The first film adaptation of H. G. Well’s The Invisible Man opens with a bandaged
man struggling through the snow, seeking shelter at The Lion’s Head pub in Iping
in rural Sussex. The stranger is revealed to be Dr Jack Griffin (Claude Rains),
a chemist who has created a formula to turn himself invisible. At first, Dr
Griffin tries to figure out a way to make himself visible again, but frustration
causes him to start terrorising the villagers. Enjoying his newfound power, Dr
Griffin decides to visit his old work colleague Dr. Kemp (William Harrigan) and
force him to be his partner in his plan to take over the world in ‘a reign of
terror’. Meanwhile, his actions in Iping and subsequent criminal acts have
sparked off a nationwide man-hunt to stop The Invisible Man. Will the police catch
Dr Griffin or will his fiancée Flora (Gloria Stuart) manage to persuade him to
stop before it is too late?
Claude Rains is exceptional as the titular The Invisible Man, relying heavily on
his voice and physicality for the role. Rains captures Dr Griffins’s
desperation to find a cure early on in the film, but also hints at the underlying
allusions of self-importance he possesses, as he ignores the pub’s landlady Mrs
Hall (Una O’Connor) contemptuously as she tries to make friendly conversation. As
his patience and arguably his sanity snaps, Dr Griffins starts to torment the
villagers, laughing at their confusion and fear with maniacal glee. Even when
Dr Griffins starts to murder innocent people, Rains manages to make the
audience feel sympathy for him as he speaks tenderly to Flora, offering a
glimpse of the man Dr Griffin used to be before his drug drove him mad. Rains’s
vocal performance makes his character imposing, as he declares, ‘Even the moon’s
frightened of me, frightened to death!’, the audience almost believes it to be
true. Gloria Stuart uses her little screen time to great effect as Flora Cranley,
acting decisively to be reunited with her fiancé and determined to help Jack in
any way she can. It is a pity that Flora doesn’t play a more important role in
the narrative of the film, although she does reveal the initial motivation for
Dr Griffin’s experiments.
The special effects involved in The Invisible Man are ground-breaking and still remarkable to watch
in the present day. The first glimpse the audience and Mrs Hall see of Dr
Griffin’s invisible form, before he hastily hides his missing jaw behind a
napkin, is fairly shocking to see. When Dr Griffins literally and
metaphorically unravels in front of the villagers and policeman, it is a true
defining moment in early horror film history. The complex use of props with
wire work are smoothly executed for the most part, creating a realistic feel to
the books being stacked up, a bicycle riding off by itself and a fire poker brandished at Dr. Kemp. The cinematography
by Arthur Edeson keeps the audience engaged and magnifies Dr Griffin’s powerful
status.
However, surprisingly The
Invisible Man is more humorous than expected, but perhaps not in the way it
had intended. Certainly, the comic relief character of Mrs Hall is probably
more irritating to the modern viewer than anything else, although Una O’Connor
has her more subtle moments of acting. However, the dead-pan nature of some of
the policemen is really funny in places. When the villagers asked Constable
Jaffers (E. E. Clive) what is wrong with the stranger upstairs in the pub, he
dryly remarks, ‘He’s invisible, that’s what’s the matter with him.’ There is
plenty of physical comedy involving the policemen as well, as they crash into
each other in their attempt to catch Dr Griffin or look shocked as they are
suddenly slapped in the face by an invisible assailant. Overall, the
performances of the supporting cast are strong and well-directed by James
Whale.
The
Invisible Man possesses some extraordinary special effects and a magnificent
performance by Claude Rains, supported by a capable supporting cast.
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