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''The Invisible Man'' is a 1933 American
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
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, ap ...
directed by
James Whale James Whale (22 July 1889 – 29 May 1957) was an English film director, theatre director and actor, who spent the greater part of his career in Hollywood. He is best remembered for several horror films: '' Frankenstein'' (1931), '' The ...
. Based on H. G. Wells' 1897 novel '' The Invisible Man'' and produced by
Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...
, the film stars
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 Griffin (The Invisible Man), Dr. Jack Griffin in ''The Invisible Man (1933 film), The Invisible Ma ...
, Gloria Stuart, and
William Harrigan William Harrigan (March 27, 1894 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor who performed in Hollywood during the 1930s and 1940s and on stage. Early years Harrigan was born in New York City and attended New York Military Academy. Harrigan was ...
. The film involves a Dr. Jack Griffin (Rains) who is covered in bandages and has his eyes obscured by dark glasses, the result of a secret experiment that makes him invisible, taking lodging in the village of
Iping Iping is a village and parish in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England. It lies within the civil parish of Stedham with Iping, just off the A272 road west of Midhurst. The village lies on the River Rother. Etymology The Old English ...
. Never leaving his quarters, the stranger demands that the staff leave him completely alone until his landlady discovers he is invisible. Griffin returns to the laboratory of his mentor, Dr. Cranley ( Henry Travers), where he reveals his secret to Dr. Kemp (William Harrigan) and former fiancée Flora Cranley (Gloria Stuart) who soon learn that Griffin's discovery has driven him insane, leading him to prove his superiority over other people by performing harmless pranks at first and eventually turning to murder. ''The Invisible Man'' was in development for Universal as early as 1931 when Richard L. Schayer and Robert Florey suggested that Wells' novel would make a good follow-up to the studio's horror film hit ''
Dracula ''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taki ...
''. Universal opted to make ''
Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific ...
'' in 1931 instead. This led to several screenplay adaptations being written and a number of potential directors including Florey, E.A. Dupont,
Cyril Gardner Cyril (also Cyrillus or Cyryl) is a masculine given name. It is derived from the Greek name Κύριλλος (''Kýrillos''), meaning 'lordly, masterful', which in turn derives from Greek κυριος (''kýrios'') 'lord'. There are various varian ...
, and screenwriters John L. Balderston, Preston Sturges, and Garrett Fort all signing on to develop the project intending it to be a film for
Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff (), was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstein'' (1931) (his 82nd film) established ...
. Following Whale's work on '' The Old Dark House'' and '' The Kiss Before the Mirror'', Whale signed on and his screenwriting colleague
R.C. Sherriff Robert Cedric Sherriff, FSA, FRSL (6 June 1896 – 13 November 1975) was an English writer best known for his play ''Journey's End'', which was based on his experiences as an army officer in the First World War. He wrote several plays, many nove ...
developed a script in London. Production began in June 1933 and ended in August with two months of special effects work done following the end of filming. On the film's release in 1933, it was a great financial success for Universal and received strong reviews from several trade publications, including ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', which placed it among their Best in Film for 1933. The film spawned several sequels that were relatively unrelated to the original film in the 1940s. The film continued to receive praise on re-evaluations by critics such as
Carlos Clarens Carlos Clarens (1930–1987) was a film historian and writer on the cinema particularly noted for his sensitive, pioneering '' An Illustrated History of the Horror Film'' (1967, revised 1968). Having left Havana in his younger years, he made his mar ...
, Jack Sullivan, and Kim Newman, as well as being listed as one of their favorite genre films by filmmakers
John Carpenter John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, actor, and composer. Although he worked in various film genres, he is most commonly associated with horror, action, and science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s. He ...
,
Joe Dante Joseph James Dante Jr. (; born November 28, 1946) is an American film director, producer, editor and actor. His films—notably '' Gremlins'' (1984) alongside its sequel, '' Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' (1990)—often mix 1950s-style B movies with ...
, and
Ray Harryhausen Raymond Frederick Harryhausen (June 29, 1920 – May 7, 2013) was an American-British animator and special effects creator who created a form of stop motion model animation known as "Dynamation". His works include the animation for '' Mi ...
. In 2008, ''The Invisible Man'' was selected for the United States
National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception ...
by the
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The libra ...
as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".


