Apart from Bride of Frankenstein, this is probably my favorite Universal horror movie. It has been overshadowed by Dracula, the Wolfman, Frankenstein and the Mummy, but it's every bit as good as the best of these. That's because unlike these other films where you have real monsters, you have a "normal" man who becomes invisible and then slowly begins to act in an incredibly psychopathic way. At first, he kills with some hesitation. Later, he laughs maniacally as he kills with great style and panache--laughing diabolically after he ties a guy up and pushes the car with the man inside it off a cliff! It becomes an exploration of the inner evil within us all and so the sense of connection to the "monster" is greater than with traditional monsters because he's just like you and me--it's just that accursed formula that brings out the madness.
Claude Rains, though invisible for much of the movie, does a great job--his voice is one of the greatest in movie history. And the special effects, with one silly exception, are unbelievable for the 1930s--in fact, by today's standards most of them are terrific (especially for the scene where he slowly becomes visible). As I mentioned, there was one silly exception. Late in the movie, the invisible man removes his clothes to try to escape. However, his footprints clearly are those of a person wearing shoes! Oops.
Also, while it is a great way and gave it a 10 because it is such a marvelous film, there is one problem with the film (not the footprints--that was more of a funny mistake). Una O'Connor made parts of the film VERY difficult to watch due to her horrible over-acting (you'll see more of this in "The Bride of Frankenstein"). Her shrieking and histrionics were way overboard--and quite annoying. Subtle, it ain't!! And this is a shame, as the rest of the movie is so wonderful.
Claude Rains, though invisible for much of the movie, does a great job--his voice is one of the greatest in movie history. And the special effects, with one silly exception, are unbelievable for the 1930s--in fact, by today's standards most of them are terrific (especially for the scene where he slowly becomes visible). As I mentioned, there was one silly exception. Late in the movie, the invisible man removes his clothes to try to escape. However, his footprints clearly are those of a person wearing shoes! Oops.
Also, while it is a great way and gave it a 10 because it is such a marvelous film, there is one problem with the film (not the footprints--that was more of a funny mistake). Una O'Connor made parts of the film VERY difficult to watch due to her horrible over-acting (you'll see more of this in "The Bride of Frankenstein"). Her shrieking and histrionics were way overboard--and quite annoying. Subtle, it ain't!! And this is a shame, as the rest of the movie is so wonderful.