The Amazing Transparent Man (1960)

one of my absolute favorites!

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Unusual blend of crime drama and science fiction. Not a bad premise: a escaped (actually kidnapped) con becomes a guinea pig for a old-world doctor's radiation-fueled invisibility experiments. The pacing is pretty good. The main setting, a dilapidated Victorian somewhere in the sticks of the Southwest, adds a creepy dose of isolation.Given the early Cold War's obsession with anything atomic, it's not hard to suspend disbelief as Dr. Ulof (Ivan Triesault) uses stolen radium to change an actual guinea pig, then Douglas Kennedy's Faust into a ghost-like invisible state. What's ludicrous is James Griffith's Major as the psychopathic criminal mastermind. Ulof looks nutty enough to fill both roles. The Major, who's about as military-looking as Anthony Perkins, just gets in the way. He's sort of a desk-job criminal trying too hard to act tough.At least Faust makes a fairly convincing criminal, although his swagger is a couple of pay-grades above his character. I assumed that the Major, whether he's fantasizing about his invisible army, or just out for some quick scores, would focus on using Faust to rob banks. After all, he needs money to finance whatever he's up to. Strangely, though, the robbery that occurs is Faust's idea. It might've been better to stay with the crime theme. In this low-budget territory, there clearly wouldn't be enough guys on the payroll to show an actual 'army,' not to mention the tons of special effects necessary to have some kind of invisible battle scene.The robbery is the best part of the movie. It's well-edited, convincing, even funny. The bag of money floating towards the exit is a great bit. Another good special-effect shows Faust becoming visible, making what seemed an easy heist suddenly problematic. Invisibility isn't a miracle; it's contingent, even dangerous. There's a bit of tragedy when Faust realizes that he will die from radiation.This is a rare instance in 50s-60s sci-fi when the authorities don't waste time denigrating and denying the problem. They don't assume there's a hoax, so they react appropriately. I wish the main characters were more sensibThe main problem with The Amazing Transparent Man is awful acting. I can't see what either Marguerite Chapman or the Julian character add to the movie. As noted in other reviews, Chapman's Laura is an airhead. She'll go along with the last person she talked to, or the one yelling the loudest. Julian is even dumber, and really has nothing to do. Griffith's role isn't interesting enough for him to warrant a side-kick. On the other hand, Ulof's daughter might've been given a bigger role.She could've taken Laura's place and still played Ulof's daughter. As someone has said, why doesn't Ulof make himself invisible and rescue his daughter? Then he does the same to her, he sabotages the equipment, and they both just split. The ending is pretty wild: the fight in the lab leads to the predictable explosion, with a mushroom cloud to top it off.There's some good stuff here, but The Amazing Transparent Man is just too dull between the bright spots.

The Amazing Transparent Man (1960)** (out of 4)A convict (Douglas Kennedy) gets busted out of jail by his girlfriend (Marguerite Chapman) and a scientist (Ivan Triesault) who has plans for the escapee. The scientist wants the master thief to break into a location and steal something that he wants. The way to pull it off? The scientist has come up with an invisible potion so the thief will never be seen but he has his own ideas for the robbery.Edgar G. Ulmer directed this ultra low-budget film that is obviously a take-off on THE INVISIBLE MAN. Ulmer's reputation has really grown over the years but I must admit that I've never been a huge fan of his,although there's no question he had talent and was able to do a lot with a low-budget. He certainly makes this film a lot better than it would have been in the hands of most B-movie directors but there's still no question that there's nothing too good here.The story itself is simple enough at at just under 60 minutes it certainly doesn't feel too long or forced. The best thing about the movie are actually the performances, which are slightly better than you'd expect. This includes Douglas who is very good in the lead role and is so good that you have no time liking him and cheering for him along the way. I thought Triesault also made for a good villain to hiss at. With that said, there's still not much here outside of some cheap B-movie fun. As long as you don't take the film too serious, it is some nice and cheap entertainment.

Fans of the cult director Edgar G. Ulmer may consider this routine, forgettable, but adequately entertaining sci-fi feature to be one of his lesser efforts. Still, one could do worse. It's decently acted, features very amusing visual effects, and is thin enough on story to clock in at a very short 58 minutes. It also leads to a pretty entertaining resolution; as one would say, things end with a bang.Tough guy actor Douglas Kennedy stars as Joey Faust (!), a criminal busted out of jail by nefarious Major Krenner (James Griffith) and his associates. Krenner has forced unhappy scientist Peter Ulof (Ivan Triesault) to perfect a method of turning a man invisible, and Krenner wants to use this method on Faust so that the hood can commit acts of espionage for him. Faust, not surprisingly, has other ideas: he'd rather rob banks.The scenes with the invisible Faust are the most entertaining in this thing, such as when Griffith has to mime being strangled, or the development late in the tale when Fausts' body begins to appear and disappear. The music by Darrell Calker is good, maybe too good for something like this. Kennedy is a hoot as the swaggering Faust, and Griffith is an okay villain. Triesault is pitiable as Ulof, who's had a very hard life. Marguerite Chapman ("Flight to Mars"), in her last feature film, is reasonably engaging as Laura, who finds Fausts' offer of proceeds from potential bank robberies to be too hard to resist. Buffs may be interested to note that veteran character actor Patrick Cranshaw, who achieved fame late in his life and career as Blue in "Old School", plays a security guard here.Certainly the denouement is priceless, as Triesault ends up addressing us directly, hoping that we find the idea of an "invisible army" as appalling as some of the characters in this thing do.Five out of 10.

Extremely compact (57 minutes) yet entertaining story of ruthless safe-cracker (Kennedy), sprung from gaol by a demented former military agent (Griffith) and his cheap-wine associate (Chapman), forced to endure radiation experiments that make him invisible in order to steal guarded uranium deposits so Griffith can build an invisible army to take-over the world. Street-wise Kennedy decides to turn his transparency into an opportunity to pull a bank heist, but things go awry when the invisibility wears off mid-way through the crime.Griffith is an impeccably dressed, meek-looking but sadistic villain, keeping his associates subservient via various forms of duress, Chapman plays the life-of-crime broad, mistreated by Griffith (there's a great scene in which Griffith slaps her twice the second he calls "the dot on the i") seeing an opportunity to make it big with Kennedy's safe-cracking skills. Kennedy is the cornerstone, delivering an economical performance of a career criminal with no pride or patriotism, only a loyalty to his young daughter from whom he's forcibly estranged.You won't get much in your special effects on this budget, nevertheless it's not a bad variation on the "invisible man" theme like an "Outer Limits" or "Twilight Zone" episode with real exteriors and a capable and reasonably distinguished cast. Look out for craggy-faced Pat Cranshaw ("Old School") as an inept security guard in an early film role.