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Released by: Olive Films
Released on: September 22nd, 2015.
Director: Fred C. Brannon
Cast: John Crawford, Richard Webb, Stanley Price, Lane Bradford
Year: 1950
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The Movie:
This twelve-part serial directed by Fred C. Brannon for Republic Pictures in 1950 was also released as a feature film under the title Slaves Of The Invisible Monster. It's not all that original and it subscribes to a lot of the same clichés that a lot of other serials made around the same time subscribe to, but it's fun. Not deep, not all that original really, but fun. And we all like fun, right?
There's a bad guy out there called The Phantom Ruler (Stanley Price), see, and he wants to take over the world as bag guys with names like The Phantom Ruler often do. Thankfully for all of us, there's a tough as nail insurance investigator on the case named Lane Carson (Richard Webb) on the case. Unfortunately for Lane, The Phantom Ruler has an ace up his sleeve in the form of a cloak that he can douse in some bizarre chemical solution that turns him invisible when bright lights are pointed at him. The fact that he looks like a complete buffoon while zipping about in this getup doesn't bother him in the least, and neither does the fact that his super power isn't really all that helpful given the specifics of how it works, but The Phantom Ruler doesn't let this stop him.
As the twelve parts play out, The Phantom Ruler engages in various schemes to get the chemicals that he needs to be occasionally invisible while Lane finds ways to head him off at the pass and keep the chemicals out of his hands. Eventually they get past this, though not before Lane finds himself in some dangerous predicaments - hanging out of a window, trapped under a burning building or flying off a ledge in a car - all in a day's work for an insurance investigator in the fifties. He occasionally get some help from a company woman named Carol Richards (Aline Towne) but this is a man's world, baby, and while Lane doesn't seem to mind having some eye candy on hand to boss around, he's not about to let her get all the glory for the big win…. which of course, in typical serial style, takes place in the last of the twelve chapters (we won't spoil it but it's actually kind of cool).
The performances are fun. Richard Webb plays the hardboiled investigator well. He doesn't take any guff from anybody, and he'll do what he needs to in order to see the job through to the end. Webb's go the right look, the right attitude and even the right voice to make us believe in him. Kids probably thought he was tops when this unspooled through theater projectors decades ago. Aline Towne actually does a pretty good job of giving as good as she gets. Her character isn't all that well written but her performance is tougher than you'd probably wager a character like Carol Richards would be. She's fun to watch here too.
The real star of the show, surprisingly nobody, is Stanley Price as The Phantom Ruler. An actor who appeared in a lot of westerns and a few other serials (King Of The Rocket Men being one of the best), he's got a wonderfully over the top style to his delivery and seems to take his goofy wardrobe choices pretty seriously. Why exactly his character would go to such great lengths for such a ridiculous power is never fully explained (this guy needs huge spotlights pointed at him to become invisible…?) but he's an absolute blast to watch in the part.
Video/Audio/Extras:
The Invisible Monster debuts on Blu-ray from Olive Films in a 1.33.1 fullframe transfer presented in AVC encoded 1080p high definition. Detail here is pretty solid and while some minor print damage is present in the form of some small scratches and specks throughout the film, the source used for the transfer was evidently in fairly good condition. Grain is present throughout the presentation but it never gets so heavy as to distract from the generally solid detail and texture that the HD transfer offers. Black levels are really nice, quite strong, and contrast looks spot on. All in all this is a sharp and crisp image offering surprisingly good texture and contrast along with strong shadow detail. The movie looks quite good in HD, there's nothing to object to here at all. Fans should be quite pleased with the visuals on this release.
The English language DTS-HD Mono Audio track on the disc is pretty good. The score sounds quite strong here and helps to really ramp up the tension in the last twenty minutes or so. The hardboiled Dialogue stays crisp and clear, it's never a problem understanding any of the characters. Levels are well balanced and there's as much depth as you could reasonably expect from an older low budget picture. As it is with a lot of older movies, the limitations of the source material do come through, as they should, but this is a clean track that suits the movie just fine and which doesn't suffer from any serious problems. There are no alternate language options or subtitles of any kind offered on this disc.
There are no extras, just a static menu and chapter selection.
The Final Word:
The Invisible Monster isn't deep but it sure is entertaining. While it is very much a product of its time, you can't short this one for wacky bad guys, ridiculously noble heroes, ham-fisted dialogue aplenty and cliffhanger after cliffhanger after cliffhanger. It's ridiculous, but so too is it a lot of fun.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
