The Invisible Boy

The Invisible Boy (1957)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

After beating his scientist father at a game a chess, ten-year-old Timmy (Richard Eyer) gets to rebuild Robby the Robot and soon the two of them are going up against an evil computer that has plans on controlling the world.

Obviously the main goal of THE INVISIBLE BOY was to get Robby the Robot back into a picture after he was a huge success in FORBIDDEN PLANET but sadly the end result is pretty much a disaster from the word go. There's no doubt that the decade offered much worse sci-fi movies but you have to say that this here can go down as one of the most dispapointing and especially when you consider that a major company was behind it. There are countless things wrong with this picture including the screenplay, the performances and the overall tone of the thing leads to some pretty bad and rather embarrassing scenes.

I think the biggest problem is the screenplay. I'm going to say that the "plan" by the computer is a pretty good one and when you think about it, the plans at least makes sense. The problem is that the screenplay is so uneven that it's hard to take anything going on very serious. I say this because the overall tone of the movie is that as a children's film and this here leads to some "comedy" moments that are just downright bad at times. Even worse is that we're treated to some really bad scenes that I think are meant for humor but they just come across embarrassing. One such scene is when mommy and daddy are about to mess around and the boy, who has been hiding in the room, starts giggling. What follows is just weird to say the least. The "serious" nature of the film never really comes into play so the rather good idea about the computer taking over the world is just wasted.

The performances really aren't anything to brag about either and that includes Eyer as the young boy. He's certainly not horrible but at the same time he really doesn't keep you entertained. Phillip Abbott is pretty bland as the father but it's Diane Brewster who comes off the worse but I'm going to guess her poorly written character has something to do with this. Even the special effects in the film are pretty bland and especially those dealing with the boy turning invisible. As far as Robby the Robot goes, he's entertaining but basically just gets lost in the background of this rather bad film.

At every turn the extraordinary is dismissed with casual abandon. I think a formula was used to determine the dialog in this film, especially where interaction between the boy and his parents are concerned. What would a normal person be to expected to say in a given situation, use an opposite response. I focus on dialog because dialog is what I have the most trouble with in this film. The few times I have seen this I have wondered at what seems to be totally disconnected reactions to strikingly bizarre situations, and I have come to the conclusion that it was done on purpose. I have no insight into the minds of writers or directors, but considering the weak story, something needed to be done to make a potentially really boring plot engender at least a little interest. Even at the risk of making a silly movie. Another possibility is that everyone came to work loaded every day. I don't know how to rate it. I will need a time machine to go into the past and become invisible so that I can sit in on the planning of this one.

Interesting precursor to "Colossus, the Forbin Project". A child behaves outlandishly after sleep learning seemingly impossible knowledge. He applies his technique first to beating his scientist father at chess in 6 moves and then rebuilding Robby the Robot (of "Forbidden Planet" fame). Any child would enjoy the adventures of this rather naughty boy. Adults not too jaded by current "action movies" should enjoy it too.

Such a strange film. One that doesn't really know which gimmick to run with: the super computer, the borrowed and infamous Robby the robot, invisibility, or space travel. It's a schizophrenic jumble of the time's sci-fi staples, with absurdly weak links. Still, I can't say it was ever dull.

One thing that struck me about this picture, was the dry humor involving the Scientist father. He reacts almost casually to his son's sudden intelligence boost and invisibility. It comes off like a satire of the Cleaver-type family, and was a welcome surprise.

Give this one a chance if you catch it on Turner Classic Movies one night. But I wouldn't recommend seeking it out for purchase.

Some movie trivia sleuths consider this film to be sort of a "sequel" to Forbidden Planet" (also a Nick Nayfack production). Look for a scene early in the film where the disassembled "Robby" is found in a present-day scientist's store room, with notes indicating the scientist had developed a way of going into the future, where he obtained the robot. Also in this room is a picture that the young boy comments on, showing "Robby" emerging from the Forbidden Planet saucer ship at the "Chicago Spaceport" in the year 2242, inferring that Commander Adams, Altaira, and the rest of the crew made it back to Earth safely after the Krell furnaces caused the explosion of Altair IV at the end of that film.