In today's Universal Picture's story, Frank Raymond, grandson of the original Invisible Man, still has the old invisibility formula but considers it too dangerous to use, even when some Axis agents try to get their hands it. When Pearl Harbor is attacked though, it brings him to volunteer his services as an invisible agent inside Germany.
This one stars Jon (MONSTER FROM THE SURF) Hall as Frank Raymond, Ilona (FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN) Massey as Maria Sorenson, Peter (BEAST WITH FIVE FINGERS) Lorre as Baron Ikito and Cedric (THE GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN) Hardwicke as Conrad Stauffer.
Here's the evil Japanese agent Baron Ikito using any method to get people to cooperate!
After the Pearl Harbor attack, Frank shoots himself up with the invisibility formula before parachuting into Germany. He's invisible before hitting the ground and has the Nazi's wondering what the Hell just happened when they only find the parachute without a body!
His contact in Germany is Maria Sorenson, she's surprised to (not) see her invisible guest.
J. Edward Bromberg plays Karl Heiser, he visits Maria and tries to put the make on her, but, what he doesn't realize is that Frank is in the room with them. Heiser is a soggy mess by the time he leaves her house, totally humiliated and confused by what has just happened to him!
Great shot of Frank after applying make-up to his face!
Frank's surrounded by Nazis after they realize that they have him trapped in a room. He sets the place on fire and beats the crap out of the unprepared Germans in the confusion, after calling the fire department!..
This Nazi gets a face full of ink after Frank lobs an ink well at him, then, he scurries down the ladder after the firemen arrive to the scene, totally getting away!
Baron Ikito is pretty damn mad at Nazi Conrad Stauffer after a book with all the names of Japanese agents in the US is stolen by Frank. In fact, Ikito stabs him to death later in the story!
Heiser has been imprisoned after his ravings about an invisible man at his dinner with Maria! Frank is in the cell and makes a deal with Meiser for his help to drive him to a destination.
Then, the Japanese implement a plan to capture Frank. They drop a net lined with fish hooks onto him and take him to their secret location. Keye Luke plays the surgeon who removes the hooks from Frank's flesh. Notice that the hooks in the first shot don't match the ones removed.
Frank and Maria steal one of the bombers scheduled to make an attack on America, he then bombs the others planes when they make a pass over them. Maria is flying the bomber!
They take the plane to England and parachute out just before the bomber is hit by flack!
Frank is in the hospital when he finds out that Maria is actually a double agent working for the US! It's a happy ending all the way around!.. Tune in on Wednesday when Eegah!! body slams yet another Dungeon offering!
Ilona Massey was in Love Happy (1949), the last movie that the Marx Brothers made as a team. She played Madame Egelichi, a femme fatale.
ReplyDeleteMilton Caniff hired her to model for him, and she was the inspiration for Madame Lynx, a seductive spy in the Steve Canyon comic strip.
Ilona was a refugee from Eastern Europe, and was an outspoken critic of communism during the Cold War.
Jon Hall was also in The Invisible Man's Revenge (1944), which had no continuity with any of Universal's previous Invisible Man films. His character was named Robert Griffin, but he did not appear to be related to the original Invisible Man (Claude Rains), and did not know anything about the invisibility formula. And the scientist (John Carradine) who created an invisibility drug was not related to the Griffin family.
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