1 - 5/20 TheCAT

February 15, 2002

Robert Griffin (oddly enough, no relation to Jack) was duped and left for dead in Africa several years ago by some business associates who went on to discover a diamond mine. Not only did Griffin lose his fortune but his mind too. Eventually, Griffin escapes from a mental institution and returns to England. He wants his share of the booty but his now wealthy partners refuse and have him chased out by the local sheriff. By chance (or the stroke of the writer’s pen) Griffin encounters Dr. Drury, a screwball scientist in search of a weirdo to test out his new invisibility formula. Griffin sees invisibility as a chance to get the vengeance he craves. So the demented doctor gives him the obligatory injection and presto--Griff is rendered invisible. Now he can torment his double-dealing partners with impunity. Griffin easily frightens his foes into turning over control of their remaining wealth to him. Unfortunately, Griffin wants their daughter too and here in lies the rub. He discovers that his new powers cannot be turned off so easily. Plus, he may vanish at anytime without warning. Griffin kills Drury (he needs blood transfusions to become visible) and now it’s Drury’s dog, a big german shepherd, that wants revenge. At the end of the film he gets it too!

This is a long way from the quality of the original 1933 film, with Claude Rains. There are a few familiar effects and Leon Errol’s attempts to provide comic relief meet with mixed results. It soon becomes apparent that the film has nothing going for it other than invisibility as a gimmick. The plot is wafer thin and poorly written. There is little action to speak of just a lot of standing around and talking or sitting around and talking. Clearly, this was an exercise to squeeze a few more dollars out of an aging franchise. On the bright side, there are some decent invisibility effects, like when Griffin dunks his hand into a fish tank or covers his face in flour. That’s not enough to recommend this film however.

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