The invisible returns

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Movie
German title The invisible returns
Original title The Invisible Man Returns
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1940
length 81 minutes
Rod
Director Joe May
script Lester Cole
Curt Siodmak
Joe May
production Ken Goldsmith
music Hans J. Salter
Frank Skinner
camera Milton R. Krasner
cut Frank Gross
occupation
chronology

←  Predecessor
The Invisible One

Successor  →
The Invisible Woman

The Invisible Man Returns (Original title: The Invisible Man Returns ) is an American horror - / science fiction film directed by Joe May from 1940. The Universal production was as a sequel to The Invisible turned (1933) and is based loosely based on a novel by H. G. Wells .

action

Sir Geoffrey Radcliffe is wrongly convicted of the murder of his brother Michael. Dr. Frank Griffin, the brother of Dr. Jack Griffin - developer of the invisibility  serum and the first invisible man - has a brief opportunity in the prison cell to inject the serum into Radcliffe. As a result, Radcliffe becomes invisible shortly before the upcoming execution and is able to escape from prison. The police believe whether the disappearance is ghost or spiritism, while the Scotland Yard officer Inspector Sampson, who remembers the case years earlier, is the first to discover the truth and start the investigation. At the same time, Radcliffe, owner of a coal mine, goes in search of the real murderer, making use of his invisibility. But it is also evident that the invisibility serum has serious side effects, as Radcliffe is increasingly showing signs of megalomania and a thirst for revenge. Dr. Griffin tries unsuccessfully to develop an antidote to the invisibility serum.

Radcliffe eventually finds out that his cousin Richard Cobb is the killer. Cobb could make it appear that Radcliffe committed the murder. Radcliffe is able to confront Cobb, and a fight breaks out in the mine, in the course of which Cobb is fatally injured. Shortly before his death, Cobb confesses to having committed the murder. Radcliffe is also critically injured from a gunshot wound during the fight. Due to the high blood loss, he received a blood transfusion, Dr. Griffin sees no possibility of surgery because of Radcliffe's invisibility. The decision to use the possibly deadly antidote is made for him by the fact that Radcliffe is surprisingly still visible - the previously transferred blood acted as an antidote. Dr. Griffin can now perform the life-saving operation.

German publication

The film was not shown in German-speaking cinemas. Although the film was shown several times on television in German-speaking  countries - first on WDR in 1986 - it was not available on DVD for a long time. On October 16, 2015 the Turbine Classics label released a complete box of all The Invisible Films on DVD and Blu-ray Disc .

background

  • After Claude Rains in 1933, Vincent Price played the main role this time . As in the previous film, the face of the "invisible" can only be seen in the final scene.
  • As with the other invisible films, the special effects were implemented by John P. Fulton and David S. Horsley. In addition to a forerunner of the blue screen technique (the invisible parts of the image were covered with black velvet), other techniques such as wire ropes , compressed air , double exposures or stop-motion animation were also used.
  • The film cost $ 270,000 at the time, which was slightly over budget. Nevertheless, good box office results were achieved.
  • Vincent Price had a brief cameo as "Invisible Man" in Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein in 1948 .
  • The scene of Vincent Price putting on the scarecrow's clothes lasted ninety seconds in the film, but several hours of filming were required.
  • In the German version, Vincent Price was dubbed by Hartmut Reck .

Reviews

“The focus is on an ambivalent 'hero' who, in a half-hearted attempt, should be interpreted as a positive figure, but due to his intoxication for power and thirst for revenge, he is more of a relative of the 'Dr. Mabuse 'is. Sometimes laid out as a horror grotesque, the film, which is hardly sufficiently motivated, is particularly convincing due to the pointed trick technique. "

- Film service

"Coherent continuation of the horror classic from 1933."

- TV movie

Awards

More movies

In the black-and-white era, a total of six films based more or less loosely on H. G. Wells' novel about the invisible were made. The Invisible Returns is the second film in the series:

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b The invisible returns. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed November 11, 2019 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  2. ↑ The invisible one returns. In: synchronkartei.de. German synchronous file , accessed on November 11, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Review on tvspielfilm.de