Plot

On a snowy night, a stranger, his face swathed in bandages and his eyes obscured by dark goggles, takes a room at The Lion's Head Inn in the English village of
Iping Iping is a village and parish in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England. It lies within the civil parish of Stedham with Iping, just off the A272 road west of Midhurst. The village lies on the River Rother. Etymology The Old English ...
in
Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the Englis ...
. The man demands to be left alone. Later, the innkeeper, Mr. Hall, is sent by his wife to evict the stranger after he has made a huge mess in his room while doing research and has fallen behind on his rent. Angered, the stranger throws Mr. Hall down the stairs. Confronted by a policeman and some local civilians, he removes his bandages and goggles, revealing he is invisible. Laughing maniacally, he takes off his clothes, making himself completely undetectable, and drives off his tormentors before fleeing into the countryside. The stranger is Dr. Jack Griffin, a chemist who discovered the secret of invisibility while conducting a series of tests involving an obscure drug called monocane. Flora Cranley, Griffin's fiancée and the daughter of Griffin's employer, Dr. Cranley, becomes distraught over Griffin's long absence. Cranley and his other assistant, Dr. Kemp, search Griffin's empty laboratory, finding only a single note in a cupboard. Cranley becomes concerned when he reads it. The note has a list of chemicals, including monocane, which Cranley knows is extremely dangerous; an injection of it drove a dog mad in Germany. Griffin, it seems, is unaware of this. Cranley deduces Griffin may have learned about monocane in English books printed before the incident that describe only its
bleach Bleach is the generic name for any chemical product that is used industrially or domestically to remove color (whitening) from a fabric or fiber or to clean or to remove stains in a process called bleaching. It often refers specifically, to ...
ing power. On the evening of his escape from the inn, Griffin turns up at Kemp's home. He forces Kemp to become his visible partner in a plot to dominate the world through a reign of terror, beginning with "a few murders here and there". They drive back to the inn to retrieve his notebooks on the invisibility process. Sneaking inside, Griffin finds a police inquiry underway, conducted by an official who believes it is all a hoax. After securing his books, Griffin angrily attacks and kills the officer. Back home, Kemp calls Cranley, asking for help, and then the police. Flora persuades her father to let her come along. In her presence, Griffin becomes more placid and calls her "darling". When he realizes Kemp has betrayed him, his first reaction is to get Flora away from danger. After promising Kemp that at 10 o'clock the next night he will murder him, Griffin escapes and goes on a killing spree. He causes the
derailment In rail transport, a derailment occurs when a rail vehicle such as a train comes off its rails. Although many derailments are minor, all result in temporary disruption of the proper operation of the railway system and they are a potentially ...
of a train, resulting in a hundred deaths, and throws two volunteer searchers off a cliff. The police offer a reward for anyone who can think of a way to catch him. Feeling that Griffin will try to fulfill his promise, the chief detective in charge of the search uses Kemp as bait and devises various clever traps. At Kemp's insistence, the police disguise him in a police uniform and let him drive his car away from his house. Griffin, however, is hiding in the back seat of the car, as surprises Kemp and tells that he was also following him all day while committing his crimes. He overpowers Kemp and ties him up in the front seat. Griffin then sends the car down a steep hill and over a cliff where it explodes on impact, killing Kemp. A snowstorm forces Griffin to seek shelter in a barn where he falls asleep. Later a farmer enters and spots movement in the hay where Griffin is sleeping. He notifies the police, who rush out to the farm and surround the barn. They set fire to the building, which forces Griffin to come out, leaving visible footprints in the snow. The chief detective opens fire, mortally wounding Griffin. He is taken to the hospital where, hours later, a surgeon informs Dr. Cranley that Griffin is dying and asking to see Flora. On his deathbed, Griffin remorsefully admits to Flora, "I meddled in things that man must leave alone". As he dies, his body quickly becomes visible again.


Cast

Cast sourced from the book ''Universal Horrors'':


