Posted By Dan Greenfield on Nov 11, 2026 | 0 comments

WALT WEDNESDAYS!

By WALT GROGAN

Kids growing up in Chicago in the 1960s and ’70s enjoyed the benefit of WGN Television’s Creature Features and WFLD’s Screaming Yellow Theatre, featuring the original Svengoolie, Jerry G. Bishop! Both shows were weekend movie rites of passage and were instrumental in introducing me to many of the great horror movies of the ’30s, ’40s, and ’50s!

To be honest, I haven’t rewatched many of those classic movies, with the exception of Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (my favorite) and The Wolfman, starring the underrated Lon Chaney, Jr. (my second favorite).

As I was strolling through my local public library’s DVD and Blu-ray section, I stumbled across the Blu-ray collection of the Universal Pictures’ Invisible Man movies, which they were promoting for Halloween.

I hadn’t watched any of the films in that series in well over 50 years and it seemed like a good time to rectify that situation. Plus, unbeknownst to me, October 31 was the film’s release anniversary, making it 93 years old less than two weeks ago. So forgive me for squeezing in one last Halloween feature!

I gave it a watch and it was bonkers! And I’ll reveal why with 13 REASONS I LOVE THE INVISIBLE MAN:

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1. Directed by James Whale! You know it’s going to be good with the legendary Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein director helming the film!

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2. It’s a Non-Stop Roller Coaster! With a 111-minute run time, there’s no time for an insufferable introduction or extraneous exposition. It just gets right to the point with actor Claude Rains, dressed in blizzard-encrusted clothes, Ace bandages wrapped around his face, and dark wrap-around glasses covering his eyes, trudging through a snowy English countryside to a nearby pub and inn!

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3. It Gets Right to the Point! Within the first eight minutes, Rains’ Doctor Jack Griffin unwraps his bandage to eat and reveals the central issue: He’s — gasp — invisible! And it’s quickly revealed that he developed an invisibility serum and is racing against time to develop an antidote! But why the hurry?

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4. Una O’Connor is a Hoot! Even a mostly serious movie needs some humor and Una O’Connor as pub/inn owner, Jenny Hall, delivers it in bucketfuls! From her constant, hysterical screaming to her unbridled wide-eyed mugging, she’s a joy to watch!

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5. The Movie Makes No Bones About his Nakedness! Nope, you don’t get to see Griffin naked but it’s made quite clear that he is indeed au naturel when invisible (and goes commando when dressed). And that being invisible in no way protects him from the elements!

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6. It’s a Love Story at its Heart! Although it plays a far backseat, it’s a love story with Griffin’s girlfriend, Flora, in a panic about Griffin’s whereabouts, as the hapless Dr. Kemp pines for, and is rebuked by her!

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7. An Interesting Side-Effect! Rains’ Dr. Griffin mentions that he needs at least a half-hour to digest his food because the meal remains visible inside him until that time, so it must become visible as well! Sadly, we never get to see this realized as it might have been too much for the audience! We do get to see him smoke, however, and I was hoping to see the smoke infiltrate his lungs but perhaps they couldn’t achieve that effect in 1933 or maybe the tobacco lobby wasn’t too keen on that!

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8. An Even Worse Side-Effect! Griffin’s hurry in creating an antidote is revealed, as the major problem with the invisibility serum is that it ultimately causes madness in its host! Griffin becomes increasingly violent and unstable, choosing to frighten the townsfolk with his invisibility.

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9. The Violence is Realistic! One violent scene really got me! Griffin strikes the chief inspector on the head with a chair. And I thought, “No one survives that, or at least comes away with some brain damage!” And sure enough the blow kills the policeman! In most modern action films, characters get thrown into, and sometimes through, walls and just brush themselves off. Here, a smack to the head does the victim in.

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10. Griffin Descends Further into Madness! After threatening Dr. Kemp with death unless he helps him with his plan, Griffin reveals his master design — a reign of terror! His plot? To murder, subjugate, and pillage the populace!

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11. Here We Go Gathering Nuts in May on a Cold and Frosty Morning! Nuts, indeed! In one of the most famous scenes in the movie, Griffin skips down the lane wearing only trousers while singing “Here we go gathering nuts in May, nuts in May, nuts in May. Here we go gathering nuts in May on a cold and frosty morning!” The madness has completely overtaken him!

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12. Claude Rains Remains Invisible through Most of the Film! I’ve got to give it up to Claude Rains! Through 99 percent of the film, he’s either wrapped in bandages or is invisible, doing voice acting! It’s not until the last five seconds of the movie or so that you get to see his face! And this was for his US film debut!

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13. It Did Well Enough to Greenlight a Direct Sequel Seven Years Later! While there were several Invisible Man follow-ups, including the satirical The Invisible Woman, the initial sequel is a continuation of the first film, references it, and uses the madness-inducing serum as a plot point. The sequel stars Vincent Price in the title role and — believe it or not — 1966 Batman’s Alan Napier plays a foreman who runs afoul of the titular character!

One last thing: I’m a big fan of John Landis’ An American Werewolf in London and I was struck by how similar his film’s opening is to The Invisible Man.

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MORE

— Introducing… WALT WEDNESDAYS! Click here.

— BATMAN CONTINUES: The 1989 JERRY ORDWAY Series That Should Have Been. Click here.

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