The Amazing Transparent Man (1960)

Directed by Edgar G. Ulmer. Starring Douglas Kennedy, James Griffith, Marquerite Chapman, and Ivan Triesault. USA, Black & White, 57 minutes.


Maj. Paul Krenner (James Griffith) breaks Joey Faust (Douglas Kennedy), master locksmith and safecracker, in hopes to turn him invisible with the help of Dr. Peter Ulof (Ivan Triesault) so he can use him to steal dangerous chemicals he plans to use to create and unstoppable army of invisible soldiers! Oh my word! Naturally, Faust doesn't respond well to this plan, and decides to use his recently-found power to rob banks all over the country! So the only good guy to root for here is the unwilling Dr. Ulof, who Krenner has been using against his will to perform these experiments to serve his ultimate, insane purpose - Taking Over the World!


It sounds riveting, but at a running time of 57 minutes, this Ulmer feature has to cram the entire story, action and special effects into an already poorly written script. And, wait . . . isn't this just a rehash of The Invisible Man but with no real hero to root for? You're damn right it is! And what a boring rehash it is.



Kennedy actually gives a very good performance as a man forced to steal against his will, and steals every scene he's in. But he plays a large part of the film as a voice-over for an invisible man. And the silliness gets extreme when the other actors have to interact with him. When invisible Kennedy hits someone, they make a face and fall to the floor. When he speaks to them, they speak directly into the camera with googly eyes. It's these scenes which make the film such a poor mishmash of science fiction and crime drama; Both genres don't fit well with each other here.

And the other performances stink, really. Marquerite Chapman is as exciting as a block of wood and James Griffith kind of reminded me of Mr. Rogers. I half expected him to change his shoes and ask me if I could be his neighbor.

The direction and cinematography, however, are top notch for a B-movie such as this one. Most of the special effects are pretty convincing, too. If only the other aspects of the film were half as good.

The Basement Says: The Amazing Transparent Man isn't so amazing after all. I wish I had some of that invisibility stuff, though. That stuff was kickin'.

Here are some exciting screenshots. Click for a larger view.