Production


Background

Following the success of ''
Dracula ''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taki ...
'' (1931), Richard L. Schayer and Robert Florey suggested to
Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...
as early as 1931 that an adaptation of H. G. Wells' '' The Invisible Man'' would make a suitable follow-up. Both
Carl Laemmle Carl Laemmle (; born Karl Lämmle; January 17, 1867 – September 24, 1939) was a film producer and the co-founder and, until 1934, owner of Universal Pictures. He produced or worked on over 400 films. Regarded as one of the most important o ...
and Carl Laemmle Jr. opted to make a film adaptation of ''
Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific ...
'' (1931) instead. While ''Frankenstein'' was shooting, Universal bought the rights to ''The Invisible Man'' from Wells on September 22, 1931, for $10,000; he demanded script approval from Universal. Universal had purchased the rights to the Philip Wylie 1931 novel ''The Murderer Invisible'', intending to lift some of the more gruesome elements from it to incorporate into Wells' story. The director first set up for the project was
James Whale James Whale (22 July 1889 – 29 May 1957) was an English film director, theatre director and actor, who spent the greater part of his career in Hollywood. He is best remembered for several horror films: '' Frankenstein'' (1931), '' The ...
, whom Laemmle Jr. had great faith in. He had directed
R. C. Sherriff Robert Cedric Sherriff, FSA, FRSL (6 June 1896 – 13 November 1975) was an English writer best known for his play ''Journey's End'', which was based on his experiences as an army officer in the First World War. He wrote several plays, many nove ...
's play '' Journey's End'' in London and New York and the 1930 film '' Journey's End''. Following the release of ''Frankenstein'', which would break box office records across the United States, Universal had the film's star
Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff (), was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstein'' (1931) (his 82nd film) established ...
signed to a five-year contract. On December 29, 1931, the ''Los Angeles Record'' stated that Karloff's next film would be ''The Invisible Man''. By January 28, 1932, Whale had left the project, wary of being tagged as a "horror" director. This left Karloff as the only cast member of a film with neither a script nor a director.


Pre-production

The first director set to replace Whale was Robert Florey, whose film ''
Murders in the Rue Morgue "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe published in ''Graham's Magazine'' in 1841. It has been described as the first modern detective story; Poe referred to it as one of his "tales of ratiocination". C. Auguste Dup ...
'' was released in February 1932. By April 9, Florey had a draft of ''The Invisible Man'' co-written with Garrett Fort who had contributed to the scripts of both ''Dracula'' and ''Frankenstein''. Based mostly on Wylie's ''The Murderer Invisible'', their outline included plot elements such as an invisible octopus, invisible rats, and blowing up Grand Central Station. Unwilling to wait while Florey worked out the script and the film's technical difficulties, Universal made '' The Old Dark House'' (1932) Karloff's next feature with Whale as director. Whale had decided to return to horror features following the financial failure of his film ''
The Impatient Maiden ''The Impatient Maiden'' is a 1932 American pre-Code drama film directed by James Whale, starring Lew Ayres and Mae Clarke, and released by Universal Pictures. The screenplay was written by Richard Schayer and Winifred Dunn, based on the novel ...
'' (1932). By June 1932, producer Sam Bischoff left Universal to set up his own independent studio. Florey accepted Bischoff's invitation to join him and also left Universal. By June 6, John L. Balderston, whose name had appeared in the credits of ''Dracula'' and ''Frankenstein'', submitted a screenplay for ''The Invisible Man'' in collaboration with the film's new director
Cyril Gardner Cyril (also Cyrillus or Cyryl) is a masculine given name. It is derived from the Greek name Κύριλλος (''Kýrillos''), meaning 'lordly, masterful', which in turn derives from Greek κυριος (''kýrios'') 'lord'. There are various varian ...
. This was Balderston's third attempt at the script based primarily on Wylie's novel. In mid-1932, Universal writers
John Huston John Marcellus Huston ( ; August 5, 1906 – August 28, 1987) was an American film director, screenwriter, actor and visual artist. He wrote the screenplays for most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered ...
