Today when people mention James Whale they often mention his masterpiece "Bride of Frankenstein" which film critics always praise as one of the greatest classic Horror films of the genre. But of all the films in that era I think "The Invisible Man" is one of the most underrated and the most fun to watch. This is praise is due to Claude Rain's spectacular performance as the psychotic Dr. Jack Griffin who tried his hand in playing God and transformed himself into "The Invisible Man".
The story starts in an old inn at a small English village, a stranger with bandages all over his face comes in from the violent storm and seeks refuge. He rents a room but never leaves his quarters, refusing to be disturbed and sometimes refusing food just to be left alone. It is revealed that the man is invisible, he is rude, untidy and with his violent rage scares the hysterical wife of the inn keeper Jenny (Una O'Connor) and asks her husband Herbert (Forrester Harvey) to confront and throw the man out.
The Invisible Man tries to reason with Herbert but he refuses because he is scaring all the people away from the inn with his wild behavior, seeing no other option The Invisible Man becomes violent and removes his bandages and throws Herbert away.
Herbert feeling helpless along with Jenny already hysterical calls the help of the townspeople and a policeman but they are no match for The Invisible Man when he removed his clothes. He quickly dispatches the group of men who try to help and nearly strangles the policeman, he runs amok in the village hurting more people while causing mass hysteria when the news of the incident was reported from neighboring cities.
The Invisible Man is Dr. Jack Griffin, the lab assistant of Dr. Cranley (Henry Travers) who disappeared suddenly while undergoing a strange experiment. His fiancée Flora (Gloria Stuart), daughter of Dr. Cranley is made aware of what happened to him by his lab partner Dr. Arthur Kemp (William Harrigan). Griffin now apparently insane has made up his mind to "takeover the world" and start with committing petty crimes, he forces Kemp to help him with his insane quest but with the news of a psychotic Invisible Man on the loose the National Police Force will put all their power and effort to stop him before he realize his goal.
Rains' performance I must say is incredible, his sinister voice made The Invisible Man more maniacal and evil making his character believable and disturbing. There are moments where his acting was too over the top but this was the 30's and it is understandable to have the Invisible Man make a mockery of the powers that be who is almost helpless in stopping him. One of the biggest keys of the film is also the special effects, it might be dated now but Whale was able to use it effectively without making it look cheap and campy.
The Invisible Man's reign of terror in the box office and critics only enhanced James Whale's reputation as a director most effective in the Horror genre and secured his place as one of the greats of his time.
Grade: A-
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