Woodyanders
Geoffrey Radcliffe (the always excellent Vincent Price) gets sentenced to death by hanging after he's framed for the murder of his brother. Desperate to clear his name before it's too late, Radcliffe takes an experimental drug that makes him invisible so he can find the real killer only to discover that said drug also causes him to go insane.Director Joe May, working from a clever script by Curt Siodmak and Lester Cole, keeps the engrossing and entertaining story moving along at a brisk pace, makes neat use of the mist-shrouded forest sets, and further spruces things up with amusing touches of spot-on humor. Moreover, Price makes for a strong and sympathetic lead; he receives sound support from Cedric Hardwicke as conniving bastard Richard Cobb, Nan Grey as concerned girlfriend Helen Manson, John Sutton as the helpful Dr. Frank Griffin, Cecil Kellaway as wily inspector Sampson, Alan Napier as mean mining boss Willie Spears, and Forrester Harvey as doddery old-timer Ben Jenkins. Kudos are also in order for Milton R. Krasner's sharp black and white cinematography and the robust score by Hans J. Salter and Frank Skinner. The snazzy old school practical effects hold up pretty well. A fun film.
alexanderdavies-99382
"The Invisible Man Returns" is a solid film in its own right. I remember seeing this back in the early 1990s, not long after having seen the 1933 classic.Vincent Price is brilliantly cast as the main character - his voice already becoming distinctive. Cedric Hardwicke is a good if rather emotionally detached villain.The plot is a very good one but the running time is a bit too long, by about 10 minutes.Vincent Price portrays a man who deliberately renders himself invisible, so as to locate and expose the perpetrators of a crime that implicated his innocent brother.
sol-
No, he doesn't. Although credited on screen as a sequel, this is only a follow-up in the loosest terms with the invisibility serum transported into a new plot with new characters. Misleading as the title may be, the film benefits by placing its own spin on the idea rather than constantly borrowing from the first film or heavily referencing it. The movie is also blessed by a (mainly vocal) early Vincent Price performance as the slowly maddening protagonist - a man who has used the serum to escape capital punishment for a crime he did not commit. While mainly a drama, there are some very funny moments as Price taunts those who have wronged him by pretending to be a ghost. He also has some very human moments as he desperately borrows a scarecrow's clothes, talking to the scarecrow like a dear friend in the process. The screenplay here only ever feels half-baked though with Price's search for those who framed him constantly taking a back seat to the police tracking him down. The antagonists are not particularly memorable either and Price solves the mystery a tad too early in, with the film gaining most of its zest from Price evading the law. His evasions are, however, quite clever - especially when the police try to 'smoke' him out and the special effects here are excellent throughout (a struggling invisible hamster is one of the film's best effects, if a hardly showy one). The dialogue is well scripted too. "Take away one of man's senses and you render him helpless," muses Price at one point, lamenting humankind's debatable inferiority to instinct-based animals.
utgard14
Geoffrey Radcliffe (Vincent Price) is sentenced to hang for a murder he didn't commit. His friend, Dr. Frank Griffin (John Sutton), is the brother of the original Invisible Man and has been continuing his brother's research. Frank uses the invisibility formula to help Geoffrey escape prison so he can prove his innocence. But the side effects of the formula start to drive Geoffrey crazy, just as they did Frank's brother years before.Great sequel to the Invisible Man doesn't match that film but it's very entertaining in its own right. Good cast, good special effects, solid story. Vincent Price's first foray into horror films. He's no Claude Rains in the part but he does well. John Sutton is likable, if somewhat bland. Cedric Hardwicke is a slimy villain. Nice part for Alan Napier (Alfred on the '60s Batman TV series) as a crony of Hardwicke's. Pretty Nan Grey gets little to do but be worried. She looks great doing it though. Cecil Kellaway is excellent playing against type as the dogged police inspector on Radcliffe's trail.Universal had great luck with the sequels in their various monster series. I can't think of a single one that I would say is a bad movie not worth watching. This one is very good and restarts the Invisible franchise quite nicely. There would be three more Invisible movies to follow in the early '40s, each very different but all enjoyable movies.
AD
