utgard14 Robert Griffin (Jon Hall) escapes from an asylum and seeks out his old friends, Sir Jasper and Lady Irene (Lester Matthews, Gale Sondergaard). Griffin accuses the two of leaving him for dead in Africa years before and taking full claim for the diamond mine he had discovered, which subsequently made them rich. The two deny this and say they were told Griffin was dead by their guide. They offer to pay him half of what they have but Griffin, now quite insane, refuses and says he wants it all plus their daughter Julie (Evelyn Ankers)! They throw Griffin out, which leads to him meeting up with a Cockney blackmailer (Leon Errol) and eventually a scientist (John Carradine), who enlists him to take part in the inevitable invisibility experiment. The experiment is successful and Griffin, now invisible, returns to get even with Jasper and Irene.Despite being named Griffin, this Invisible Man shares no history with the previous ones. It's John Carradine's scientist who has created the invisibility formula here. Also, Griffin is nuts before the movie begins so the invisibility formula can't be blamed for that. To make matters slightly more confusing, Hall plays the lead here and he also played the lead (another Griffin) in Invisible Agent.The cast helps overcome a messy script. Hall is quite convincing as the psycho Invisible Man. Carradine, as usual, is great as the scientist. Leon Errol seems to ruffle quite a few feathers among viewers, judging by reviews here. His character was pretty much unnecessary but he didn't bother me. Gale Sondergaard is always a treat to watch but she gets little to do and seems to disappear from the story altogether after a half-hour or so. Lester Matthews is fine as the weakling husband who may or may not have left Griffin for dead in Africa. Evelyn Ankers has a thankless part. Halliwell Hobbes is the butler, as he often was in these films.Part of the problem with the story is that no one is that likable. The closest thing to a hero in the movie is Alan Curtis' reporter character and there's something about him that kind of bugged me. Another problem is the script feels uneven, especially in the early part. Reportedly the first draft of the script had Jasper and Irene as much more villainous characters and no doubt was cast on their attempt to kill Griffin, both in Africa as well as upon his showing up at their house in this film. That's not the case in the final version yet the pair still seems unsympathetic, so I wonder why they bothered changing it all, if they did? The special effects are OK, if a little sloppy in some scenes. I think some reviewers have overstated just how sloppy they were. It's not like you see wires in every scene or even most scenes. I think only eagle-eyed viewers will spot most of the flaws with the effects.Overall, it's a good movie of its type. Not great, but watchable B-grade entertainment. It's got a solid cast with a strong performance from Jon Hall in the lead. Still, it's easy to see why Universal stopped the series after this one.

Scott LeBrun This final entry in Universals' "Invisible Man" series is a rather weak one, unfortunately. It's decidedly lacking in any sort of atmosphere, there's too much unfunny comedy relief, too much time wasting going on, and the special effects are substandard (you can clearly see the wires manipulating some of the objects, for one thing). The script is nothing special, either, although the cast does the best that they can.The film does benefit from having its vengeance minded main character be a true s.o.b. The man in question, Robert Griffin (Jon Hall), thinks that his old partners, the Herricks (Gale Sondergaard and Lester Matthews) double crossed him and cheated him out of a fortune in diamonds. So, when he happens upon a nutty scientist, Dr. Drury (the well cast and delightful John Carradine) who's perfected an invisibility process, he volunteers to be the first human guinea pig, and uses his new "appearance" to his advantage.It's a shame to be referring to any of the films from Universals' 1930s and 1940s horror cycle as tiresome, but that's exactly what "The Invisible Man's Revenge" is. It just isn't very involving; it may have some good moments along the way, but they aren't enough to redeem the film. What makes it bearable is a cast featuring some excellent actors. Hall is very amusing as the determined antagonist, and Carradine is a joy to watch; it's nice to see him playing a victim rather than a villain in this sort of thing. Pros such as Halliwell Hobbes, Leyland Hodgson, Doris Lloyd, and Ian Wolfe are solid in small roles. However, Alan Curtis is fairly dull as reporter Mark Foster, and the film gives the lovely Evelyn Ankers precious little to actually do; her character really isn't *that* important to the plot. Leon Errol is good, although his part is an annoying one.Viewers may want to see this for completions' sake, but it's best recommended that they lower their expectations before watching.Five out of 10.

