Claudio Carvalho
The notorious safecracker Joey Faust (Douglas Kennedy) escapes from the state prison and Laura Matson (Marguerite Chapman) drives the getaway car. They head to an isolated farm where the deranged Major Paul Krenner (James Griffith) has a laboratory. He has abducted the daughter of Dr. Peter Ulof (Ivan Triesault) to force the scientist to develop a technique to create an invisible army. Paul plans to sell the army for a large amount to any government and now he needs radium to proceed the research. Paul and his partners Laura and Julian (Red Morgan) force Joey to be submitted to the experimental treatment. Then he breaks in a facility and robs the radium. Joey convinces Laura to go with him to the city to heist the National Bank, but he is surprised by an unexpected side effect and becomes visible. What will happen to Joey Faust? "The Amazing Transparent Man" has an attractive art on the DVD cover. However the story is a cheesy rip-off "The Invisible Man". The characters are non-charismatic and the conclusion is awful. My vote is three,Title (Brazil): Not Available on DVD or Blu-Ray
Michael_Elliott
The Amazing Transparent Man (1960)** (out of 4)A convict (Douglas Kennedy) gets busted out of jail by his girlfriend (Marguerite Chapman) and a scientist (Ivan Triesault) who has plans for the escapee. The scientist wants the master thief to break into a location and steal something that he wants. The way to pull it off? The scientist has come up with an invisible potion so the thief will never be seen but he has his own ideas for the robbery.Edgar G. Ulmer directed this ultra low-budget film that is obviously a take-off on THE INVISIBLE MAN. Ulmer's reputation has really grown over the years but I must admit that I've never been a huge fan of his,although there's no question he had talent and was able to do a lot with a low-budget. He certainly makes this film a lot better than it would have been in the hands of most B-movie directors but there's still no question that there's nothing too good here.The story itself is simple enough at at just under 60 minutes it certainly doesn't feel too long or forced. The best thing about the movie are actually the performances, which are slightly better than you'd expect. This includes Douglas who is very good in the lead role and is so good that you have no time liking him and cheering for him along the way. I thought Triesault also made for a good villain to hiss at. With that said, there's still not much here outside of some cheap B-movie fun. As long as you don't take the film too serious, it is some nice and cheap entertainment.
utgard14
Edgar G. Ulmer certainly made some good movies in his career. Sadly, this isn't one of them. It's a dull B sci-fi low budgeter with very little style. The best thing it has going for it is that it's only an hour long. Honestly, it could have been trimmed down to thirty minutes. The story is pretty stupid. Krenner, a former army major, breaks a career criminal named Faust out of prison. Why? Well, Krenner has this scientist he's forcing to create an invisibility formula for him. So he decides to also force Faust into being the guinea pig for it. Well it never occurred to brainwave Krenner that Faust would have the upper hand once he becomes invisible. Which is exactly what happens. It's all pretty moronic and probably could have fit into a half-hour television episode. I could easily see this being an episode of Science Fiction Theatre or even reworked into an Adventures of Superman ep. The biggest problem is that the invisibility part doesn't really get started until over halfway through. Just a lot of talking up until that point. Even when Faust does become invisible, it's nothing impressive. It's actually less impressive than movies made 20 years before. I wouldn't watch it unless you're an Ulmer completist or you just have to see every sci-fi movie from this period, regardless of quality.
dougdoepke
Plot—a mad scientist frees a safecracker from prison to help him put together an army of invisible men, which he can then sell for big money!So what's in a title. Apparently, a lot since the "Amazing Transparent Man" lowers expectations to near empty. Sounds like a teenage drive-in special where kids didn't care what's on screen as long as there's a dark place to park. But then there's the Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) whose goofy title may have consigned it to the teenage circuit, yet also turned out to be not just suspenseful but surprisingly sublime. So I guess you can't always tell the book by its cover.Anyway, looks to me like this horror flick was aiming at Shrinking Man type transcendence, but doesn't get it; and that's despite Dr. Ulof's philosophical ponderings. Unfortunately, the script just never gels into anything suspenseful. Mostly it meanders around the laboratory- mansion, instead. Director Ulmer does keep things moving, so at least the pace doesn't drag. Still, the narrative is too loose to build anything like tension or suspense. Then too, the production is pretty shoddy at points that other reviewers have ably detailed. On the other hand, movie vets Kennedy and Chapman are energetic enough. At least, they don't appear to treat this as just an easy payday. Plus, I did enjoy seeing Ivan Triesault (Dr.Ulof) as something other than the Nazi stereotype that he was usually consigned to. Still, I'm afraid this movie is an instance where-- all in all-- the book is told by its cover.
AD
