The Invisible Menace

In THE INVISIBLE MENACE, a soldier smuggles his new bride onto an island base, only to become caught up in a murder mystery. This is a thriller, broken up by big dollops of silly humor.

Of course, the main draw to this film is Boris Karloff as Jevries. This movie was made after Mr. Karloff's astonishing run in Universal Studios' horror classics of the early 1930s, and before his triumphant return in the 1940s, especially in the productions he did with Producer Val Lewton. In MENACE, Mr. Karloff shines darkly in his potential-killer role. You might say that he's "over qualified" for this movie, although it does give him a chance for some more poignant scenes toward the end.

Regis Toomey is also good in his role.

Recommended for fans of Boris Karloff...

A cobbled together Mismatch of Comedy, Mystery, and a Touch of Terror. An early John Farrow Film whose Career had some Highlights in Film-Noir and other Genres. Boris Karloff is given a Non-Monster Role and He makes the Best of it.

But, for some Odd Reason the Best Parts of the Movie are Glossed Over in quick Flashbacks and give way to Irritating, Dated, Date Comedy and some Unappealing Characters. A few Scenes have an Edge of Violence and a Stylish Darkness, but the Movie cannot Recover from the Weak Elements.

A Movie dismissed by many and is really only Recommended for Completists and the Curious. There are some Things to See here but they Come at a Heavy Price. Enduring the Embarrassment of the Silly Stuff and a Combination of Elements that Never Mesh is Burdensome.

What in the world was Karloff doing in this B-picture quicky years after his triumph as The Frankenstein Monster??? Karloff tries his best but nothing could save this snoozer. The plot summary pretty much gives you the entire plot. Tries to be a sassy sexy comedy, a thriller and a who dunnit all at once. Fails miserable at all 3! The "comedy" is sophomoric. There are no real "thrills". The "mystery" wouldn't fool a 5 year old. Lots of good character actors wasted (Regis Toomey, the perpetual sergeant/policeman, "Dobie Gillis'" father Frank Faylen, and others). For Karloff completists only!

Imagine Agatha Christie's Miss Marple in her prime.She would have married a private,unbeknown to her new husband's superiors.As they did not have time enough for a well-deserved honeymoon,they decide to do it military style,that is to say inside the camp.Of course they have to hide away from the staff.To make the matters worse,very mysterious (and even criminal ) things happen and 'official-secrets" might not be secret anymore.In spite of Boris Karloff's presence,it is not really a horror movie,but rather a whodunit:it is not difficult to guess who the murderer is and anyway we have a lady detective.She came "without warning" and she will be very insightful.

When the film begins, Private Eddie Pratt (Eddie Craven) and his new bride, Sally (Marie Wilson) are sneaking onto the military base. Why? These idiots just got married and were looking for a cozy hidden spot in which to consumate their marriage! Romantic, huh?? Well, they just happened upon a dead body...and they hide. Soon, the body is discovered and Eddie and Sally are certainly in hot water. But attention soon switches to Jevries (Boris Karloff)...a man with a very checkered past.

This film was made by the B-movie unit of Warner Brothers....meaning it's short (55 minutes) but has reasonably good production values. It helped that it had Boris Karloff and Regis Toomey (an old reliable B actor) in the picture. The plot itself is pretty much the standard detective film but instead of the usual smart amateur sleuth (often a reporter), here the folks investigating are Army officers....a decent switch from the norm but still a very standard sort of story.

Overall, quite enjoyable for what it is. I might have scored it a 7, but took away a point because the notion of ANYONE taking his new bride onto a military base to boink her....well, that's ridiculous!