ''
The New York World-Telegram The ''New York World-Telegram'', later known as the ''New York World-Telegram and The Sun'', was a New York City newspaper from 1931 to 1966. History Founded by James Gordon Bennett Sr. as ''The Evening Telegram'' in 1867, the newspaper began ...
'' declared that "some of the earlier variations of H.G. Wells' invisible man idea were filmed with an idea that the story should make good sense. That policy has been abandoned this time" while still noting that Jon Hall was being "a much more effective actor than he has been in some of his recent adventures in gaudy Technicolor". Conversely, a reviewer from ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' declared it as one "of the best and most entertaining of the series". From retrospective reviews, the authors of the book ''Universal Horrors'' declared the film to be "the least ambitious but hardly the least entertaining of Universal's widely varying series" noting its "no frills approach to its subject matter", declaring it better than ''The Invisible Woman'' and ''Invisible Agent'' but not as strong as ''The Invisible Man'' or ''The Invisible Man Returns''. Special effects in the film were described as "have a slapdash quality" with only a few pulling of "startlingly effective tricks". Actor
John Carradine John Carradine ( ; born Richmond Reed Carradine; February 5, 1906 – November 27, 1988) was an American actor, considered one of the greatest character actors in American cinema. He was a member of Cecil B. DeMille's stock company and later Jo ...
, who loathed the horror films he worked in, was asked in the British fanzine ''House of Hammer'' if he liked any of the horror films he was in, and he responded he enjoyed ''The Invisible Man's Revenge''.


See also

*
List of American films of 1944 Below is a list of American films released in 1944. ''Going My Way'' won Best Picture at the 17th Academy Awards. The remaining four nominees were ''Double Indemnity'', ''Gaslight'', ''Since You Went Away'' and '' Wilson''. A B C D E-F ...


References


Footnotes


Sources

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External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Invisible Man's Revenge, The 1944 films 1944 horror films American black-and-white films American science fiction horror films Films about criminals Films about invisibility Films based on The Invisible Man Films directed by Ford Beebe Films scored by Hans J. Salter Universal Pictures films 1940s American films