Following the release of Invisible Agent in 1942, Universal announced a new entry the following year. For the next installment, they were hoping to bring back Claude Rains, but those plans fell through. Edgar Barrier, who previously played Raoul in Phantom of the Opera, was approached but turned it down. For the cast, they recast Jon Hall from Invisible Agent, only he’d be the villain instead of the hero. The cast also included Universal regulars John Carradine, Evelyn Ankers, and Gale Sondergaard. The director’s chair was filled by Ford Beebe, who previously worked on the Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon serials. Once again, John P. Fulton would be doing the visual effects work, having been nominated twice for an Oscar. Filming took place between January and February of 1944 for a budget of slightly over $300,000. Finally, in June of 1944, The Invisible Man’s Revenge was released to theaters.
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Synopsis
Robert Griffin (Jon Hall) has escaped from a mental institution after killing two orderlies and is seeking revenge. He goes to confront Jasper (Lester Matthews) and Irene Herrick (Gale Sondergaard) for leaving him to die in Africa. They try explaining themselves, but Robert doesn’t believe them and threatens to sue, so Jasper and Irene drug him. After stealing a written partnership agreement they made with him, Jasper and Irene have Robert thrown out. Robert nearly drowns but is rescued by local cobbler Herbert Higgins (Leon Errol), and he decides to leave for London. On the way, he meets eager scientist Dr. Peter Drury (John Carradine), who’s supposedly developed a way to turn invisible. Robert agrees to be a test subject for Drury, only he uses his newfound invisibility to get his revenge. Will Robert be successful in his quest for revenge, or will he meet a grisly fate?
Review
Even with it being the fifth film in the series, The Invisible Man’s Revenge is actually a pretty solid entry. Admittedly, by this point, you can tell that the series has more or less run its course. While the effects by John Fulton are still impressive given the time, they’ve lost their luster by this film. Jon Hall makes for a solid villain/anti-hero, and it’s nice to see since The Invisible Man. He’s very conniving and even somewhat sympathetic, clearly a victim of madness brought on by being left for dead. John Carradine is good as the eager scientist who gets mixed up in some shady business as an innocent bystander. The rest of the cast all do a fine job, but none of them give particularly interesting or noteworthy performances. All in all, the acting is par for the course for a movie of this caliber.
In terms of this being a sequel, there’s little to no connection to any of the other films. The closest connection would be that the main character’s last name is “Griffin”, but that’s about it. There’s no mention of characters from the previous films nor any events from those films, making more a standalone film. This film definitely gives off the impression that this was made just for the sake of having another installment. While better than The Invisible Woman, it still doesn’t hold a candle to the original or the previous sequels. Returning to the effects, you can tell they’ve dropped in quality, some scenes showing a visible outline of the actor. Some of the performances and the slightly above-average effects save this from being an otherwise forgettable entry. Overall, The Invisible Man’s Revenge doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it’s still a fairly entertaining feature.
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