and studio scenario editor Richard Schayer attempted new treatments for the film. By July 18, there was still no officially approved script and Universal loaned Karloff to MGM to shoot '' The Mask of Fu Manchu'' (1932). By November, following the release of ''The Old Dark House'', Whale was again set to be the director of ''The Invisible Man'' with a new script being written by Preston Sturges. Sturges' script involved a Russian chemist who makes a madman invisible to wreak vengeance on
Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
who have destroyed his family. After working on the script for eight weeks, Sturges handed in his screenplay; Universal fired him the next day. Sherriff described Sturges' draft as "a sort of transparent
Scarlet Pimpernel ''The Scarlet Pimpernel'' is the first novel in a series of historical fiction by Baroness Orczy, published in 1905. It was written after her stage play of the same title (co-authored with Montague Barstow) enjoyed a long run in London, having ...
". On November 5, it was reported that Karloff was to star in a film titled ''The Wizard'' to be directed by E.A. Dupont, while Whale would film Karloff in ''The Invisible Man'' in early 1933. Whale had also written his own treatment for the film, which is described by historian Gregory Mank as inspired by both '' The Phantom of the Opera'' and '' Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'' interjected with religious touches like those in his films ''Frankenstein'' and ''The Old Dark House''. After Wells rejected this draft, Whale left ''The Invisible Man'' again. On January 17, 1933, Universal reported a loss of $1,250,283 in 1932 and planned to shut down for six to eight weeks after current productions had finished shooting. While Whale directed '' The Kiss Before the Mirror'' (1933), E.A. Dupont's project ''The Wizard'' was never filmed and he became the next person set to direct ''The Invisible Man''. John Weld was signed to write the film's script and browsed through several rejected drafts, including one by Laird Doyle. Weld asked for a copy of Wells' novel from Universal. As they did not have a copy, he got his own to use for source material. Yet another new writer was attached to write the script by February 3. R.C. Sherriff was the screenwriter and Whale was once again set to direct. Sheriff worked on the script at his home in London and disregarded Universal's request he draw material from Wylie's ''The Murderer Invisible'' and the previous draft scripts. Universal Studios closed down on February 13 with only executives and a skeleton crew remaining on the payroll. Universal laid off Whale for twelve weeks before he directed ''The Invisible Man''. Universal reported they planned on having Karloff return to ''The Invisible Man'' in May. After Universal reopened in May, they released his new film ''The Kiss Before the Mirror'' to critical acclaim, but is among the studio's lowest-grossing films in Los Angeles and New York. While Sherriff was completing the script, on June 1, several trade papers announced Karloff was leaving the picture. ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...
'' reported on May 16 that Karloff was "definitely out," while ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' reported he had left the project by June 1 citing salary issues. Wells approved of Sherriff's script, including changes such as having Griffin's drug monocane not just make him invisible, but also drive him into insanity. Sherriff recalled that " ellsagreed with me entirely that an invisible lunatic would make people sit up in the cinema more quickly than a sane man". Sherriff completed his draft and returned to Hollywood in July 1933. Some sources, including Phil Hardy's book ''Science Fiction'' and
Carlos Clarens Carlos Clarens (1930–1987) was a film historian and writer on the cinema particularly noted for his sensitive, pioneering '' An Illustrated History of the Horror Film'' (1967, revised 1968). Having left Havana in his younger years, he made his mar ...
' ''
An Illustrated History of the Horror Film ''An Illustrated History of the Horror Film'' is a 1967 non-fiction book by film historian Carlos Clarens. In 1997, it was republished under the title ''An Illustrated History of Horror and Science-fiction Films: The Classic Era, 1895-1967''. Co ...
'', state that Wylie revised Sherriff's final draft, while the authors of the book ''Universal Horrors'' found no evidence to support this claim.


