“He's invisible, that's what's the matter with him. If he gets the rest of them clothes off, we'll never catch him in a thousand years.” They’re not talking about Jeff Mohr because if he got his clothes off, no one would want to catch him. Of course, the speaker is talking about the title character in Universal’s Horror Classic, The Invisible Man (1933). Join this episode’s Grue Crew - Whitney Collazo, Joseph Perry, Chad Hunt, and Jeff Mohr - as they take a deep dive into James Whale’s version of the H.G. Wells novel and make plans to go gathering nuts in May.
Decades of Horror: The Classic Era
Episode 50 – The Invisible Man (1933)
Synopsis: A scientist finds a way of becoming invisible, but in doing so, he becomes murderously insane.
Director: James Whale Writers: R.C. Sherriff, (adapted from the novel by) H.G. Wells Special Effects: John P. Fulton Miniatures: Cleo E. Baker Featured Cast: Claude Rains as Dr. Jack Griffin / The Invisible Man Gloria Stuart as Flora Cranley William Harrigan as Dr. Arthur Kemp Henry Travers as Dr. Cranley Una O'Connor as Jenny Hall Forrester Harvey as Herbert Hall Harry Stubbs as Inspector Bird Dudley Digges as Chief Detective E. E. Clive as Constable Jaffers Walter Brennan as Bicycle Owner John Carradine as Informer Suggesting Ink Dwight Frye as Reporter
This is the 6th Universal Horror Classic covered by the DoH Classic Era Grue Crew. Their previous “Universal Horror Classic” episodes are The Creature From the Black Lagoon (1954) - episode 3, The Mummy (1933) - episode 11, Bride of Frankenstein (1935) - episode 14, Dracula (1931) - episode 20, and The Wolf Man (1941) - episode 39. Don’t forget Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) – episode 44 and Phantom of the Opera (1925) - episode 42 (both Universal productions).
Your Grue Crew got a kick out of James Whale’s signature black humor although Joseph felt it didn’t work as well this time around and admits he might not have been in the right mood when he viewed it. Jeff was excited about the high body count in The Invisible Man and the bit parts given to John Carradine, Walter Brennan, and Dwight Frye. The special effects are what caught Whitney’s eye and she expressed gratitude for the painstaking, long hours put in by the pioneers in the pre-digital era. Claude Rains is what tripped Chad’s trigger as he points out The Invisible Man was Rains’ first American film and served as his breakout role. All-in-all, The Invisible Man is a must see movie if you consider yourself a fan of the classic era of horror.
The Decades of Horror: The Classic Era Grue Crew plan to release a new episode every other week. The next episode in our very flexible schedule will be Columbia’s The Devil Commands (1941), starring Boris Karloff.
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