INVISIBLE AGENT (1942)
History marches on, and the fourth installment in the Invisible Man series is... a World War II propaganda film! Our hero, Frank Griffin (Jon Hall), the grandson of the original Invisible Man, is operating a print shop in America and living under an assumed name. He is found by a squad of German spies, led by Col. Stauffer (Cedric Hardwicke) and Baron Ikito (Peter Lorre), who try to force him to divulge his grandfather's invisibility serum. After a narrow escape, Frank reports the incident to the authorities and is asked courteously by the U.S. government to give the serum to the Allies for their military use. He refuses on the grounds that the formula is too dangerous (after all, it turned his own grandfather into a homicidal lunatic).
Fast forward to the bombing of Pearl Harbor! Now circumstances have changed, and Frank bravely volunteers to take the serum himself and parachute, invisible, behind enemy lines. The Germans are planning a surprise raid on New York City, you see, combined with an attack on USA's manufacturing infrastructure. Intelligence is desperately needed, and Frank is instructed to rendezvous with secret agents who have connections to the Nazi high command. Frank has to outwit the uniformed Nazi officers and stay a step ahead of his pursuers while discriminating friend from foe.
I just enjoyed the heck out of this. The screenplay, again by the Jewish German immigrant Curt Siodmak, is full of zest and creativity. There's something enormously appealing about the heroes and villains mindset of this era. All we need is for a Superhero to go behind the lines and beat the Nazis through a combination of ingenuity and moral superiority. In this way, INVISIBLE AGENT is reminiscent of a Captain America comic (Cap made his first appearance in March 1941). The filmmakers prove there is still a lot of fun to be had with the Invisible Man premise.
The Nazis are mostly portrayed as ridiculous backstabbing buffoons, but you have to admit they make great villains. George Lucas and Steven Spielberg's insight into this point could well have been based on this film. Peter Lorre's deeply unconvincing Japanese Baron[*] was certainly the model for the character of the sadistic interrogator Toht in RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981).
This may be a piece of jingoistic cultural kitsch, but I recommend it highly.
Universal Classic Horror Blog Series Rating:
4 - For everyone
3 - For horror fans only
2 - For classic horror fans only
1 - For Pete's sake
0 - Paging MST3K
[*] The Hungarian born German actor Peter Lorre was Japanese by convention, having played the character of Mr. Moto in eight films between 1937-1939, even though he doesn't look Japanese and they don't bother to apply Asian makeup. A fantastic performer, he is best remembered today for his roles in CASABLANCA (1942), THE MALTESE FALCON (1941), and Fritz Lang's M (1931).
Fast forward to the bombing of Pearl Harbor! Now circumstances have changed, and Frank bravely volunteers to take the serum himself and parachute, invisible, behind enemy lines. The Germans are planning a surprise raid on New York City, you see, combined with an attack on USA's manufacturing infrastructure. Intelligence is desperately needed, and Frank is instructed to rendezvous with secret agents who have connections to the Nazi high command. Frank has to outwit the uniformed Nazi officers and stay a step ahead of his pursuers while discriminating friend from foe.
I just enjoyed the heck out of this. The screenplay, again by the Jewish German immigrant Curt Siodmak, is full of zest and creativity. There's something enormously appealing about the heroes and villains mindset of this era. All we need is for a Superhero to go behind the lines and beat the Nazis through a combination of ingenuity and moral superiority. In this way, INVISIBLE AGENT is reminiscent of a Captain America comic (Cap made his first appearance in March 1941). The filmmakers prove there is still a lot of fun to be had with the Invisible Man premise.
The Nazis are mostly portrayed as ridiculous backstabbing buffoons, but you have to admit they make great villains. George Lucas and Steven Spielberg's insight into this point could well have been based on this film. Peter Lorre's deeply unconvincing Japanese Baron[*] was certainly the model for the character of the sadistic interrogator Toht in RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981).
This may be a piece of jingoistic cultural kitsch, but I recommend it highly.
Universal Classic Horror Blog Series Rating:
4 - For everyone
3 - For horror fans only
2 - For classic horror fans only
1 - For Pete's sake
0 - Paging MST3K
[*] The Hungarian born German actor Peter Lorre was Japanese by convention, having played the character of Mr. Moto in eight films between 1937-1939, even though he doesn't look Japanese and they don't bother to apply Asian makeup. A fantastic performer, he is best remembered today for his roles in CASABLANCA (1942), THE MALTESE FALCON (1941), and Fritz Lang's M (1931).