Product Details

• Actors: Claude Rains, Gloria Stuart, William Harrigan, Henry Travers, Una O'Connor
• Directors: James Whale
• Writers: H.G. Wells, Philip Wylie, Preston Sturges, R.C. Sherriff
• Producers: Carl Laemmle Jr.
• Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, HiFi Sound, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: Unrated
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Universal Studios
• VHS Release Date: March 1, 1992
• Run Time: 71 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (59 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6300185281
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #13,414 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video

Claude Rains practically owns his film debut in The Invisible Man, despite the fact that his face (let alone his body) is seen only for seconds in the final moments. As the brilliant scientist who discovers the secret of invisibility, Rains steps into the film wrapped up like a mummy behind a layer of bandages and blanketed in heavy clothes. When he removes his garments, there's nothing underneath, a simple but effective bit of 1930s movie magic that, apart from a few glitches, works as well today as it did in 1933. Like Frankenstein, another cautionary tale of science gone horribly wrong, the consequences of the doctor's experiments are dire: the chemicals drive him insane. Director James Whale infuses the film with plenty of humor, much of it arising from the quaint quirks of the local villagers, but it turns to black comedy as the doctor transforms from an impish prankster upsetting bicycles and taunting tavern patrons to a megalomaniac bent on world domination. It's slow going even at 71 minutes, but full of delightful touches and boasts a terrific performance by the all but unseen Rains, whose rich, cultured voice envelopes the picture in a kind of omnipresent fog. Vincent Price took up the role in the sequel, The Invisible Man Returns. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Allegory of the Outcasts of Society, September 27, 2001

By	Michael R Gates (Nampa, ID United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Invisible Man (Universal Studios Classic Monster Collection) (DVD)

Jack Griffin is a brilliant scientist who has some ideas that his peers think dangerous and unethical. Not one to be dissuaded, Griffin successfully experiments on himself, becoming the first human to be rendered invisible. Unfortunately, prolonged invisibility--or possibly the invisibility drug itself, as his peers had warned--begins to deteriorate Griffin's mind, and he soon becomes a power-hungry killer bent on revenge.

Though rarely seen in the film due to the special effects and costuming demanded by the part, Claude Rains does a dynamic job in the role of Jack Griffin. His gravelly voice and vocal histrionics serve perfectly in delivering to the audience Griffin's descent into emotional hell. And James Whale's direction is as brilliant as ever, creating the appropriate mood and atmosphere as we follow a madman's ravaging of the English countryside.

One of only four Horror films directed by James Whale for Universal, THE INVISIBLE MAN is a work that some historians and critics regard as a veiled allegory of the director's own publically covert homosexuality. While FRANKENSTEIN and BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN also depict societal outcasts in a sympathetic light, the eponymous character in THE INVISIBLE MAN is a character in a situation that is most like Whale's own--a respected genius in the public eye, but a person whose true self must remain invisible.

Even if you don't buy that particular historical perspective, THE INVISIBLE MAN still works as an allegory of any societal pariah. We all have traits that we sometimes hide from others; we all have masks that we wear. And at the times when we dwell on the things we keep hidden behind those masks, we may feel just a little "invisible" to others. So in watching THE INVISIBLE MAN, Jack Griffin becomes a metaphor for our own private identities, and we care about what happens to him. As with many of Whale's films, this pathos for the protagonist becomes a skeleton on which hangs the overall plot.

Compared to contemporary movies, the special effects in this film might seem a little dated. But the script is good, the directing is great, and the acting is superb. Anyone who enjoyes a well-crafted movie certainly won't be disappointed.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Seeing is believing, June 10, 2000

By	miller stevens (seattle) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Invisible Man (Universal Studios Classic Monster Collection) (DVD)

James Whale's interpretation of the HG Wells book is abrilliant piece of cinema. The effects are, considering the time, anastonishing achievement that really help make this movie work. This is Claude Rains film debut and while we only see his face for a few minutes, he manages to create a powerful impression as the sympathetic mad scientist. Of the Universal horror collection, this can only be matched by Whales' "Bride of Frankenstein" in terms of acting, direction, plot, and using special effects effectively. While it should have been one of the first Universal horror DVDs, let's be thankful this gem is finally available. END

11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Grab this DVD Before It Disappears!, September 20, 2003

By	Gary F. Taylor "GFT" (Biloxi, MS USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Invisible Man (Universal Studios Classic Monster Collection) (DVD)

One of the most curious things about this otherwise memorable DVD package is the fact that it offers little information on Gloria Stuart--and nothing at all in the way of a personal interview. Given that Stuart is the only cast member still alive, this seems a terrible oversight. It is only when one discovers that there was no love lost between Claude Rains and Gloria Stuart that the reasoning becomes apparent: in such documentaries as UNIVERSAL HORROR, Stuart has had many positive things to say about director James Whale, the cast in general, and the production as a whole--but she has never hidden her dislike for Rains, and claims that Whale often had to step in to prevent Rains from deliberately upstaging her during filming.

Even though the absence of Gloria Stewart is conspicuous, like all classic horror DVDs released by Universal the bonus package for THE INVISIBLE MAN is a superior collection, with production photographs, production notes, and biographical notes. The audio commentary track by Rudy Behlmer is occasionally dry but often quite interesting, and the making-of documentary ("Now You See Him: The Invisible Man Revealed") is exceptional, featuring interviews with the likes of Rains' daughter and the various technicians who worked to create the special effects.

The film, of course, is based on the H.G. Wells novel, and although it differs quite a bit from the original and lacks the novel's overall social-commentary bite, it was indeed approved by H.G. Wells himself. The here concerns a scientist (Rains) who has discovered a drug that will make him invisible--but fails to realize that the drug has sinister side effects: it also induces madness. And with delusions of taking over the world, he engages in everything from practical jokes to outright murder.

The great thing in this film are the special effects, which were truly amazing for the early 1930s and which still hold up extremely well today. But of equal importance is the weird twist of horror and humor with which director Whales endows the piece. And as in his later THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, this film would contain a number of coded messages: Whale was homosexual, and like most gay men of his era he felt that society valued him for his sensibilities but at the same time disenfranchised him as a person. In a very real sense, THE INVISIBLE MAN is the ideal Whale vehicle: it offers a portrait of someone locked outside of the system.

The cast is extremely good, with the aforementioned Claude Rains (making his American screen debut) and Gloria Stuart as the leads--and the ever-memorable Una O'Connor screaming, whooping, hollering, and generally running riot to tremendous comic effect. She would give her role in THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN a similar spin, but she was never was so wildly, so enjoyably over the top as she is here. The rest of the cast is equally fine, and includes such memorable character actors as Henry Travers, Bill Hall, and Holmes Herbert as well.

While Whales would direct more commercially and critically successful films, and while THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN is arguably his most personal statement, THE INVISIBLE MAN is tremendous fun for fans of classic horror. If you're one of them, grab this DVD before it disappears!

--GFT (Amazon Reviewer)--