The Invisible Man

In Brief: According to James Whale’s intimates, The Invisible Man (1933) was his personal favorite of his films. This pitch-black comedy in horror-movie clothing is certainly one of his best films and one of his most accomplished, making it one of the great classics in any genre. Working with his friend and frequent collaborator, writer R.C. Sherriff, Whale managed to turn H.G. Wells’ source novel into a combination horror film, black comedy and amusing indictment of the British middle class. It’s not accidental that the film’s upper-class characters are sympathetic, its lower-class characters are lovably funny, and its real villain, Dr. Kemp (William Harrigan), is solidly middle class. Kemp is unlikable, unimaginative, sneaky and utterly duplicitous (so much so, we un-wholesomely enjoy his comeuppance). It’s typical of lower-class Whale, who admired, envied and wanted to be upper class (he did his best to reinvent himself in that form) that he’d invariably go after the class he considered to be the most snobbish—an attitude he developed as a soldier in WWI, based on the way he was treated. Everything about The Invisible Man works — from its snowbound opening to its snowy climax. The performances are all good. Rains’ performance is iconic. The effects work holds up nicely 82 years later. And Whale’s visual panache and wit hasn’t dimmed one whit. The cast is made up largely of actors often associated with Whale, especially Gloria Stuart, E.E. Clive, Forrester Harvey and, in her first appearance for him, Una O’Connor. Look quickly and you’ll even catch Whale regular Dwight Frye in an unbilled bit as a reporter.