Invisible Agent was a 1942 science fiction film from Universal. This movie was a war-time propaganda production that was part of a Hollywood effort to boost morale at the home front. It loosely echoed a series of formula war-horror films were produced during this period that typically featured a mad scientist working in secret to aid the Third Reich. This article is about the year. ... Poster for The Day the Earth Stood Still, an archetypal science fiction film Science fiction has been a film genre since the earliest days of cinema. ... ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ...

This movie was directed by Edwin L. Marin, and the screenplay was written by Curt Siodmak, who had co-written the earlier The Invisible Man Returns in 1940. Siodmak was a refugee from Nazi Germany, and he gave the film a strong anti-Nazi tone that treated the Nazi's as incompetent buffoons. (A scene reportedly edited from the film had the hero placing a boot into Hitler's backside, following an official ban on all such images.) Curt Siodmak (1907–2000) was the author of Donovans Brain. ... The Invisible Man Returns was a 1940 horror, science fiction film from New Universal. ... 1940 was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945, standard German pronunciation in the IPA) was the Führer (leader) of the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi Party) and of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. ...

The concept for the story was inspired by The Invisible Man, a science fiction novel by H. G. Wells. Wells had signed a deal with Universal to allow a series of movies based on his work, which began with the successful 1933 film by the same name, but was now beginning to run out of steam. 1940s paperback edition The Invisible Man is a famous 1897 science fiction novel by H.G. Wells. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... H. G. Wells at the door of his house at Sandgate Herbert George Wells (September 21, 1866 – August 13, 1946) was a British writer best known for his science fiction novels such as The War of the Worlds and The Time Machine. ... 1933 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

For the cast, the invisible agent is played by Jon Hall, with Peter Lorre and Sir Cedric Hardwicke performing as members of the axis, and Ilona Massey and Albert Basserman as allied spies. The special effects were produced by John P. Fulton, who had created the effects for Universal's previous "invisible man" films. The movie was filmed in black and white with mono sound and ran for 81 minutes. Jon maddog Hall is the Executive Director of Linux International [1], a non-profit association of computer vendors who wish to support and promote the Linux operating system. ... Peter Lorre, 1946, by Yousuf Karsh Peter Lorre (June 26, 1904 – March 23, 1964) was an actor especially known for playing roles with sinister overtones in Hollywood crime films and mysteries. ... Sir Cedric Webster Hardwicke (February 19, 1893 - August 6, 1964) was a British actor. ... Albert Basserman (September 7, 1867 – May 15, 1952) was an actor. ...

Plot

The grandson of Dr. Jack Griffin, the original invisible man, has emigrated to the United States and now ran a print shop in Manhattan under the assumed name of Frank Raymond (Hall). In his shop he is confronted by four armed men who reveal that they know his true identity. One of the men, Conrad Stauffer (Hardwicke), is a ranking member of the S.S., while a second, Baron Ikito (Lorre), is Japanese. They are seeking the invisibility formula and threaten disfigurement if it is not revealed. He just manages to escape with the formula in his hands. Manhattan Borough,highlighted in yellow, lies between the East River and the Hudson River. ... SS or ss or Ss may be: The Schutzstaffel, a Nazi paramilitary force Steamship (SS) (ship prefix) The United States Secret Service A submarine not powered by nuclear energy (SS) (United States Navy designator), see SSN A Soviet/Russian surface-to-surface missile, as listed by NATO reporting name Shortstop...

Griffin is reluctant to release the formula to the U.S. government officials and only agrees to limited cooperation following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. (The restriction being that the formula can only be used on himself.) After being rendered invisible, he is parachuted behind German lines on a secret mission. Satellite image of Pearl Harbor. ...

After landing Griffin returns to a visible state and makes contact with a carpenter Arnold Schmidt (Basserman) who reveals his mission. He is to obtain a list of Japanese spies within the U.S. The list was in the possession of Stauffer. Griffin is aided in his task by Maria Sorenson (Massey), a British spy and the love interest of Stauffer. Griffin manages to obtain the list despite a confrontation with Stauffer, and returns it to his contact.

The plot thickens as Griffin steals into a German prison to obtain information about a planned German attack on New York city. He returns to Schmidt, who in the meanwhile has been arrested. At the shop he is captured by Ikito using a net trap. Griffin and Sorensen are taken to the Japanese embassy, but manage to escape during the mayhem that ensues when Stauffer's men arrive. The couple escape in one of the aircraft slated for the New York attack and then make their way to England and safety. Midtown Manhattan, looking north from the Empire State Building, 2005 New York City (officially named the City of New York) is the most populous city in the United States, the most densely populated major city in North America, and is at the center of international finance, politics, entertainment, and culture. ... A diplomatic mission is a group of people from one nation state present in another nation state to represent the sending state in the receiving State. ...

This film had a series of flaws in logic that requires a certain suspension of disbelief. The owner of the secret formula for invisibility is dropped behind German lines where he is at great risk of capture. Then, rather than just moving about invisibly and retrieving the information, he spends part of his time visible further increasing the risk.

References

• Michael Brunas; John Brunas; Tom Weaver, Universal Horrors: The Studis' Classic Films, 1931-1946, McFarland & Co., 1990, ISBN 0-89950-369-1.

External links

• Invisible Agent at the Internet Movie Database