By 1942, the United States had entered World War II following the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. Hollywood decided to capitalize on this by producing pro-America propaganda films depicting American heroes taking on the Axis of Evil. Some of the most famous ones included John Ford’s Battle of Midway and John Huston’s Report from the Aleutians. There were even propaganda cartoons from Disney and Warner Bros., including Der Fuhrer’s Face and Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips. Soon, propaganda horror films were being made, typically B-movies like Black Dragons with Bela Lugosi and Revenge of the Zombies. Universal decided to produce their own wartime film using the Invisible Man, but this time for an action/spy thriller. Actor Jon Hall, who starred in the big-budget adventure film The Hurricane, was cast in the title role. In late June of 1942, Universal’s WWII feature, Invisible Agent, was released.
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Synopsis
Frank Griffin Jr (Jon Hall), the grandson of the original’s Frank Griffin, has been living under the pseudonym, Frank Raymond. One night, his shop is broken into by a group of Nazis who want his grandfather’s invisibility formula. He refuses and manages to escape, but is visited by US agent John Gardiner (John Litel) for the same thing. Griffin initially refuses, but after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, he agrees to volunteer his services and use the formula. While invisible, Griffin is to infiltrate enemy lines and locate a book containing the names of German/Japanese agents. He meets with Maria Sorenson (Ilona Massey), a German spy working with the Allies who agrees to help him. Meanwhile S.S. General Stauffer (Cedric Hardwicke) and Japanese Baron Ikito (Peter Lorre) are tracking down Griffin for his formula. Will Frank accomplish his mission, or will the Axis capture him for their nefarious plans?
Review
Though massively dated because of its nature as WWII propaganda, Invisible Agent is nonetheless entertaining and better than expected. As the dashing hero, Jon Hall does a good job, having plenty of charisma and snarkiness to spare. Ilona Massey is good as the love interest who shows that she can handle herself without always needing Griffin’s help. However, Cedric Hardwicke and Peter Lorre are the real highlights of the film as the villainous Stauffer and Ikito. Hardwicke brings class to his part, and Lorre is delightfully creepy, even if he’s a Hungarian playing a Japanese man. Thankfully, his portrayal of a Japanese man isn’t nearly as offensive or stereotypical as it probably could’ve been. It also helps that the villains are portrayed as being just as competent as, perhaps more so than, the heroes. While it’s clear whose side the filmmakers are on, they do treat the opposition as people.
As with before, the visual effects of John P. Fulton are impressive given the time, though nothing special. Honestly, four Invisible Man movies in, the effects are starting to run their course and have lost their luster. Also, much like The Invisible Woman, much of the humor does fall flat, though it’s not nearly as insipid. What saves this movie is the action sequences which, combined with the invisibility, make for some entertaining sequences. Also, it’s interesting to see what started as a monstrous character being turned into a full-fledged action hero. One noteworthy actor is Keye Luke as a surgeon, who some might remember as the elderly Mr. Wing in Gremlins. As for the movie itself, it provides plenty of wartime thrills for 80 minutes, but don’t expect anything remarkable. Overall, Invisible Agent is an imperfect though entertaining feature that’s worth watching.
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