Casting

Whale considered Colin Clive for the film's title role, but he also thought of actor
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 Griffin (The Invisible Man), Dr. Jack Griffin in ''The Invisible Man (1933 film), The Invisible Ma ...
, whom he met at a London performance of ''The Insect Play'' in 1923. At the time, Rains' career was as a stage actor in New York and London and Universal discouraged Whale from casting him, not wanting an unknown actor in the lead. Rains had been earning so little money from his work on stage he was considering leaving the theatre completely as he had recently bought a farm in New Jersey. Whale had tracked down a screen test Rains had done for ''A Bill of Divorcement'', which Rains later described as "terrible", saying he was "all over the place! I knew nothing about screen technique, of course, and just carried on as if I was in an enormous theatre. When I saw the test, I was shocked and frightened". After viewing the screen test, Whale wanted Rains as the lead and had him do another reading of the scene where Griffin boasts to Dr. Kemp of his plans to rule the world. Universal approved of the screen test and signed Rains for a two-picture deal, including top billing in ''The Invisible Man''. While filming, Rains asked Whale to let him act more emotionally, asking him if he could "try to express something with iseyes". Whale replied: "But Claude, old fellow, what are you going to do it with? You haven't any face!" Whale did not fully divulge the details of the role to Rains but sent him to studio labs to prepare for special effects, where molds and casts of his head were made. Gloria Stuart, who had worked with Whale in ''The Old Dark House'' and ''The Kiss Before the Mirror'' acted in the role of Flora Cranley. Stuart reflected on working with Rains and found him to be difficult, saying: "He was ''molto difficile'', he was an 'actor's actor' and he didn't really give". The role of Dr. Arthur Kemp was set for
Chester Morris John Chester Brooks Morris (February 16, 1901 – September 11, 1970) was an American stage, film, television, and radio actor. He had some prestigious film roles early in his career, and received an Academy Award nomination for ''Alibi'' ( ...
. He left the project when he learned it was unflattering. William Harrigan was cast as his replacement. He had worked with Rains in a 1932 stage version of ''The Moon in the Yellow River''. Other actors cast in the film were on the verge of Hollywood success, including
Walter Brennan Walter Andrew Brennan (July 25, 1894 – September 21, 1974) was an American actor and singer. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performances in '' Come and Get It'' (1936), ''Kentucky'' (1938), and '' The Westerner ...
playing a man whose bicycle is stolen, and John Carradine as an informer. Among the crew, cinematographer
Arthur Edeson Arthur Edeson, A.S.C. (October 24, 1891 – February 14, 1970) was a film cinematographer, born in New York City. His career ran from the formative years of the film industry in New York, through the silent era in Hollywood, and the sound era the ...
had worked with Whale on '' Waterloo Bridge'' (1931), ''Frankenstein'', ''The Impatient Maiden'', and ''The Old Dark House''. Heinz Roemheld composed the score for ''The Invisible Man''. He would later score '' Dracula's Daughter'' (1936), '' The Black Cat'' (1934), and win an Academy Award for ''
Yankee Doodle Dandy ''Yankee Doodle Dandy'' is a 1942 American biographical musical film about George M. Cohan, known as "The Man Who Owned Broadway". It stars James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston, and Richard Whorf, and features Irene Manning, George To ...
'' (1942). Roemheld was a former concert pianist, and conductor who had impressed Carl Laemmle with his accompaniment to screenings of the 1925 film '' The Phantom of the Opera''. Roemheld left Universal in 1931 but returned in 1933 to score ''The Invisible Man''. The film's score is only heard in the opening, during the last seven minutes of the film, and while the closing credits run. The film's score was recycled in later Universal productions, a common practice during the 1930s. The music is heard again in '' Werewolf of London'' (1935), ''The Black Cat'', and the two film serials ''
Flash Gordon Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established '' Buck Rogers'' adv ...
'' (1936) and '' Buck Rogers'' (1939).


Filming

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as ...
of ''The Invisible Man'' began at the end of June 1933, and concluded in late August. All of the special effects shots were filmed in what Gloria Stuart recalled as "in utmost secrecy" during production. The special effects work took another two months to complete. Universal press clips falsely claimed that the invisibility effects were optical effects done with mirrors. Whale worked closely with John P. Fulton on the film's special effects. Fulton revealed how the effects were done in the September 1934 issue of '' American Cinematographer'', stating they had been shot against a completely black set with walls and floors covered in black velvet to make it non-reflective. The actor was then covered head to foot with black velvet tights and wore whatever clothes he required for the scene. With this negative, a print was made, and a duplicate negative was made to serve as mattes for printing. Then with an ordinary printer, they made a composite first printing of the positive of the background and normal action, using the negative matte to mask the area where the invisible man was to move. Fulton said the principal difficulty of this was matching the lighting on the visible clothes shot with the general lighting used in the scenes and fixing small imperfections such as the scenes with eye-holes which were touched up in the film frame by frame with a brush and opaque dye. For other scenes, where Rains is unwrapping the bandage from his head for the villagers, Rains' own head is hidden below his collar, and the bandages are being taken off a thin wireframe. Other effects involving props moving "by themselves" are done with wires pulled by booms or dollies. The film's final cost after Fulton finished the special effects was $328,033.


Release

Following the October 26 press screening, a reviewer for ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...
'' praised the film declaring it "a legitimate offspring of the family that produced ''Frankenstein'' and ''Dracula''" and predicted it would "fare better  ..than either of its predecessors". The review specifically praised the work of Whale, Rains, and Sherriff. ''The Invisible Man'' was screened on October 31, 1933, at the Kiva theatre in
Greeley, Colorado Greeley is the home rule municipality city that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Weld County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,795 at the 2020 United States Census, an increase of 17.12% since the 201 ...
. Other premiere screenings took place in Chicago where it premiered at the
Palace Theatre Palace Theatre, or Palace Theater, is the name of many theatres in different countries, including: Australia * Palace Theatre, Melbourne, Victoria *Palace Theatre, Sydney, New South Wales Canada *Palace Theatre, housed in the Robillard Block, M ...
on November 10, in New York at the Roxy Theatre on November 17, and Los Angeles at the RKO-Hill Street Theatre on November 17. Universal Pictures distributed the film theatrically. When the film played in Los Angeles at RKO-Hill Street, it played to nearly empty houses. It performed far better at New York's Roxy, where it earned $26,000 in its first three days. It broke records at the New York theatre for their 1932–1933 season. 80,000 patrons saw the film in four days with $42,000 being collecting there during the week, leading to the film to continue screening for a second week. The film moved to two theatres in New York: The Radio City Roxy and the RKO Palace, where it continued to perform well. ''The Invisible Man'' never performed well in Los Angeles during its initial release, where it grossed $4,300 in one week. Overall, the authors of ''Universal Horrors'' described the film as a "big success" at the box office. The film opened in London on January 28, 1934, at the Tivoli Theatre where it was also an enormous hit. The total gross of ''The Invisible Man'' is unknown.


