Welcome back to my Dark Corner of this Sick World.
‘Who are you and where have you been?’
Directed by Edgar Ulmer, The Amazing Transparent Man was shot back to back
with Ulmer’s Beyond the Time Barrier with a combined shooting time of 2 weeks.
‘Include me a long way out’
So we’re not expecting miracles here.
‘May I present Joey Faust’
Joey Faust is a safecracker and Richard Nixon impersonator,
‘Perhaps you deserve prison’
Who has been mysteriously sprung from prison.
‘I know you’d like an explanation’
The man behind it is Paul Krenner, who needs Faust’s expertise to help him steal radioactive material.
But how will Faust get past security?
and Faust confirms this isn’t a trick by stroking the air two inches above the guinea pig.
'See I touch it, it does it no harm.'
This invisibility ray has been created by Dr Ulof,
an escaped German scientist whom Krenner keeps in his attic.
‘This machine utilises X-ray, alpha beta and omega rays and ultra violet’
'combining them for best effects and not hindering out explorations.'
Yeah, that all holds up.
‘As you can no doubt deduce, a mechanism like this has unlimited possibilities’
Err… no. It makes people invisible, I’ll grant you that,
but beyond that I’d say it’s possibilities are fiercely limited.
‘What do you want?’
Faust is forced to cooperate, and he’s not the only one.
‘What’s in here?’
‘That’s no concern of yours’
In there is Ulof’s daughter, held captive by Krenner to force the scientist to work.
‘What choice have I?’
Can professional lockpick Faust help?
‘You have indicated you could open it’
‘Not now doc, I got problems’
Faust’s a dick, that’s fine, but Ulof sleeps next to the door in a well-stocked laboratory,
I have to think that somewhere amongst that equipment is a way of getting the door open.
‘I imagine you’ve seen enough for one day’
The following day, the experiment proceeds.
‘If you relax Mr Faust there will be no pain.’
Well that’s a relief.
#Screams and electrical buzzing#
Seems like there is pain,
but it works.
Has Faust survived?
'Well do something!'
I didn’t mean grope him.
‘He’s gone’
And he’s quick to get his own back…
and then…
How did you not see this coming?
Yeah we’ll make the guy we’re blackmailing invisible, I can’t see how that could backfire.
Having renegotiated his pay scale Faust does as Krenner instructs, but then goes AWOL to rob a bank,
nothing to see. But then…
this causes an outburst of panic from the customers...
and an outburst of stupidity from accomplice Laura.
‘What’s the matter?’
What’s the matter? He’s visible! The police meanwhile react quite naturally.
‘A man makes himself invisible’
Just another day on the job.
‘What’s so humorous?’
Whatever story there was now quickly deteriorates into...
‘let’s bring this to an ending in the limited locations we’ve already established, because God knows we can’t afford any more’
‘And please try not to be amusing’
Faust returns to pick up Ulof so he can be cured of his erratic invisibility.
‘Doc what’s wrong? Why do I keep appearing and disappearing?’
'I don't know.'
But Ulof guilts him into going back to kill Krenner.
‘Don’t you care what Krenner is doing to your country?’
knowing Krenner’s plans.
‘My aim is to make an entire army invisible, you understand, an entrie army.’
three of the people he employees are only kept there by blackmail over their children‘
My daughter, he’s holding her’
‘If you mention my daughter’s name again you’ll have another hole in your head I promise you’
‘You believe what he told you about your son being alive in prison in Europe’
I just don’t think an army is a practical goal when that’s your hiring policy.
Never the less Faust goes back.
‘There is a man who has unlocked every door except the one to his own soul. Now he has the key’
Nice referencing of Faust’s lockpicking skills almost hiding the meaninglessness of that line.
Faust and Krenner fight, and…
They tampered in God’s domain.
‘Well doctor, you and your friends have succeeded in blowing up half the county’
No wait, he did.
‘It’s a serious problem’
This is moralistic nuclear B movie by numbers and there’s only one way to end it.
‘What would you do?’
I would never watch this film again.
Thanks for watching. If you’d be interested in a better story on this subject then check out my new book
The Vengeance of the Invisible Man here.
Obviously James Whale’s Invisible Man is the classic but what are your top 3 invisible person films?
Let us know in the comments below.
'But you just can't go off and leave me.'