I wonder why this film has a 6.0 rating on IMDb. Is it possible people saw this bad film and actually thought it was good?! The world is a strange place, indeed.
Now I started watching this film strongly predisposed to liking it. After all, I adore the Universal horror films of the 30s and 40s and the Invisible Man series is among the best. Plus, the idea of the Allies using the invisibility formula to infiltrate Nazi territory to do some spying is an inspired plot idea. Yet, almost miraculously, the Universal folks produced a very bad film.
Most of the problem is that unlike most other horror films of the time, this one was very often played for laughs. Considering that the guy is supposed to get important information and get out, his sticking around to play tricks on the incredibly stupid Nazis was really dumb--and not in a good way! Plus, after a while, it was obvious that there was an invisible guy running about--talk about a great way to maintain your cover! Additionally, instead of the usual conniving and evil Nazis like you'd see in an American wartime propaganda film, here they are complete morons--almost like what you'd see in a Three Stooges film. If it were a Stooges film that would be great...but not in a horror film. Making it a straight drama would have improved the film tremendously.
Additionally, it's obvious Universal simply didn't care when they made this film. Even for a B-movie, it is cheap and has a slapped together look. The models used for airplanes for the film were pathetically unrealistic and it was obvious they were bad models. Also, having Peter Lorre (whose heritage in reality was German) playing a Japanese man was ridiculous. In fact, it wasn't until later in the film that you even realized he was supposed to be Japanese! Now I understand that Lorre played the lead in the Mr. Moto films (where he was supposed to be Japanese), but here he didn't even try to look or sound Asian. Mantan Moreland would have been just as fitting an actor to play this role. Finally, throw in an unimportant and ridiculous love story that comes out of no where and you have the ingredients for a truly awful film.
Exceptionally poor writing, indifferent direction and actors who couldn't have possibly made this material work and you have INVISIBLE AGENT in a nut shell. Don't say I didn't warn you! Fortunately, the next film in the series (THE INVISIBLE MAN'S REVENGE) is quite a bit better.
Now I started watching this film strongly predisposed to liking it. After all, I adore the Universal horror films of the 30s and 40s and the Invisible Man series is among the best. Plus, the idea of the Allies using the invisibility formula to infiltrate Nazi territory to do some spying is an inspired plot idea. Yet, almost miraculously, the Universal folks produced a very bad film.
Most of the problem is that unlike most other horror films of the time, this one was very often played for laughs. Considering that the guy is supposed to get important information and get out, his sticking around to play tricks on the incredibly stupid Nazis was really dumb--and not in a good way! Plus, after a while, it was obvious that there was an invisible guy running about--talk about a great way to maintain your cover! Additionally, instead of the usual conniving and evil Nazis like you'd see in an American wartime propaganda film, here they are complete morons--almost like what you'd see in a Three Stooges film. If it were a Stooges film that would be great...but not in a horror film. Making it a straight drama would have improved the film tremendously.
Additionally, it's obvious Universal simply didn't care when they made this film. Even for a B-movie, it is cheap and has a slapped together look. The models used for airplanes for the film were pathetically unrealistic and it was obvious they were bad models. Also, having Peter Lorre (whose heritage in reality was German) playing a Japanese man was ridiculous. In fact, it wasn't until later in the film that you even realized he was supposed to be Japanese! Now I understand that Lorre played the lead in the Mr. Moto films (where he was supposed to be Japanese), but here he didn't even try to look or sound Asian. Mantan Moreland would have been just as fitting an actor to play this role. Finally, throw in an unimportant and ridiculous love story that comes out of no where and you have the ingredients for a truly awful film.
Exceptionally poor writing, indifferent direction and actors who couldn't have possibly made this material work and you have INVISIBLE AGENT in a nut shell. Don't say I didn't warn you! Fortunately, the next film in the series (THE INVISIBLE MAN'S REVENGE) is quite a bit better.