The Invisible Man

1933
Approved
1h 11m

IMDb RATING

7.6/10

41K

YOUR RATING

Claude Rains, Gloria Stuart, William Harrigan, and Henry Travers in The Invisible Man (1933)

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Body Horror Psychological Horror Slasher Horror Supernatural Horror Horror Sci-Fi

A scientist finds a way of becoming invisible, but in doing so, he becomes murderously insane.A scientist finds a way of becoming invisible, but in doing so, he becomes murderously insane.A scientist finds a way of becoming invisible, but in doing so, he becomes murderously insane.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.6/10

41K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 4 wins & 2 nominations total

Trivia
On the DVD short documentary, Claude Rains' daughter Jessica Rains tells of a time when her father brought her to see a re-release of this movie in the theater in Pennsylvania in 1950. It was bitterly cold and his face was completely covered by a hat and scarf. When he spoke to ask for the tickets, the attendant immediately recognized his voice and wanted to let them in for free. Rains was quite upset at this and demanded that he pay full price.

Goofs
Though the music at the pub comes from a coin-operated player piano, it, along with everyone talking in the pub, stops short at the startling arrival of the Invisible Man.

Quotes
The Invisible Man: We'll begin with a reign of terror, a few murders here and there, murders of great men, murders of little men - well, just to show we make no distinction. I might even wreck a train or two... just these fingers around a signalman's throat, that's all.

Crazy credits
Claude Rains is the only actor in the film whose character is identified in the credits. The roles the other actors play are not identified, even though the cast is listed twice: at the beginning and at the end. Rains is billed as "The Invisible One" in the opening credits and as "The Invisible Man" in the closing credits.

Alternate versions
When the film was released to home video, Universal Studios replaced a snippet of music heard on the radio when Dr. Kemp is reading a newspaper in his house, and the Invisible Man enters through a set of French doors. Universal was unable to secure the rights for the original music and replaced it, covering the original sound effects (the sound of the newspaper and the door latch) in the process. The original music and missing sound effects were restored to the 2012 blu-ray audio.

Connections
Featured in Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror (1942)

Soundtracks
La Rosita
(1923) (uncredited)
Music by Gustave Haenschen
(original version only)

User reviews267

Review

Featured review

8/10

Classic horror

I actually saw The Invisible Man (1933) shortly after I saw the James Whale bio-pic Gods and Monsters (1998), starring Ian MacKellan and Brendan Fraser. So it was with that image of the director in my head that I watched this film. Claude Rains (Casablanca) is perfectly cast as the mad scientist/invisible man. The remainder of the cast, though not really challenged much, are more than serviceable in what they are required to do. As has been mentioned by most of the other posters, the special effects hold up rather well even today. An amazing feat considering the film is over 70 years old! The DVD has several interesting documentaries / commentaries that made me appreciate not only this film's entertainment value but its historical significance as well.