JoeKarlosi Really pedestrian and by-the-numbers stuff here. I just cannot take Jon Hall in the part of the new invisible guy who gets gypped out of his fortune; he's a crass and unlikable S.O.B. and I don't sympathize with his plight at all. Gale Sondergaard and Evelyn Ankers are disgracefully underused to boot. Only John Carradine makes any impression as an eccentric mad doctor who makes Hall invisible. The plot here is all over the place and highly contrived with no real idea where it wants to go. Comedian Leon Errol has a few humorous moments, but he's also got a long dart-throwing gag sequence in the middle of the picture which has nothing to do with the story and is a waste of time. Also pretty stupid is that Jon Hall's character's name just happens to be "Griffin" even though he bears no relation to anyone in the earlier films! I suspect he also wears bandages and dark glasses just because ... well, ... that's what the other guys did. ** out of ****

lugonian THE INVISIBLE MAN'S REVENGE (Universal, 1944), a promising title, directed by Ford Beebe, suggested by "The Invisible Man" by H.G. Wells, returns Jon Hall, recently from THE INVISIBLE AGENT (1942), in another caper revolving around the no-sight and sound about a man out for avenge those who had done him wrong.The story opens on the docks of London where Robert Griffin (Jon Hall) returns after five years of memory loss following a diamond field expedition in Africa. Moments later, a newspaper clipping reveals Griffin to be a homicidal maniac who had escaped from a Capetown Asylum. After acquiring new clothing and a shave, he locates Sir Jasper and Lady Irene Herrick (Lester Matthews and Gale Sondergaard), friends and former partners of the expedition who had left him for dead, to their luxurious mansion and founders of Herrick Mines Ltd., demanding the share of the fortune due him. While talking things over a few drinks, Griffin not only discovers their daughter, Julie (Evelyn Ankers), his former girlfriend, to be engaged to Mark Foster (Alan Curtis), a reporter for the Courier, but finds he's been drugged. Unable to function, Griffin is escorted out by their butler, Cleghorn (Halliwell Hobbes). Half crazed, Griffin is offered assistance by Herbert Higgins (Leon Errol), a drunkard. Afterwards, Griffin stumbles upon the home of Professor Drury (John Carradine), a scientist who has discovered the formula of invisibility. Witnessing his experiment where Drury's dog and other animals are heard but not seen, Griffin volunteers on becoming Drury's human subject. As an invisible man, Griffin gets his revenge, but in the process, does become what he is accused of being, a homicidal maniac.With this being the third "invisible man" story of the 1940s, not counting the comedy outing of "The Invisible Woman" (1940) starring Virginia Bruce in the title role, this latest installment gives some indication that the writers were attempting an original concept to an already unoriginal scenario. With comedian Leon Errol assuming second billing, it's evident he's around for comedy relief. One scene finds him impressing his friends at the pub in a friendly game of darts by hitting a target every time, compliments of his invisible friend.Evelyn Ankers, Universal's resident performer in the horror genre, who arrives 48 minutes into the story, is given little to do, compare to her secondary roles opposite Lon Chaney Jr. in "The Wolf Man" (1941); "The Ghost of Frankenstein" (1942) and "Son of Dracula" (1943), In fact, it's a wonder why Chaney never had the opportunity to assume the role as an invisible man, considering that he's played everything else in regards to Universal monsters. Gale Sondergaard and Lester Matthews do well as friendly thieves, while Leyland Hodgeson as Sir Frederick Travers, Doris Lloyd as Maud, and a dog named Grey Shadow lend some moral support.          An average production that contradicts its predecessors, the screenplay by Bertram Millhauser fails to mention Jack Griffin (Claude Rains) from THE INVISIBLE MAN (1933), to be the true inventor of the invisible formula, thus giving credit to another scientist, Drury. Secondly, Robert Griffin doesn't appear to be related to any of the previous Griffins from the earlier "Invisible Man" stories. His only connection is that he becomes invisible, and the use of the traditional bandages and sunglasses over his head to be seen by others. It would have been logical had Carradine's character been a distant relative to Jack Griffin carrying on his experiment, and using his formula on a human subject, played by Hall, assuming another surname besides Griffin. Had it not been for these inconsistencies, THE INVISIBLE MAN'S REVENGE might have been hailed as a satisfactory entry. Overlooking that, it actually is. Jon Hall may not have the charisma of Rains nor the distinctive voice of Vincent Price, but he does have the distinction of being the only actor to twice play an invisible man on screen, aside the fact that he was playing two different characters bearing the name of Griffin.Formerly available on video and currently on DVD as part of the "Invisble Man" collection, THE INVISIBLE MAN'S REVENGE did have occasional revivals on cable television's Sci-Fi Channel (1990s) and American Movie Classics (2001). Not quite the closing chapter nor the finish of John Fulton's special effects department, Universal concluded this science fiction series with the comedy of ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET THE INVISIBLE MAN (1951), which they most certainly did. (**1/2)