The Body Disappears

This frantic Warner 'B' comedy about how millionaire Jeffrey Lynne copes with being invisible succeeds, in large part, because of the great, great comedy chops of Everett Horton, who takes over the movie as the mad scientist who turns him invisible. Well, he's not mad, actually. He is, in fact, quite amiable, so amiable that he allows his colleagues to send him to an insane asylum after a lovely variation on the "Mayhem in the Classroom" vaudeville sketch.

Jane Wyman is also on hand doing her wide-eyed comedy gal, and Willie Best does a decent turn for the era. The cast is filled out by the usual competent Warners B cast of the the era.

Jeffrey Lynne, as the lead, is given very little do do and his plot is disposed of efficiently. This pretty much describes Mr. Lynne's career. But this comedy remains with some reasonable pleasures in it.

This is one of those thin little comedies that played the second half of a double bill back in the '40s. EDWARD EVERETT HORTON has a tailor-made role as an eccentric scientist who has inadvertently developed a serum that can make people invisible. On this one-note thread, the whole plot ambles on for little more than an hour in what seems like an endless comedy of errors.

While Horton at least does his best to keep things lively, poor JEFFREY LYNN has little more to do than pop up once in awhile in the flesh--remaining invisible for a good portion of the film. JANE WYMAN has the hapless task of making all the silly shenanigans look less foolish than they are--but she rarely succeeds. And WILLIE BEST does his best to look frantic and frightened by all the invisibility going on around him, as Horton's wide-eyed assistant in his usual stereotyped role as a black man.

It passes the time quickly but there's little substance to any of the plot with some nice cast members striving to make it agreeable enough--CRAIG STEVENS, MARGUERITE CHAPMAN and David BRUCE among them.

In addition to the original "Invisible Man" and its later sequels, Universal Studios made some comedic versions of the Invisible Man stories. "The Invisible Girl" was a comedy starring John Barrymore, there was "Abbott & Costello Meet the Invisible Man" and here we have "The Body Disappears"...yet another comedy using the same invisibility gimmick.

The story begins in a courtroom and the story is told through flashbacks as the folks testify. Apparently, they believe someone killed Peter (Jeffery Lynn) and they explain how he's not dead...just invisible. What follows is a silly story that is extremely enjoyable and cute...and well worth seeing.

Jeffrey Lynn was one of the most attractive and interesting actors of the 1940s and early fifties. What a shame that he is invisible for most of this silly endeavor.

Be assured that this is no "Invisible Man." Claude Rains was a great actor and he was superb in the excellent movie. This one is lightweight and silly.

Movies like this and "Topper," as well as "Blithe Spirit" suffer today from something fro which they cannot be blamed: We are very much accustomed to people disappearing and reappearing and voices coming from nowhere while household objects are moved: We grew up on "Bewitched" and "I Dream of Jeannie." Edward Everett Horton gets billing under Lynn and Jane Wyman, quite good playing Horton's daughter. But he is the central figure. And he is surprisingly unappealing. He dithers as usual but he is a scientist who seems to have no regard for life so long as he gets his experiments completed.

Willie Best, so often cast and directed to play the most embarrassing stereotype of a black man, here comes through better than many, certainly better than Horton: Before the tile (human) body disappears, Horton is experimenting on a monkey named Charlie.

His character shows no concern for the animal's well being or comfort. Best does.

The movie is entertaining enough but it is a one-note joke. As it moves on, its 72 minutes begin to feel as if they need a roadshow-style intermission -- during which much of the audience would flee..

E.E. Horton, the pro, was already 55 when he made this one... he's still in pretty good shape, and this caper movie required a lot of energy! if you haven't seen him in my favorites "Lost Horizons" or "Top Hat", you gotta rent those! The first 1/2 hour is fast paced, and things move right along. You don't have time to get bored. Pretty good special effects too, as the Professor and Willie turn Peter DeHaven (Jeff Jynn) invisible.... of course, his daughter Joan (the lovely and talented Jane Wyman) catches them, and now they have to explain what they are up to.... and these crazy goings on threaten to interrupt the wedding of DeHaven and Christine Lunceford (Marguerite Chapman). AND, it's got invisible monkeys, too! Fun, if you can keep up with it. A little silly, but what the hey. We don't hear much about this one, probably because it was released ONE day before Pearl Harbor Day, December 1941.... Directed by Ross Lederman, who was married to "Doris Warner"... I wonder if that's the same Doris, daughter of Harry Warner... This WAS a Warner Brothers film....