It may be part of the Invisible Man legacy, but this film is in no way a sequel to either "The Invisible Man" or "The Invisible Man Returns". It's done in a decidedly more humorous vein and doesn't even pretend to enter the horror genre, much like 1951's "Abbott and Costello Meet The Invisible Man". The principal cast makes it a fun outing nevertheless, as Miss Kitty Carroll (Virginia Bruce) answers an ad placed by eccentric Professor Gibbs (John Barrymore) to test his new invisibility apparatus. Gibbs' technique was rather odd, in that he used both a serum and a mechanical contraption he invented to produce the desired result, while bringing his subject back apparently didn't require either one. You could tell not a lot of thought was put into the script, and indeed, the latter part of the story kind of runs away with itself as a gang of hoods attempts to cash in on the device, but are unable to use it because quite frankly, they didn't know what they were doing.
Besides the principals, I got the biggest kick out of Charlie Ruggles as the hapless butler George, who's comedic timing was impeccable. A couple times it looked like he was doing his own stunts without benefit of a stand-in, and if so, he did one heck of a job. Shemp Howard is on hand too, as one of Blackie Cole's (Oskar Homolka) thugs, though he plays it on the serious side more so than one of the stooges. If you check the credits page here on IMDb, his character is listed as Frankie, but one of the thugs called him Hammerhead, so I guess you can take your pick.
Like the prior films in the Legacy Collection, there are times when continuity and consistency go out the window. For example, when the Invisible Woman takes a drink, you don't see the liquid being swallowed, contrary to the premise originally decreed in "The Invisible Man". But even weirder was the time the invisible Kitty Carroll poured a dark colored wine into a glass to celebrate her disappearance. Once it hit the glass, it was a clear colored liquid!
Besides the principals, I got the biggest kick out of Charlie Ruggles as the hapless butler George, who's comedic timing was impeccable. A couple times it looked like he was doing his own stunts without benefit of a stand-in, and if so, he did one heck of a job. Shemp Howard is on hand too, as one of Blackie Cole's (Oskar Homolka) thugs, though he plays it on the serious side more so than one of the stooges. If you check the credits page here on IMDb, his character is listed as Frankie, but one of the thugs called him Hammerhead, so I guess you can take your pick.
Like the prior films in the Legacy Collection, there are times when continuity and consistency go out the window. For example, when the Invisible Woman takes a drink, you don't see the liquid being swallowed, contrary to the premise originally decreed in "The Invisible Man". But even weirder was the time the invisible Kitty Carroll poured a dark colored wine into a glass to celebrate her disappearance. Once it hit the glass, it was a clear colored liquid!