Framed for his brother’s murder, Geoffrey Radcliffe (Vincent Price) is saved from the gallows by his fiancée, Helen Manson (Nan Grey), and Dr. Frank Griffin (John Sutton), brother of the original Invisible Man, who supply Geoffrey with the invisibility serum. Geoffrey escapes and searches for the real killer, knowing that it won’t be long before the drug drives him insane. The most likely suspect is Richard Cobb (Cedric Hardwicke), who wants Helen for himself.
As sequels go, The Invisible Man Returns is pretty good, but it is a shadow of its predecessor, and like most sequels, the whole thing feels unnecessary. Price’s voice lacked the power it would have in later years, but it was distinct enough to make him a good choice for the faceless lead. Cecil Kellaway, a too often forgotten character actor, also supplied personality to the feature as the police inspector, but the rest of the cast does not fare as well. Hardwicke fails to find anything to do with his underwritten part, Grey is forgettable while she’s on screen, and Sutton manages to be bland and overact at the same time.
Director Joe May tries to strike the same balance of dark comedy and horror that James Whale’s managed in The Invisible Man, but he lacks Whale’s skill and quirky nature, and instead fails to put anything on either side of the scale. The screenplay is of no help, focusing on a mystery that the viewer has solved five minutes in.
But, there is still some good Universal monster fun here, with the bandaged man maniacally laughing. No one can do megalomania like Price. The police attempts to grab Radcliffe make for some nice scenes involving smoke and some tricky plans from both sides.
The finest moment falls outside of the plot. A worn and beaten Invisible Man asks a scarecrow to borrow its clothing. It is heartbreaking, and ranks up with Frankenstein’s Monster pleading for understanding and Dracula noting how wonderful real death would be. It made me feel for the monster, as all the best films do.