Home media

In 2000, Universal released ''The Invisible Man'' on VHS and DVD as part of their Classic Monster Collection, a series of releases of Universal Classic Monsters films. In 2004, Universal released ''The Invisible Man: The Legacy Collection'' on DVD as part of the Universal Legacy Collection. This two-disc release includes ''The Invisible Man'', along with '' The Invisible Man Returns'' (1940), ''
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 durin ...
'' (1940), ''
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), and '' The Invisible Man's Revenge'' (1944), as well as a short documentary ''Now You See Him: The Invisible Man Revealed'', hosted by film historian Rudy Behlmer. In 2012, Universal Studios celebrated its 100th anniversary and released a restored version of ''The Invisible Man'' as it had done for ''Dracula'', ''Frankenstein'', and ''
Bride of Frankenstein ''Bride of Frankenstein'' is a 1935 American science fiction horror film, and the first sequel to Universal Pictures' 1931 film ''Frankenstein''. As with the first film, ''Bride of Frankenstein'' was directed by James Whale starring Boris Kar ...
''. Universal engaged Technicolor Creative Service to prepare a new print, combined with Universal's preservation acetate dupe negative and a nitrate dupe found at the
British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...
. This new print featured long-missing frames, and digital repair of scratches, stains, and improved sound. In the same year, ''The Invisible Man'' was released on
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...
as part of the ''Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection'' box set, which includes nine films from the Universal Classic Monsters series. The film received a standalone Blu-ray release in 2013, followed by a six-film release of the films in the ''Invisible Man'' series in a ''Complete Legacy Collection'' on Blu-ray.
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (formerly Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Universal Studios Home Video, MCA/Universal Home Video, MCA Home Video, MCA Videodisc and MCA Videocassette, Inc.) is the home video distribution division of Am ...
released the film on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray on October 5, 2021.


Reception


Contemporary

Mordaunt Hall Mordaunt Hall (1 November 1878 – 2 July 1973) was the first regularly assigned motion picture critic for ''The New York Times'', working from October 1924 to September 1934.The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' and the critic credited as "Char." in ''Variety'' commented on the originality of the material, with Hall finding the film to be a "remarkable achievement" that surprised him that it was not attempted earlier. "Char." reflected on this stating it brought "something new and refreshing in film frighteners". Critics also praised the crew, such as Thornton Delehanty of '' The New York Post'' who referred to the film as "one of the best thrillers of the year", complimented the work of Sherriff and the "quality of awesomeness and suspense" Whale provided. Kate Cameron of the New York ''Daily News'' gave the film a three and a half star rating, praising Rains's performance, stating, "his voice carrying a sinister note that is very effective in this kind of horror role" and declared the film to be one that "should not be missed". More general praise came from other publications from ''
Film Daily ''The Film Daily'' was a daily publication that existed from 1918 to 1970 in the United States. It was the first daily newspaper published solely for the film industry. It covered the latest trade news, film reviews, financial updates, informatio ...
'' wrote: "It will satisfy all those who like the bizarre and the outlandish in their film entertainment" and John Mosher of ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' called the film a "bright little oddity". ''The New York Times'' placed the film at number nine on its 1933 Ten Best list.


