The Invisible Man Returns (1940) - Turner Classic Movies

The Invisible Man Returns


1h 21m 1940

Brief Synopsis

Framed for the murder of his brother, Geoffrey Radcliffe is scheduled to hang. After a visit from his friend Dr. Frank Griffin, he vanishes mysteriously from prison. Police inspector Sampson realizes that Griffin is the brother of the original Invisible Man and has given Geoffrey the formula to aid his escape. Can Geoffrey elude the police dragnet and track down the real murderer? More importantly, can Griffin discover an antidote before the invisibility formula drives Geoffrey insane?

Film Details

Genre
Horror
Sequel
Release Date
Jan 12, 1940
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Universal Pictures Co.
Distribution Company
Universal Pictures Co.
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Suggested by the novel The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells (London, 1897).

Technical Specs

Duration
1h 21m
Sound
Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
8 reels

Synopsis

On the day that he is to hang for the murder of his brother, Geoffrey Radcliffe is visited by his old friend, Dr. Frank Griffin, who secretly administers a serum that renders the condemned man invisible. Unseen, Geoffrey slips out of prison to find the real murderer of his brother. Soon after, Frank is visited by Inspector Sampson of Scotland Yard, who questions him about the formula for invisibility that his brother discovered nine years earlier. Knowing that the serum caused insanity in his brother, Frank struggles to discover an antidote before his friend goes mad. Meanwhile, Geoffrey, attempting to elude the police, takes refuge in Frank's office, where he learns that Willie Spears, a lowly miner in the Radcliffe mines, has been promoted to the position of mine superintendent by Geoffrey's cousin and heir, Richard Cobb. Suspicious, Geoffrey follows Spears and terrorizes him into confessing that he saw Cobb kill Geoffrey's brother. Geoffrey then confronts Cobb with his guilt, but Cobb escapes and runs into Inspector Sampson, who orders the house surrounded, but Geoffrey disguises himself as a police officer and escapes. As Geoffrey descends into madness, his fiancée, Helen Manson, and Frank try to restrain him, but he tricks them and escapes to continue his pursuit of Cobb. Geoffrey chases Cobb to the mine, and as the two struggle on the coal elevator, Geoffrey is shot by the police and Cobb falls to his death as the cart overturns. Before he dies, however, Cobb confesses to the murder. Geoffrey, suffering from his bullet wound and pneumonia, returns to Helen and Frank. To save his life, Frank administers a blood transfusion that turns out to be the antidote that restores his sanity and visibility.

Film Details

Genre
Horror
Sequel
Release Date
Jan 12, 1940
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Universal Pictures Co.
Distribution Company
Universal Pictures Co.
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Suggested by the novel The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells (London, 1897).

Technical Specs

Duration
1h 21m
Sound
Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
8 reels

Award Nominations

Best Special Effects

1941

Quotes

Trivia

Notes

A pre-production news item in Hollywood Reporter notes that Rowland V. Lee was to have produced and directed this film, and W. P. Lipscomb was to have scripted, but their participation in the final film has not been confirmed. This picture was a sequel to Universal's 1933 film The Invisible Man. John P. Fulton (photographic effects) and Bernard B. Brown and William Hedgecock (sound effects) were nominated for an Academy Award in the Special Effects category.