The Invisible Woman (1940)

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Kindly ignore the scathing comments of some of the professional critics. Collectively, the reviewers herein have provided a much more balanced assessment of this fun film: a refreshing comedic take on a subject otherwise treated seriously, except for the later "Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man". Seems rich playboy Richard Russell(John Howard) has been supporting old Professor Gibbs' dubious efforts at inventing. But Russell is suddenly informed by his accountant that he is broke, hence can no longer support Gibbs' research. However, Gibbs says he's on the verge of a revolutionary invention that makes people invisible, and is reversible. Gibbs puts an advertisement in the paper for a volunteer guinea pig. The first to respond is a charming model, Kitty(Virginia Bruce), who has recently been fired by her excessively strict boss, Mr. Growley(Charles Lane), who lives up to his name. Kitty would like to become invisible to help her teach Mr. Growley a lesson. Probably the funniest part of the film is where Kitty, in her invisible guise, descends on Mr. Growley, creating havoc in his office and the outside showroom area. Much reminds me of "9 to 5". Fortunately, in response, Mr. Growley institutes a more lenient attitude toward his girls, and gives Kitty back her job, not knowing she was the angry spirit.When gangster Blackie learns of this wondrous invention, he sends 3 goons(Shemp Howard, Edward Brophy, and Donald McBride) to steal it and bring it back to his Mexico hideout. He wants to become invisible, so he can return to the US. The goons enter Gibbs' lab when he's not there,and stuff his complicated electronic equipment in their car. But when they try it out in Mexico, they can't get it to work. So, Blackie orders that they kidnap Gibbs so he can show them how it works(They're missing the liquid potion part of the formula). They take visible Kitty, as well("We're not going for a drive, we're being taken for a ride" she quips). When they get to the Mexican hideout, it's visible Kitty who manages to become invisible, and knocks the gangsters unconscious. She then proceeds to firm up her flirtation with Russell, who feels he has a gold mine in this invention.I haven't mentioned Russell's butler, George(Charles Ruggles), who has a significant role in dealing with Kitty's invisibility in Russell's mansion or fishing lodge. Among other things, she picks up a cat, which George interprets as a flying cat, and throws it to George.Currently available at YouTube, although that copy has a number of pauses in the first half. Just back up a little and run it again.

The original Invisible Man film definitely had some humor, and though the film was mainly science fiction/horror, these humorous moments worked well as a garnish. This second "sequel" goes totally over the edge (even Shemp Howard of The Three Stooges fame is in it), nearing Abbott and Costello territory, though unlike their films with Universal, this isn't really funny. As there were in the previous films, there are still some impressive optical effects.At only one hour and thirteen minutes, I wouldn't quite say it's difficult to sit through, but if it was much longer it would be. There is one golden line amongst the vast majority of jokes that just fall flat, "Any girl that'd become invisible can't be very easy on the eyes."

Played strictly for laughs, I'm hard-pressed to label "The Invisible Woman" a horror film, but the movie does feature within the "The Invisible Man" Universal Studios franchise even if it stands alone from the first two films. A professor and friend to a rich family who have been providing funding to his experiments for years, Gibbs (John Barrymore), has finally hit pay dirt, having developed an "invisible machine". Miss Kitty Caroll (Virginia Bruce; receiving top billing, although she's barely visible during most of the running time, her voice depended on to earn giggles) answers an ad to be the human guinea pig to be turned invisible, her reason to frighten a grumpy, horrible boss for a modeling company (she is a model and one of his many victims; we see in the sequence where she uses her invisibility to scare him that he fires a girl because she has a cold!). Gibbs promises millions to broke playboy Richard Russell (John Howard) when the results of lots of money poured into his experiments proves successful. Sufficed to say, complications ensue. George (Charlie Ruggles), the butler, is the main source of comedy, his slapstick, physical comedy, and dialogue always on the silly side... He often faints, and gets nervous very easily, stuttering and quivering like a ninny. With goofy mobsters (including Shemp Howard of Three Stooges fame) after the invisibility (boss Oscar Homolka(William Castle's "Mr. Sardonicas") wants to become invisible so he can return to America, remaining a fugitive in Mexico), "The Invisible Woman" never remotely approaches horrifying, so you might as well place this as an invisibility comedy alongside "Now You See Him, Now You Don't" or "Memoirs of the Invisible Man". There are plenty of special effects featuring shenanigans involving Kitty (she gets drunk on Russell's well stocked booze when Gibbs and her go to Richard's hideaway hunting lodge, and we see the bottle pouring scotch into a glass while Kitty is invisible), such as a missing head while she is in dresses, a club bopping mobsters on the head (knocking them unconscious), and often foiling Homolka and his goons. Definitely inferior to the previous films which had a level of intensity in the storyline due to the progressing madness caused by remaining invisible (with an antidote hard to come by), "The Invisible Woman", nevertheless, has its fun moments thanks to a game cast playfully giving over to the kooky screenplay and dialogue.

This is the most wonderful Invisible Woman movie I have ever seen in my entire life. That Virgina Bruce is one beautiful woman. The best part of the movie is Virgina Bruce puts on stockings over her invisible bare legs was the part I loved the most. Even I think Natalie Portman; Renee Zellweger; Carmen Electra; Megan Fox; Kirsten Dunst; Anne Hathaway would love to have the role as the invisible woman. The 1983 version shows Alexa (Alexandra) Hamilton putting on pantyhose over her invisible legs was an excellent part I loved also. Perhaps the original 1940 version of the Invisible Woman should come out on Blu-Ray which has not been made yet. It would be nice to see the original classic in high definition.