Retrospective

On the review aggregator
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...
, the film has an approval rating of 94%, with an average rating of 8.4/10, the critic consensus says "James Whale's classic ''The Invisible Man'' features still-sharp special effects, loads of tension, a goofy sense of humor, and a memorable debut from Claude Rains." On Metacritic, the film has a score (using a
weighted average The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...
) of 87 out of 100, indicating "universal acclaim". In his 1967 book ''The Illustrated History of Horror and Science-Fiction Films'', Carlos Clarens praised the film, stating that "the scene where Griffin first flaunts his invisibility is the kind of cinema magic that paralyzes disbelief and sets the most skeptical audience wondering". Clarens noted that "not only is the show a technical tour de force, ''The Invisible Man'' also contains some of the best dialogue ever written for a fantastic film". Jack Sullivan wrote in ''
The Penguin Encyclopedia of Horror and the Supernatural ''The Penguin Encyclopedia of Horror and the Supernatural'' is a reference work on horror fiction in the arts, edited by Jack Sullivan. The book was published in 1986 by Viking Press. Editor Sullivan’s stated purpose in compiling the volume, ...
'' (1986) that the gags in ''The Invisible Man'' were "the opposite of strained", noting that Griffin singing wearing only his pyjama pants was "a piece of unabashed prankishness, but it's also something beyond that: the sudden eye-opening enchantment of the scene is worthy of Grimms or L. Frank Baum" concluding the scene was "the perfect image to define Whale's lightly horrific fairy-tale magic". In Phil Hardy's 1984 book ''Science Fiction'', he praised Fulton's special effects as "deservedly  ..widely praised" noting they "still create a primitive sense of amazement and wonder". While describing the screenplay as "slow-moving" he felt that, "Whale's impish sense of black comedy remains a delight". In Kim Newman and James Marriott's book ''The Definitive Guide to Horror Movies'' (2006), Marriott praised the film as "a perfectly judged marriage of menace and comedy, anchored by superlative special effects and a bravura performance from Rains". Newman praised the special effects in the film, declaring that "special effects genius John P. Fulton accomplished with 1930s technology was certainly on a par with anything in 1992's
Chevy Chase Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor and writer. He became a key cast member in the first season of '' Saturday Night Live'', where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment became a staple of the ...
vehicle '' Memoirs of an Invisible Man'' (1992)". Newman also praised Rains's role as Griffin, noting the "expressive gestures" as "vital to his performance" and his "terrific voice: velvety with a sly twist, perfect for those wonderful mad scientist speeches". Newman concluded in his five-star review of the film in ''
Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
'' that "if you set aside ''Frankenstein'' as more of a horror film and ''
King Kong King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...
'' (1933) as a fantasy, ''The Invisible Man'' is the first truly great American science fiction film". Retrospective response to the film includes it being listed on several "Best-of" genre lists. In the book ''The Variety Book of Movie Lists'', ''The Invisible Man'' is listed among the best films of certain genres by artists in their respective fields. This included directors
Joe Dante Joseph James Dante Jr. (; born November 28, 1946) is an American film director, producer, editor and actor. His films—notably '' Gremlins'' (1984) alongside its sequel, '' Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' (1990)—often mix 1950s-style B movies with ...
(Best of Horror),
John Carpenter John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, actor, and composer. Although he worked in various film genres, he is most commonly associated with horror, action, and science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s. He ...
(Best Science Fiction) where he referred to the film as "brilliant", and
Ray Harryhausen Raymond Frederick Harryhausen (June 29, 1920 – May 7, 2013) was an American-British animator and special effects creator who created a form of stop motion model animation known as "Dynamation". His works include the animation for '' Mi ...
(Best of Fantasy) where Harryhausen stated that "where do science fiction and so-called horror films begin and fantasy films leave off? Surely they must overlap". In Phil Hardy's ''Science Fiction'' (1984), when critics were asked to list the greatest science fiction films of all time, critic Denis Gifford included it in his top ten. In 2008, ''The Invisible Man'' was selected for inclusion in the United States
National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception ...
by the
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The libra ...
as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".


