Invisible Agent

USA 1942
produced by
Frank Lloyd, George Waggner (associate) for Frank Lloyd Productions, Universal
directed by Edwin L. Marin
starring Ilona Massey, Jon Hall, Peter Lorre, Cedric Hardwicke, J.Edward Bromberg, Albert Bassermann, John Litel, Holmes Herbert, Keye Luke, Mabel Colcord, Michael Visaroff, Wolfgang Zilzer, Henry Zynda, Sven Hugo Borg, Eddie Dunn, Lee Tung Foo, Lane Chandler, Donald Curtis, Leslie Denison, Martin Faust, Matt Willis, John Holland, Ferdinand Munier, Eddie Parker, Pat West
screenplay by Curt Siodmak, very loosely based on The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells, music by Hans J. Salter, special photographic effects by John P. Fulton, special effects by David S. Horsley

The Invisible Man, Universal's Invisible Man, Universal horror cycle, American World War II Propaganda

review by
Mike Haberfelner

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Frank Raymond (Jon Hall) is the grandson of the original Invisible Man, but by and large he'd like to forget that part of family history - but now it's war, and the USA could use an invisible man ... and since Frank doesn't want to give away his grandfather's invention, he agrees to turn himself invisible and go to Germany to spy out the Nazi's plans for an attack on the USA.

In Germany, he meets beautiful spy Maria (Ilona Massey), gets caught up in a fight over her and over power between Colonels Stauffer (Cedric Hardwicke) and Heisel (J.Edward Bromberg), gets captured by the Japanese led by Baron Ikito (Peter Lorre), and gets into a power struggle between the Germans and the Japanese - at the end of which the Baron commits harakiri. All this makes Frank lose trust in Maria whom he soon believes to be a double agent, but still he forces her to fly him out of Germany and help him bomb the fighter planes that are supposed to bomb New York the very next day. It is only when Maria saves his life once they are in British airspace that he sees that she really fights on his side, and in the end, Frank consequently doesn't only become visible again, he also gets the girl ...

Stupid and rather childish little propaganda film that is very far removed from H.G.Wells' insightful original and turns its hero's invisiblity into nothing more than a gimmick. Silly ... but not all that funny.

Oh, and a word about casting: why it was thought to be a good idea to cast Peter Lorre, a gifted actor with a strong German accent, as a Japanese - in a film about Germans - is left at anybody's guess ...

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

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