The Invisible Man (1933)

Director:

James Whale

Writers:

H.G. Wells (novel) and
R.C. Sherriff (screenplay)

Release Date:

13 November 1933 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Catch me if you can!

Plot:

A scientist finds a way of becoming invisible, but in doing so, he becomes murderously insane.

Plot Keywords:

Scientist | Invisibility | Pub | Chemist | Radio Broadcast

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Claude Rains	...	The Invisible Man
Gloria Stuart	...	Flora Cranley
William Harrigan	...	Dr. Arthur Kemp
Henry Travers	...	Dr. Cranley
Una O'Connor	...	Jenny Hall
Forrester Harvey	...	Herbert Hall
Holmes Herbert	...	Chief of Police
E.E. Clive	...	Const. Jaffers
Dudley Digges	...	Chief detective
Harry Stubbs	...	Insp. Bird
Donald Stuart	...	Insp. Lane
Merle Tottenham	...	Millie

Runtime:

71 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (certificate not issued at release) | Spain:13 | West Germany:16 | Australia:M (DVD rating) | Australia:PG (original rating) | Germany:16 | UK:PG | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Boris Karloff had been the studio's original choice for the role of the Invisible Man. He turned down the role because he would not be seen on screen until the end. Director James Whale wanted someone with more of an "intellectual" voice than Karloff. He selected Claude Rains after accidentally hearing Rains's screen test being played in another room. (Until this film, Rains had primarily been a stage actor. Although he had appeared in one silent movie in 1920, this was his first sound film.)

Goofs:

Continuity: When the Invisible Man looks out of the bedroom window to see the approaching police as they surround the house, a pair of net-curtains appears on the window between shots.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Man in Pub: Did you hear about Mrs. Mason's little Willy? Sent him to school and found him buried ten-foot deep in a snow drift.
Man in Pub # 2: How did they get him out?
Man in Pub: Brought the fire engine 'round. Put the hose pipe in, pumped it backwards and sucked him out.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Tripping the Rift: Hollow Chode (#3.7)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

La Rosita

Film Still Holds Up, Is Fun Except For Shrieker

This was great the first time I watched it, but slowly declined with multiple viewings over the years.

Why I slowly lost interest in this, I'm not sure, except for perhaps the incredibly annoying hysterical woman character played by Una O'Connor. Her constant screaming and shrieking took away my enjoyment of this film.

This was Claude Rains' first starring role and he did a fine job, even though you never see his face until the final minutes. His voice was good and his character interesting as he slowly went insane. He had this silly, sadistic laugh as he'd kill people. That's one thing that made this movie a bit different. When I watched this on DVD after a long absence, I was shocked to re-discover how violent Rains' character was in this film.

Even though the film is almost 75 years old, it's still fairly entertaining and not dated as much as you might expect. It also brings out a few interesting dilemmas that an invisible human being would have trying to stay undetected.

By the way, I still think this should be classified "science fiction," not horror.