The Invisible Woman was a science fiction, comedy film that was released near the end of 1940 by Universal. It followed the successful The Invisible Man Returns film that had been released earlier in the year, but this movie was instead written as a farce that would exploit the humorous possibilities of the invisibility concept. The comedic writers Robert Lees and Fred Rinaldo wrote the screenplay in slapstick style, while H. G. Wells would again be credited as the original author of The Invisible Man. The film was be directed by A. Edward Sutherland. 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. ... Airplane! is considered by some critics to be one of the funniest movies of all time. ... 1940 was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Invisible Man Returns was a 1940 horror, science fiction film from New Universal. ... Robert Lees (aka J. E. Selby) (1913 – June 13, 2004) was a Hollywood screenwriter, famous for writing comedy, including several Abbott and Costello films. ... 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. ... 1940s paperback edition The Invisible Man is a famous 1897 science fiction novel by H.G. Wells. ...

The cast included the aging John Barrymore, Virginia Bruce in the lead role, as well as John Howard, Charlie Ruggles, Charles Lane and Oscar Homolka. Margaret Sullavan had originally been slated for the role of the invisible woman, but the part did not appeal to her and as a result she she did not report for the filming. (As she was under contract with Universal for another film she was issued a restraining order to prevent her from appearing in other films. She later satisfied her contract with a part in the 1941 film Back Street.) John Sidney Blythe (February 15, 1882 – May 29, 1942), better known as John Barrymore, became famous as a Shakespearean actor, lauded for his Hamlet. ... Virginia Bruce (September 29, 1910–February 24, 1982) was an American actress and singer. ... The Honourable John Winston Howard, MP (born 26 July 1939), is an Australian politician and pooped his pants coming to office on 11 March 1996 and winning re-election in 1998, 2001 and 2004. ... Charles (Charlie) Sherman Ruggles (February 8, 1886 - December 23, 1970) was a comic American actor. ... Charles Lane (born January 26, 1905 in San Francisco, California as Charles Gerstle Levinson) is a American character actor. ... Oscar Homolka (August 12, 1898 – January 27, 1978) is an actor. ... Margaret Brooke Sullavan (May 16, 1911 - January 1, 1960) was an American actress. ...

This movie runs for 70 minutes and was filmed in black and white with mono sound. The special effects were produced by John P. Fulton, who earned another nomination for an Oscar following his comparable effects work in The Invisible Man Returns. Although he never won an Oscar for any of his movie performances, the comedian Bob Hope received two honorary Oscars for his contributions to cinema. ...

Plot

The wealthy lawyer Dick Russell (Howard) funds the dotty old inventor Professor Gibbs (Barrymore) to create an invisibility device. The first test subject for this machine is Kitty Carroll (Bruce), a department store model who had been fired from her previous job. The machine proves quite successful, and Kitty uses her invisible state to give a litte payback to her former sadistic boss, Mr. Growley (Lane).

While the Professor and the invisible Kitty are off visiting the lodge of the millionaire Russell, a gangster (Homolka) sends in his gang of moronic thugs to steal the device. With the machine back at their hideout, however, they can't get it to work. By now Kitty has returned to visibility, and the thugs are sent in to kidnap her and Gibbs. However she has learned that some alcohol will restore her to invisibility, and uses this to defeat the gang (with help from Russell).

At the time of its release, this film was considered slightly risqué, and the lead character enjoyed a little role reversal. The madcap comedy elements include slapstick tumbles, some humorous lines, and a lively pace.

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

• The Invisible Woman at the Internet Movie Database