Vincent Price stars in "The Invisible Man Returns", and it's generally considered to be his first horror film, 13 years before "House of Wax" firmly cemented him as a star of the genre. He plays Geoffrey Radcliffe, owner of a coal mining operation. Geoffrey was wrongly convicted for the murder of his brother, but his friend Frank Griffin (John Sutton), helps him at the last possible second, before Geoffrey is due to be executed. You see, Frank is the younger brother of the late Jack Griffin, villain of the first film, and he too is able to turn a man invisible. Geoffrey therefore is able to escape from prison and put into motion the plans for proving himself innocent. But it remains to be seen if he can do so before succumbing to insanity, just as Jack once did.
Any fan of Price needs to see this one. He's at his theatrical best in scenes where Geoffrey begins to go mad and rants about his potential for power. He also elicits a great deal of sympathy from the viewer in his subtler moments, such as when he's in the arms of his girlfriend Helen Manson (beautiful Nan Grey). But the whole main cast is absolutely fine. Cedric Hardwicke is fun as the villain of the piece, as is a perfectly squirrelly Alan Napier as his associate. Cecil Kellaway is another delight to watch, playing the dedicated police inspector on the case.
Directed by Joe May (who also shares story credit with Curt Siodmak, the busy genre screenwriter of the era), "The Invisible Man Returns" is solidly entertaining, although it functions more as crime thriller than horror film. Therefore, it doesn't go for suspense or old school atmosphere all that often. The special effects aren't quite as impressive as they were for the original film, but they're still pretty good. Just as in "The Invisible Man", there's a noticeable accent on comedy, maybe too much so for some viewers.
Worthy viewing for fans of 1930s and 40s Universal horror; followed by "The Invisible Woman".
Seven out of 10.
Any fan of Price needs to see this one. He's at his theatrical best in scenes where Geoffrey begins to go mad and rants about his potential for power. He also elicits a great deal of sympathy from the viewer in his subtler moments, such as when he's in the arms of his girlfriend Helen Manson (beautiful Nan Grey). But the whole main cast is absolutely fine. Cedric Hardwicke is fun as the villain of the piece, as is a perfectly squirrelly Alan Napier as his associate. Cecil Kellaway is another delight to watch, playing the dedicated police inspector on the case.
Directed by Joe May (who also shares story credit with Curt Siodmak, the busy genre screenwriter of the era), "The Invisible Man Returns" is solidly entertaining, although it functions more as crime thriller than horror film. Therefore, it doesn't go for suspense or old school atmosphere all that often. The special effects aren't quite as impressive as they were for the original film, but they're still pretty good. Just as in "The Invisible Man", there's a noticeable accent on comedy, maybe too much so for some viewers.
Worthy viewing for fans of 1930s and 40s Universal horror; followed by "The Invisible Woman".
Seven out of 10.