A Volta do Homem Invisível

THE INVISIBLE MAN RETURNS is really the story of Frank Griffin's brother, Geoffrey (VINCENT PRICE), who is wrongly accused of murder and imprisoned. Helping him escape is a doctor (JOHN SUTTON) who injects him with a serum to make him invisible. Griffin then sets about trying to get to the bottom of who the real murderer is.

That's the only weak spot in the story. The identity of the real murderer is known much too soon rather than stalling the revelation for better suspense.

Lovely NAN GREY (who resembles blonde Brenda Joyce in so many scenes), is excellent as the love interest. She gives a warm and natural performance as the woman who sympathizes with Griffin's plight. VINCENT PRICE is fine until he has to show madness and descends into overacting with his maniacal laughter. SIR CEDRIC HARDWICKE and ALAN NAPIER set the standard for good acting among the supporting cast. Napier is especially effective as a man tormented by the Invisible Man in a scene that takes place in a lonely wooded area.

There are times when the character of Frank Griffin is written in a way that is most unsympathetic and mean spirited and Price is especially nasty in conveying this aspect of his role. In other words, there's a touch of villainy in his performance.

But the story is a clever one, standing apart from the original INVISIBLE MAN that starred Claude Rains and is well done. Some of the special effects may be a bit creaky but understandably so, and nevertheless the film is a fine example of how far those effects had advanced technically by the '40s.

Well worth watching, especially if you're a fan of Universal's horror films.

Universal's first sequel to the Claude Rains classic, whilst not as stylishly bizarre as James Whale's original, is still a very enjoyable sequel. The film stars Vincent Price (who, when he was not covered by bandages or special effects only appears as himself for one minute in the film) as Sir Geoffrey Radcliffe who is condemned for a murder he did not commit, which leads to him to be beg Dr. Frank Griffin (John Sutton) to inject him with the invisibility serum despite Griffin's warning that it will drive him mad. The film went through a few screenwriters and directors before Universal chose Joe May to direct and Lester K. Cole and Curt Siodmak to write the script. Despite being plagued with production problems (the films budget of $243,750 and 27-day filming schedule were not adequate for the special effects and May's time to direct), the movie was a huge hit. It saw the studios back lot turned into an English mining town complete with a coal pile and coal escalator that was 75 feet long, and the special effects by John P. Fulton, Bernard B. Brown and William Hedgcock receive an Oscar nomination.

In general, it seems that sequels seldom live up to the originals. There are just too many examples I can think of when this was the case. In addition, sequels that take an entirely different approach to the original subject matter often are abysmal failures as well (such as the wonderful VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED and it's incredibly awful and saccharine CHILDREN OF THE DAMNED). In light of this, I was very pleasantly surprised to this see that this film, while quite different from the fantastic original, is still an exceptional film.

Much of the reason for the film being so good was that the film was made by Universal Studios during a very productive period for their horror films. They just knew how to put the whole package together to make a dandy film. Additionally, the cast really helped as well, as Vincent Price (mostly just his voice, as he IS invisible through almost all the film), Cedric Hartwicke, Cecil Kellaway and many others worked together to quite nicely. The writing, also, is a big standout, as the film COULD have easily been just another "hack" sequel. Using bits of humor here and there throughout the film and providing a great ending really made this film worth while.

The writer of the summary needs to watch the movie again- Vincent Price is NOT related to the Invisible Man Griffin, nor his brother. His character name is Radcliffe.Personally, I don't think that Price was doing that much over-acting- when the part called for him to be deranged,it seems that his portrayal was accurate. Nan Grey plays her part well- and is as lovely as she was in "Dracula's Daughter." I find Cecil Kellaway's Inspector Sampson to be a little too self-assured in parts, but Alan Napier shows a depth of characterization far beyond that which he would show in his role of Alfred the butler in the 1960s "Batman" television show. Though this sequel is not as impressive as Claude Rains "Invisible Man"-it remains a worthy sequel- far better than "Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man."

It took Universal Studios seven years to produce this sequel to The Invisible Man, but in some regards, it was worth the wait. Geoffrey Radcliffe (Vincent Price) is an innocent man condemned to death for a murder he didn't commit. At the last minute, Radcliffe's gal pal, Helen (Nan Grey), and the friendly mad doctor, Frank Griffin (John Sutton), decide the only way to save Radcliffe is by injecting him with the invisibility serum invented by Jack Griffin. Radcliffe's invisibility enables him to escape the gallows and easily elude the police led by the wily Inspector Sampson (Cecil Kelloway). Radcliffe figures out the identity of the murderer but his behavior soon borders on madness, unsettling Dr. Griffin and Helen. Should they continue to aid Radcliffe or rat him out to the constabulary? Will Radcliffe remain sane long enough to clear his name or will the law have to gun him down like his phantom predecessor, Jack Griffin?

This is a real rarity among sequels in that it is nearly as good as the original. It's one of my favorites in this genre. The story moves along briskly, features some intriguing scenes, and offers some occasional humor. The acting is solid. The special effects though primitive by today's standards are still effective. That doesn't mean it is without it share of faults. Chief among them is why they didn't inject Radcliffe earlier instead of waiting till the day of his execution? Or better yet, inject Helen, so she might solve the crime. Speaking of solving the crime, Radcliffe uncovers the real murderer's identity much too easily. Still, I would love to see Universal Studios remake this someday with a woman as the unseen protagonist/fugitive-Thandie Newton would be my choice. But, knowing Universal Studios, I probably couldn't get that lucky.