WoodrowTruesmith I love this movie more every time I see it. Sure, there are little gaffes (they get original Invisible Man Jack Griffin's name wrong, and Jon Hall's teeth show up when only his skin is supposed to be visible with cold cream) and there's a regrettable, dated crack about how "Japs all look alike" (especially ironic since Hungarian Peter Lorre looks nothing like Keye Luke (who was Chinese) nor any Japanese you ever met) but in the main, it's one of Universal's best wartime efforts, with some terrific John P. Fulton invisibility tricks. Curtis (Curt) Siodmak's script is surprising, funny and even scary (Lorre and that guillotine paper cutter!) and it moves like lightning. Betrayal is a constant theme, with witty commentary on the treacherous relationship of the Axis "partners" and the mutual backstabbing by the two Nazis played by Cedric Hardwicke and J. Edward Bromberg. ("I pity the Devil when you boys start showing up in bunches," cracks the hero.)The invisibility drug still seems to lead to some kind of madness (its users often have to be "liquidated", per Hardwicke) but apparently the insanity is not as severe as that suffered by Claude Rains or Vincent Price in the previous entries. It makes hero Frank Raymond (née Griffin) both manic and reckless, as well as extremely suspicious of Ilona Massey, an irresistible Mata Hari-type in that negligee...!Siodmak pulls out all the stops for the remarkably violent climax, with a prison break, a nasty fish-hook trap, a Nazi-Japanese brawl, all the villains getting machine-gunned or stabbed or self-disemboweled, a car chase, an air field set ablaze and then bombed, and that parachute escape from the crashing plane...man, wartime audiences must have cheered this thing!

Prichards12345 Invisible Agent has had a pretty low reputation for years amongst horror fans, but that is probably to do with the type of story on display here rather than the quality of the film itself. It's a good, enjoyable adventure movie, a world away from H.G. Wells perhaps; but one only has to look at Universal's identi-kit Mummy series to realise that can only be a good thing. This is a welcome change of pace from the usual formula.Jon Hall plays Frank Griffin, Grandson of Claude Raines' original Invisible Man (and like Lon Chaney Jr in The Wolfman about a foot taller than his progenitor!) Guardian of the secret formula for invisibility he's approached first by the Nazis and then the Allies for aid in the war effort. Guess whom he chooses? In a quite startling opening sequence the head Nazi, played by Sir Cedric Hardwicke in his usual phoned-in style, prepares to use torture to get what he wants, ably aided by Peter Lorre's sinister Japanese Baron, who wants to rid Griffin of several of his fingers...Escaping and later Parachuting into Germany, Griffin, now invisible himself, stumbles on a plot to invade America. With the help of a double agent, the gorgeous Ilona Massey, he sets about turning the tables on Hitler's henchmen.It's slightly curious that the film features both comic and genuinely sinister Nazis who commit torture, shoot people, break old men's fingers etc. But the only real fault is the inclusion of a comedy dinner sequence where the Invisible One mocks J.Edward Bromberg's attempts to woo Massey during a cosy meal for two. It goes on much too long and isn't funny at all.That aside, this is a rewarding and entertaining sci-fi spy thriller, which builds to a rousing climax and is graced by John P Fulton's engaging special effects and the ever brilliant Lorre, possibly the only Hungarian who could convincingly play Japanese. A unique, immensely talented, and fascinating actor; Invisible Agent is worth seeing for him alone.

whpratt1 Enjoyed this great 1942 comedy starring Jon Hall, (Frank Raymond) and Peter Lorre, (Baron Ikto) and Cedric Hardwiche, (Conrad Staffer). Frank uses his grandfather's secret formula which can make a person become invisible in order to find out secret information from Nazi Germany. It is believed that the Nazi's are going to bomb the United States and Frank is set to find out this information. Cedric Hardwicke. (Conrad Stauffer) plays the role as a Nazi officer who wants to catch the Invisible Agent and obtain his secrets. Ilona Massey, (Marie Sorenson) helps Frank Raymond who is very suspicious of her involvement in this situation. There is lots of comedy and Peter Lorre gave a great supporting role. Enjoy.

MARIO GAUCI Of the "Invisible Man" series made by Universal, I was only familiar with the first two (both of which I'll rewatch again presently) - the James Whale original being one of my all-time favorites.Ever since it was released as part of the "Legacy" set, I had mostly read negative opinions about this film - and even Leonard Maltin gives it a pretty low rating. However, I was very surprised by how much I enjoyed it! True, the leads are rather bland (why on earth is Ilona Massey credited before Jon Hall?!) but, then, INVISIBLE AGENT has a formidable trio of villains - Peter Lorre, Sir Cedric Hardwicke and J. Edward Bromberg - going for it (who even make Curt Siodmak's script sound better than it is). Besides, I must say that I'm a sucker for both WWII and espionage movies, so that's a big plus as well...which, I guess, means that it isn't really a horror film and that The Invisible Man is the hero! Oh well, you can't have everything!John P. Fulton's still-impressive special effects (exposed a bit here by the extra clarity of the DVD transfer) deliver the goods and, all in all, the film made me keen to get to the remaining titles in the series.