hte-trasme Considering it's quick, cheap Monogram Pictures pedigree, this film is has a surprising amount to recommend it. Though the lucks of funds allotted to it shows, it uses the limitation to it's advantage, producing a tense, claustrophobic film set almost entirely in one house seemingly cursed by repeated murders.Bela Lugosi is more genre-cast than type-cast in this film. While it's still a suspense thriller, he is for once given a sympathetic role, he he plays it to the hilt, giving a very sympathetic performance as a man devastated completely after being left by his wife. It's both a strength and a flaw in entertainment terms, though, that the script of this film is utterly strange and bonkers. Lugosi's wife has lost her memory and sanity, and is being fed and hidden away by Kessler's (Lugosi's gardener). She likes to wander around at night in a spectral fashion, whereupon Kessler has a tendency to see her, then go temporarily insane and kill somebody. On this occasion, he kills the crazy ex of his daughter's fiancé Ralph, causing Ralph to take the blame for the murder and be executed. Then Ralph's twin brother shows up from abroad and help investigate the murders.Yes, it's that odd a plot. Which makes it totally unbelievable, but also loads of fun to watch. I liked that it depended on psychological horror, and that the "Invisible Ghost" of the title was invisible because there wasn't one.While I'm sure the direction was done under time constraints, there are a number of nice shots, and Joseph H. Lewis conveys a lot of information evocatively and visually in a scenario that requires a lot of information to be transmitted quickly.All in a all, a good showcase for Lugosi in what's actually rather a tragic and sympathetic role, and some nice creepy film-making around a scenario that's completely ludicrous -- but entertainingly ludicrous!

BlowPop4203 I adored this movie.Part of that might have been because for whatever reason last night when watching it, I could only see Bela Lugosi as Dracula. So, it was basically Dracula mourning the loss of his wife and then being put in a hypnotic trance for the whole movie.My sides hurt from laughter afterwards.The title initially confused me but after watching it, the title made a hell of a lot more sense to me.I am partial to older movies (mostly because they make me laugh same with really bad movies because they're hilarious) and this one was no exception for me.

morrison-dylan-fan Picking up a parcel from the local collection office,I was shocked to discover that an extremely kind IMDb'er had sent me a Mill Creek boxset,jam packed with a number of great sounding titles.With the "Horror Challenge" being held on the IMDb Horror board in a few days time,I decided to take a closer look at the titles contained in the set.Being in the mood of taking a look at another movie of Bela Lugosi's pre-Ed Wood low-budget era due to having found Lugosi's Ape Man to be a wild,wacky title,I was delighted to discover a more serious sounding Lugosi title contained in the boxset.The plot:Keeping hold of the things that he held dear to his wife,despite her having recently left him for a younger man,Mr.Kessler celebrates their wedding anniversary all on his own, as a mark of respect for how deep the vows that he made to his wife are contained within his heart.Distressed over seeing Kessler's waiting for his wife's return to have no end in sight,and also seeing Kessler's daughter become desperate to pull her dad out of this dark trance,loyal servant Jules begins to seriously wonder if he should tell Kessler that instead of being away with her boyfriend,his wife is actually hidden in a darken corner of the house,after being pulled from a car crash that has left her permanently brain damaged.Fearing that Kessler's and his wife's reaction to each other might make things worse than they already are,Jules decides to stay quiet,and keep the secret all to himself.Getting ready for bed,Kessler suddenly hears a strange tapping noise coming from outside a window in the living room.Entering the living room,Kessler discovers that the tapping sound is being made by the "ghost" of his wife.Shocked at what he is seeing,Kessler finds himself unable to deal with the supernatural sight in front of him,which leads to Kessler's sweet nature being left in ruins,when "the image" causes Kessler to have a strong desire to go on a killing spree.View on the film:After having been disappointed by the flat directing style of past titles that I have seen in the public domain,I was happily caught by surprise,thanks to director Joseph H.Lewis showing a keen eye in creating a wonderful Gothic chill.Keeping 95% of the movies setting limited to the Kessler house,Lewis uses tracking shots to show the shadow that is being cast around the darkest corners of the Kessler's lives,and also expertly covers the movie in rain,so as to create a wonderful atmosphere of there being no where for the character's to run away from Kessler's murderous urges.Whilst the screenplay sadly avoids trying to look at the psychological reasons behind Kessler's changing personality,the screenplay by Al and Helen Martin takes things into an unexpected,sharp proto-Slasher direction,with the Martin's making sure to keep the viewers on their toes by making Kessler attack and kill some of the main character's early on,in scenes,which impressively still have a real edge around them.Showing both sides of Kessler's conflicting personality,Bela Lugosi gives a terrific performance which carefully balances Kessler's warm hearted,wholesome image with the monster that becomes unleashed when the "ghost" of his wife appears.Along with Lugosi,the very pretty Polly Ann Young gives a good performance as the Kessler's daughter Virgina,with Young showing Virgina being unable to stop the "invisible ghost" from taking over her dad's life.

Zbigniew_Krycsiwiki I loved the high, wide-angel shots looking down a flight of stairs, overlooking the foyer, and the great set designs and lighting in the dark, old house. One cannot miss, nor forget, the shot of Lugosi menacingly staring out the window just before 14 minutes into film; and Lugosi being filmed through the burning fireplace, giving him an even more devilish look. Sometimes harsh black-and-white photography mixes quite well with the more subdued, almost washed-out look the film has during some calmer, tranquil scenes. Well done camera-work and lighting, and impressive set designs, are assets to the film as well as Lugosi's always entertaining presence, in a (sort of) out-of-type character for him. Instead of playing a quieter villain, here, his character is a kindly old man who is completely unaware of the crimes he is committing under hypnosis. I have not mentioned the plot of this film for a reason: it's quite confusing, inconclusive, and at times, downright silly: Lugosi is a sleepwalking killer, who has murdered women in a similar fashion in his dark, old house, after the sudden loss of his beloved wife.Yes, well, I said it was confusing and inconclusive. It's worth a look for Lugosi fans, but film is far from his best, and non-Lugosi fans will be quickly bored with it.