What's this about?

Lately, it seems like many of the movies/shows are just a rehash or reboot of things that have already been done. And so I started to dive into the past. It's been fun, but I find myself losing track of which ones I’ve seen and whether or not I enjoyed them. Sometimes the titles themselves just don't tell me enough to remember.

I wouldn’t have voluntarily watched a lot of these movies when I was younger. It’s strange how interests change. That goes for what I read, too. I have another blog that explores books. I’m mostly reading older fiction and memoirs, and some of the books have led me to movies/shows and vice versa. In those cases, I may post the book review over here as well.

There will be spoilers, which is different than my book reviews. That’s mostly because I want to have enough information to help me remember what I’ve seen. I’m getting older. The brain doesn’t cooperate like it used to. What can I say? The gray hairs are catching up with me!

Sunday, June 9, 2024

The Invisible Woman - 1940

Another strange entry into the Universal Monster movie list is this...film. Sure, it has "invisible" in the title, but that's about all it has to recommend it.

A scatterbrained scientist has been sponging off a rich playboy for quite some time now, but he's finally made a breakthrough! He's made a cat invisible for a brief period of time, so he's ready for a human subject. He puts an ad in the paper and waits for a volunteer.

Kitty wants revenge on her employer, so being invisible sounds great. She lets the Wicked Witch of the West lead her into the screen where she undresses and waits for the machine to "tickle" her. It was strange. How did the scientist know it tickled? Did the cat tell him?

Anyway, there's a subplot with this strange multilingual Hitler-like mobster who has been exiled to Mexico. He has various accents and a bunch of minions. Also, alcohol makes the invisibility unstable (and apparently genetic?).

I knew something was up when the credits popped up on the screen. Shemp Howard (Three Stooges and my mom's favorite) was a major clue. Then Major Applegate (Bringing Up Baby) was the butler who immediately tripped on the evidence of the playboy's party and fell down the stairs. The music was never scary.

I don't know what to say about this one. It's definitely not a monster movie. It was a bit creepy, but not in the way you would think. When one of the guys was reaching out for the invisible woman, I'm wondering what they're going to grab and cringing. The effects were okay I suppose, but I definitely saw the wire a few times. I purposely don't look for those things, so seeing it was funny. I also wasn't a fan of the playboy caring what she looked like so much. She put on stockings and was showing off her legs. Eww. 

The slapstick was strange. When you're expecting to watch a monster movie, the comedy comes out of left field. I mean, it was enjoyable enough, but I remember The Invisible Man. He had side effects from being invisible, and they weren't good. He went insane. Hers just made her an alcoholic? Weird...



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