Product Details

• Actors: Ilona Massey, Jon Hall, Peter Lorre, Cedric Hardwicke, J. Edward Bromberg
• Directors: Edwin L. Marin
• Writers: Curt Siodmak, H.G. Wells
• Producers: Frank Lloyd, George Waggner
• Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Universal Studios
• VHS Release Date: September 16, 1997
• Run Time: 81 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6302841879
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #220,671 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Spurred by an unfriendly visit from Axis reps, Frank Raymond (Jon Hall), the grandson of the original invisible fella, realizes his duty is clear. That is, he must turn over the formula for his grandfather's invisibility serum to the U.S. government before the Nazis get hold of it, and volunteer his invisible self as a secret weapon to obtain classified Nazi secrets. So The Invisible Heir turns Invisible Paratrooper and jumps behind enemy lines to wrangle with their high command, make time with delectable counterintelligence agent Ilona Massey, make monkeys out of a gaggle of Nazis, and uncover the Axis plans to bomb New York City! Tonight! With or without Giuliani! This is the third in Universal's series of '40s takes on the invisibility theme, and a dandy one it is. While the dialogue may strike some as being afflicted with flattened affectation, and the antics invisibility is wont to entice may seem silly, this flick is done up in the atmospheric horror mode that Universal perfected in the mid-'30s to mid-'40s, sporting many finely tuned moments of dark intrigue to complement the screwy business. Cedric Hardwicke adds weight and style to the Nazi side, while Peter Lorre portrays an agent of the Japanese (!)--amazing to say, he looks quite the part, but he sounds for all the world just like the child-killer he played in M. And Ilona Massey is supreme Nazi-bait. --Jim Gay

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A DASH OF UNIVERSAL... A CUP OF WAR PROPAGANDA... AND A PINCH OF H.G. WELLS!, February 7, 2008

By 

! MR. KNOW IT ALL ;-b "DR SHOCK" (TRI STATE AREA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Invisible Agent [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Here we have yet another installment in the 'Invisible Man' series. This one coming between 'The Invisible Woman' and 'The Invisible Man's Revenge'. This film is interesting if your interested in the history of films and especially films made during World War II. The Propaganda is heavy and laughable in this strange but watch-able film. Like all the 'Invisible Man' movies, it's loosely tied to the other films in the series but, you don't have to watch them in any order or all of them to follow the story line of any one of them. The great cast includes Cedric Hardwicke, Peter Lorre, Jon Hall and Ilona Massey. Look closely to see Keye Luke from the Kung Fu TV show as the Japanese surgeon. This is available on DVD on the 'Invisible Man' Legacy Collection along with all four of the other Invisible Man movies from Universal. The DVD transfers are very good and there are some very good extras on the set.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Lorre fans only!, April 9, 2001

By 

Hobo Kin (hobokin.com) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Invisible Agent [VHS] (VHS Tape)

The important thing to remember when judging Lorre and this film is to separate Lorre's performance from the rest of this silly and farfetched motion picture. Peter's role almost seems as if it was intended for another, more serious film.

Well, the invisible agent in this story is presumably the invisible man's grandson, who has changed his name to hide from those who seek to use his invisible formula for immoral uses. Enter the Nazis, headed by head goose-stepper Sir Cedric Hardwicke, and Peter Lorre, an old school Japanese baron who seek to acquire this formula and use it for the usual and universally known axis intentions. Of course the grandson escapes from their torturous clutches and becomes an undercover agant for the allies, an invisible one, who infiltrates Germany and proceeds to play a bunch of practical jokes on inept Nazi officers as a prelude to intercepting the Nazi's "secret" plans for an attempted invasion of America.

The invisible scenes are hilarious, as Jon Hall seems more intent on sleeping, eating, drinking champagne, and hitting on beautiful German double agents than actually getting these oh-so-vital Nazi plans. However, when Lorre is on screen, which unfortunately is for only three or four short scenes, his intense and sinister presence enhances the picture immensely and adds the appropriate drama that the rest of this film so pathetically lacks.

Cornering Hall in his paper shop in the United States, Lorre makes terrifying use of a paper cutter, causing psychological nervousness by calmly chopping down the blade behind the cornered Jon Hall's back, and later using it as a unique Lorrean device of torture to make him talk.

Later in the film, Lorre captures Hall and spirits him to the Japanese embassy, intending to bring his secret back to the Land of the Rising Sun for the good of his own people. Hardwicke and the Nazis soon arrive and confront Lorre as a betrayer. Quick as an asp, Lorre karate chops Hardwicke in the neck and expertly discharges him upon the floor. Then, with an unforgettable expression of contempt mixed with sinister and warped compassion, Lorre pulls out a knife, tells Hardwicke that he is going to make an honorable man out of him and then coldbloodedly stabs him in the heart. Then, in one of my all-time favorite scenes, Lorre goes to a prepared corner of the embassy interior and turns the knife on himself, his gaze intense and unwavering, performing hari-kari and falling dead upon the floor without a sound.

Lorre's performance is quite reminicent of his earlier Moto films, yet the intensity of his role is sustained by not one other member of the talented cast. Peter brought a gun to a pillow fight here, and as a result one of his better portrayals is lost in all the hokeyness and laughter.

3.0 out of 5 stars Japs, Jarheads & Invisible Spy What?, October 23, 2009

By 

Scotman55 "James" (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Invisible Agent [VHS] (VHS Tape)

The Invisible Agent is a war picture with a little bit of science fiction mixed it. The drama is about the grandson of the original invisible man, who changes his name and thinks he will hide out running a paper shop for the rest of his life but nooooo..... Cedric Hardwicke Things to Come/Journey to the Center of Time is the Nazi spy who roughens him up and Peter Lorre Mr. Moto Collection, Vol. 1 (Mr. Moto Takes A Chance / Mysterious Mr. Moto / Thank You Mr. Moto / Think Fast Mr. Moto) (4DVD) is the sadistic Japanese spy (like your Mr. Moto dark and sadistic?), which fires up Frank (played sarcastically by Jon Hall Hell Ship Mutiny).

This is mid 1942 and the European and Pacific fronts are hot and heavy for Americans, so I would expect the Nazis to look like a bunch of dummies, but these actors talk like Noo Yawkas in overcoats. The script is average wartime spy fare, and the effects are average even for the time period. Interesting spy movie for the WWII fan, but for spooky adventure, not really. Ilona Massey Love Happy plays the hot woman spy that no one trusts but everyone wants to jump Yeowwww.

Invisible Pix by Universal:

Invisible Man - The Legacy Collection (The Invisible Man/Invisible Man Returns/Invisible Agent/Invisible Woman/Invisible Man's Revenge)

Oh horrors, read the novel by H.G. Wells:

The Invisible Man (Penguin Classics)