Phantom des Schreckens

Bela Lugosi plays Charles Kessler, a man whose wife left him years ago, apparently is dead, and comes out of a crypt and hypnotizes him so he will kill people by throwing his black cloak over them till they suffocate. Hmmm..okay. This is a real cheapie by Monogram, yet it is entertaining and even has a few inspired bits of direction. Not many, however. The biggest problem with this film is that nothing is really explained about Lugosi and his wife, why she is dead and comes back, what happened to her, etc... We are also to believe that a horde of murders have happened in the house, yet no one has ever really suspected the inhabitants of the house(Lugosi, his daughter, or reliable servant Evans). In fact the murders are taken with a grain of salt as more and more people are attacked by the dreaded cloak and killed. Help must really be hard to find under those circumstances. The film is under an hour in length and surely could have benefited by some deeper exposition. The movie also has some pretty annoying acting by the likes of John McGuire playing twin brothers(yeah right) and George Pembroke as a cigar-chomping policeman. These guys have no range at all. But the other actors are pretty decent, an unusual bonus for a film like this. Polly Ann Young actually is credible in her role as Lugosi's daughter. Betty Compson is effective in her brief role(you might remember her from the silent film era and in early talkies like The Great Gabbo with the great Erich Von Stroheim). Much of the film's credibility is due in large part to the acting of Clarence Muse, the black, dignified butler Evans. Muse plays his part with subtlety and dignity. He does nothing even remotely like the Mantan Moreland scared routine, and really is a pillar of strength for the film to build upon. I definitely would like to see more of him(He does have a brief role with Lugosi in White Zombie as a coach driver). As for Lugosi..what can I say...simply wonderful. He makes the common extraordinary..and is the heart of films like The Invisible Ghost. He keeps it beating long after it would normally have died from the memories of most. Lugosi is seldom over-the-top in this film, and I found it to be one of his more sensitive portrayals. The scenes with him looking out the window at an aged Betty Compson eerily made-up are really the film's best highlights. They are well-crafted mood pieces.

Boy, this is one weird little movie! Bela Lugosi's first of nine films for Monogram Pictures, "Invisible Ghost" (1941) tells the story of Mr. Kessler (Lugosi), whose wife had run away some years before and been injured in a car wreck with another man. What Bela does not know is that his wife is still alive, in a semicomatose state, and being cared for by his gardener in a nearby barn. Unfortunately, whenever Mrs. K takes one of her nocturnal somnambulent strolls and Bela catches a glimpse of her, he becomes a mesmerized maniac and kills off another of his household... Anyway, this Bela outing, while perhaps not quite as much fun as another of his pictures that I saw recently, 1942's "The Corpse Vanishes," is still far, far superior to the surreally stinky "Scared to Death" (1947). It is interestingly shot and features some stylish direction by Joseph H. Lewis, who would go on to helm such cult classics as "Gun Crazy" (1949) and "The Big Combo" (1955). The film moves along quite briskly and manages to pack quite a bit into its brief 64-minute running time. And I like the fact that Bela's butler, as played by Clarence Muse, is devoid of the embarrassing black-stereotype behavior so often encountered in films of that era; indeed, he might be the most dignified character in the entire film. I also like the fact that, unlike so many other Bela films, this one is not presented on yet another awful-looking/sounding DVD from Alpha Video, but rather given a nice, clean treatment from the fine folks at the Roan Group. The bottom line, I suppose, is that "Invisible Ghost" is piffle, but still an engaging and entertaining time killer.

Another cheapie from Monogram, once again casting Lugosi as a hypnotic murderer, lit from below as is expected. This time, however, he's the innocent victim, entranced by the sight of his 'dead' wife who appears beneath his window and seemingly 'commands' him to kill (rather surreptitiously and for a reason not fully explained). Indeed, most of the plot isn't really fully explained, but it's academic. Instead of the plot, concentrate on the director's unusual flair, and the writers' penchant for a decent gag or two. It's these that elevate this slightly above the rest of its kind. Some interesting panning between rooms, and behind furniture, and a memorable shot of Lugosi leering direct to camera from behind his black robe show that director Lewis had, at least, a modicum of creativity. There's also a wicked sense of humour that takes you by surprise, and is handled well enough to complement the thriller element. Sadly, the performances are mundane, especially Lugosi, who, once again mugs and grimaces his way through the part. The film is stolen by Clarence Muse, superb as the amenable butler, Evans - although he does get all the best lines.

I must say, I was a bit surprised after viewing "Invisible Ghost." It

could have been because of Bela Lugosi's sympathetic portrayal

of Charles Kessler, a warm and kind-hearted man, deeply

troubled by his wife's absence. Or ... it could have been Clarence

Muse, playing the black butler sans the usual comic relief.

Whichever way you look at it, "Invisible Ghost" is certainly worthy of

note. Too bad one has to rummage through so many bad movies

to locate the few really good ones. Here we have the late, great

Bela Lugosi, looking better than ever. His portrayal of a sympatheic

man under the control of powers beyond his comprehension is

somewhat of a diversion from previous characters. He's not

sucking the blood of beautiful ingenues. Nope. He's on a murder

rampage, suffocating his victims with a ... bedroom robe?

Okay ... a little quirky. What did you expect? Shakespeare?

What's impressive here is Mr. Lugosi's enormous acting talent.

Lugosi could express more emotion through a simple facial

expression than most actors could through an entire monologue.

He's an excellent example of a talented man giving a performance

greater than the movie itself deserves. No make-up effect or

computer generated effect could ever reproduce this. To this, I hold

Mr. Lugosi up next to Vincent Price ... as a man whose talents

barely reached the public surface. If only he were alive today and

making movies. No doubt he would have been treated with a great

deal more respect and admiration.

And so ... "Invisible Ghost" is a very good movie to enjoy. I was

lucky enough to purchase this along with seven other Lugosi films

in AMC's Monsterfest DVD collection. Pick it up if you get a chance.

It includes movies like "The Human Monster" and the amazing

"White Zombie." While some of these films were hits and others

were misses ... all feature the extraordinary presence of Bela

Lugosi ... certainly one of our greatest actors.

The best way to see this film is to catch an aged, scratched up print with bad sound on late night television. It seems to almost be made for that kind of antique, romantic creakiness.

Bela Lugosi plays a husband who murders his house guests overnight at the command of his hypnotist wife. The story isn't very well executed and is pretty ridiculous, actually, BUT what redeems the film and makes it very worthy of seeing is it's bizarre, ghostly atmosphere. The film is not about suspense, it's about mood. It's all about white figures moving around shadowy black backgrounds. It's about the interiors of the house looking like furnished crypts or like secret rooms not shown on the board of a Clue game.

This whole film is texture. It's very dream-like.