“Don’t worry, the whole world’s my hiding place.”
The legendary Claude Rains chews his way through 1933’s The Invisible Man like a madman on a mission. He portrays the titular character, also known as Dr. Jack Griffin, who discovers a formula to make himself invisible and he slowly spirals into madness due to the effects of the drug. As his mind starts to unravel, Dr. Griffin decides that he will rule the world through terror. He goes on a killing spree, throwing people off of cliffs, causing a train to wreck, blackmailing a dear friend into helping him execute his plan to take over the world, and generally scaring everyone. Hoping to save him, Griffin’s colleague, Dr. Kemp (William Harrigan), and his fiancee, Flora (Gloria Stuart, perhaps best known by modern audiences as Old Rose from Titanic) team up to stop him and hopefully return him to a state of visibility and sanity. Do they succeed? Watch The Invisible Man to find out what happens!
Rains gives a masterclass in acting in this film. He would go on to appear in other Universal Monster films and would have a very successful career. The film’s special effects, spearheaded by the brilliant John P. Fulton, John J. Mescall, and Frank D. Williams. This trio of men were already established FX masters and would go on to have award-winning careers. In particular, Williams is credited with creating the traveling matte shot, a precursor to blue and green screen work and, ultimately, CGI.
As the years have gone by, The Invisible Man has become one of my favorite Universal Monsters films. Claude Rains is one of my favorite actors as well. I highly recommend this film and consider it one of the best movies ever made.
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