Legacy

Universal revived an Invisible Man character for future films but did not attempt to connect the films with any direct storyline as they had done with their films ''
The Mummy A mummy is an unusually well preserved corpse. Mummy or The Mummy may also refer to: Places * Mummy Range, a mountain range in the Rocky Mountains of northern Colorado in the United States * Mummy Cave, a rock shelter and archeological site in P ...
'' or ''
Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific ...
''. Examples of these connections include '' The Invisible Man Returns'' where the character Geoffrey Radcliffe (
Vincent Price Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor, art historian, art collector and gourmet cook. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price has two stars on the Hollywood Wal ...
) receives the invisibility formula from Dr. Frank Griffin ( John Sutton), a relative of Jack Griffin from the first film 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 ...
'' where Frank Raymond is the grandson of Jack Griffin. In '' The Invisible Man's Revenge'', the screenplay does not connect Robert Griffin with the previous Griffins who either created, understood, and or operated with the invisibility formula. Universal Pictures first announced the development of ''The Invisible Man Returns'' in March 1939, around the time '' Son of Frankenstein'' (1939) had been performing decently at the box office. ''The Invisible Man Returns'' was distributed theatrically on January 12, 1940. The Invisible Man character shows up in ''Son of the Invisible Man'', one of the episodes of the film '' Amazon Women on the Moon'' (1987). The scene is directed by Carl Gottlieb and features Ed Begley, Jr. in an inn similar to the 1933 film where he only thinks he is invisible. Rains' career benefited greatly from his role in the film, allowing him to become one of Hollywood's most valuable actors. It led him to roles that Newman praised as "everything from ''
The Adventures of Robin Hood ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' is a 1938 American Technicolor swashbuckler film from Warner Bros. Pictures. It was produced by Hal B. Wallis and Henry Blanke, directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley, and stars Errol Flynn, Olivia d ...
'' (1938) (as Bad King John) to ''
Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...
'' (1942)". In his 1934 autobiography, Wells only mentioned the film version of ''The Invisible Man'' briefly, stating that it was "a tale that, thanks largely to the recent film produced by James Whale, is still read as much as ever it was". Reflecting on her work at Universal, Gloria Stuart described working at the studio as very low quality, noting how ramshackle it was with make-up rooms and wardrobe areas being "very, very primitive" and that apart from the films she made with Whale, she declared all her work at Universal was "terrible" and "real B stuff", noting that the cast and crew working at Universal "considered it slumming".


Remake

Unlike other Universal properties, ''The Invisible Man'' did not receive any immediate remakes such as those done by Hammer Film Productions. A remake of ''The Invisible Man'' entered development as of February 2016, when
Johnny Depp John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Johnny Depp, multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Awa ...
was announced to star in the remake with Ed Solomon writing the film's script, and Alex Kurtzman and Chris Morgan as the producers. Kurtzman and Morgan moved on to other projects the following year on November 8. In 2019, Universal began production on the new ''The Invisible Man'' that was written and directed by
Leigh Whannell Leigh Whannell (; is an Australian screenwriter, actor, film producer, and film director. He is best known for writing films directed by his friend James Wan, including ''Saw'' (2004), ''Dead Silence'' (2007), '' Insidious'' (2010), and '' Insi ...
and produced by Jason Blum, starring
Elisabeth Moss Elisabeth Singleton Moss (born July 24, 1982) is an American actor. She is known for her work in several television dramas, earning such accolades as two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards, which led ''Vulture'' to name her the ...
and
Oliver Jackson-Cohen Oliver Mansour Jackson-Cohen (born 24 October 1986) is an English actor and model. He is best known for his role as Adrian Griffin in the 2020 adaptation of '' The Invisible Man'' and for his roles as Luke Crain and Peter Quint in the Netfli ...
as the titular character. When a trailer for the film was released in December the same year, Robert Moran of ''
The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...
'' commented that it "met with the kind of confusion that could rattle a filmmaker, not to mention a studio. It seems monster movie fans, long-attuned to the bandage-wrapped antics of The Invisible Man of yore, weren't expecting Whannell's allegory on domestic violence trauma". Whannell commented on his change from the norm on the style, explaining that he knew there was going to be some backlash against the film as he was "modernizing it and centering it not around the Invisible Man but his victim". Whannel compared his ''The Invisible Man'' film to the popular image of the character: "The iconic image of the Invisible Man is one of a floating pair of sunglasses, you know? I knew I had to move it away from that". Whannell's ''The Invisible Man'' was released on February 28, 2020.


See also

* 1933 in science fiction *
List of horror films of the 1930s A list of horror films released in the 1930s. History The American horror film was properly created in the 1930s, most notably the Universal Horror film productions. '' White Zombie'' is considered the first feature-length zombie film and has b ...
* List of science fiction films of the 1930s *
List of Universal Pictures films (1930–1939) This is a list of films produced or distributed by Universal Pictures in 1930–1939, founded in 1912 as the Universal Film Manufacturing Company. It is the main motion picture production and distribution arm of Universal Studios, a subsidiary of ...


References


Citations


Sources

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External links

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Invisible Man, The 1933 films 1933 horror films 1930s science fiction horror films American black-and-white films American science fiction horror films Films directed by James Whale Films set in England Films set in Sussex Universal Pictures films United States National Film Registry films Films based on The Invisible Man Universal Classic Monsters films Films scored by Heinz Roemheld Mad scientist films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films Films produced by Carl Laemmle Jr.