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The Invisible Woman

  • 19401940
  • ApprovedApproved
  • 1h 12m
IMDb RATING
6.0/10
2.8K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
John Barrymore, Virginia Bruce, Oskar Homolka, John Howard, and Charles Ruggles in The Invisible Woman (1940)
Home Video Trailer from Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Play trailer0:39
1 Video
99+ Photos
  • Comedy
  • Romance
  • Sci-Fi
An attractive model with an ulterior motive volunteers as guinea pig for an invisibility machine.An attractive model with an ulterior motive volunteers as guinea pig for an invisibility machine.An attractive model with an ulterior motive volunteers as guinea pig for an invisibility machine.
IMDb RATING
6.0/10
2.8K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • A. Edward Sutherland
  • Writers
    • Curt Siodmak(original story)
    • Joe May(original story)
    • Robert Lees(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Virginia Bruce
    • John Barrymore
    • John Howard
Top credits
  • Director
    • A. Edward Sutherland
  • Writers
    • Curt Siodmak(original story)
    • Joe May(original story)
    • Robert Lees(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Virginia Bruce
    • John Barrymore
    • John Howard
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 45User reviews
    • 42Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 1 nomination total

    Videos1

    The Invisible Woman (1940)
    Trailer 0:39
    The Invisible Woman (1940)

    Photos136

    John Barrymore and Charles Ruggles in The Invisible Woman (1940)
    Virginia Bruce in The Invisible Woman (1940)
    The Invisible Woman (1940)
    Charles Ruggles in The Invisible Woman (1940)
    John Howard in The Invisible Woman (1940)
    Thurston Hall and Charles Ruggles in The Invisible Woman (1940)
    Thurston Hall in The Invisible Woman (1940)
    John Howard in The Invisible Woman (1940)
    Margaret Hamilton in The Invisible Woman (1940)
    John Barrymore and Margaret Hamilton in The Invisible Woman (1940)
    John Barrymore in The Invisible Woman (1940)
    John Barrymore and Harry C. Bradley in The Invisible Woman (1940)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Virginia Bruce
    Virginia Bruce
    • Kitty Carrollas Kitty Carroll
    John Barrymore
    John Barrymore
    • Professor Gibbsas Professor Gibbs
    John Howard
    John Howard
    • Richard Russellas Richard Russell
    Charles Ruggles
    Charles Ruggles
    • Georgeas George
    Oskar Homolka
    Oskar Homolka
    • Blackie Coleas Blackie Cole
    • (as Oscar Homolka)
    Edward Brophy
    Edward Brophy
    • Billas Bill
    Donald MacBride
    Donald MacBride
    • Foghornas Foghorn
    Margaret Hamilton
    Margaret Hamilton
    • Mrs. Jacksonas Mrs. Jackson
    Shemp Howard
    Shemp Howard
    • Frankieas Frankie
    Anne Nagel
    Anne Nagel
    • Jeanas Jean
    Kathryn Adams
    Kathryn Adams
    • Peggyas Peggy
    Maria Montez
    Maria Montez
    • Marieas Marie
    Charles Lane
    Charles Lane
    • Growleyas Growley
    Mary Gordon
    Mary Gordon
    • Mrs. Batesas Mrs. Bates
    Thurston Hall
    Thurston Hall
    • Hudsonas Hudson
    Eddie Conrad
    Eddie Conrad
    • Hernandezas Hernandez
    Harry C. Bradley
    Harry C. Bradley
    • Want-Ad Clerkas Want-Ad Clerk
    • (uncredited)
    Kernan Cripps
    Kernan Cripps
    • Postmanas Postman
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • A. Edward Sutherland
    • Writers
      • Curt Siodmak(original story)
      • Joe May(original story)
      • Robert Lees(screenplay)
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Margaret Sullavan, who owed Universal one picture on an old contract, was originally assigned the starring role. With more attractive roles being floated her way, she balked at appearing in the film, feeling it was beneath her. When she failed to appear for the rehearsals, the studio slapped her with a restraining order preventing her from working anywhere. Eventually she agreed to fulfill her contract by appearing in Back Street (1941) and Virginia Bruce stepped into the role.
    • Goofs
      Virginia Bruce was dressed in black velvet and shot against a black background as part of the special-effects process of making her appear invisible. When the Invisible Woman is undressing in front of a startled Mr. Growley, her black velvet-clad arms are visible whenever they cross in front of her legs or torso.
    • Quotes

      Prof. Gibbs: [to a car] Put yourself into the garage, lazy bones!

    • Connections
      Edited into The Invisible Woman (1966)

    User reviews45

    Review
    Top review
    7/10
    An Opportunity To Become Invisible
    Watching this film, the minute I saw the opening credits and saw who was in the cast, I knew I would enjoy this and I was not disappointed.

    Bela Lugosi was quoted as saying that when Abbott&Costello met Frankenstein some years later, it killed the classic horror genre that Universal was known for. If that was the case, I'm not sure how the genre escaped the executioner here.

    The original film of The Invisible Man saw Claude Rains give one of his great performances as the scientist who becomes invisible, but with the terrible side effect of losing his mind. It's classic acting at its best.

    In The Invisible Woman John Barrymore is the scientist who plays it like a cross between his own Oscar Jaffe in Twentieth Century and Gene Wilder in Young Frankenstein. Barrymore really looks like he's having all kinds of fun with the part. But he's smart enough not to experiment on himself.

    Barrymore is a pet project of playboy John Howard who spends as much money on him as he does settling with women with whom he's had various amours, much to the distraction of Thurston Hall his family attorney. Hall breaks the news to Howard just as Barrymore seems on the verge of a breakthrough. All this is making butler Charlie Ruggles start looking for other employment. That and what follows.

    So much so he's advertised for a human subject in an oblique newspaper ad. Two parties respond to the ad, the first is Virginia Bruce who likes the idea of invisibility. She wants to use it to even some accounts with her boss Charles Lane. Lane runs a department store and Bruce is one of several models he abuses with petty tyranny. Her scenes where she does even accounts are some of the funniest.

    But a second party is also interested, but he doesn't just want to become invisible. Oscar Homolka wants to steal the secret and return to this country from Mexico where he's been living as a fugitive. So he sends henchmen, Edward Brophy, Donald MacBride, and Shemp Howard to steal Barrymore's machine.

    I should point out that unlike Rains's film and other invisible man pictures, Barrymore invents some Young Frankenstein like contraption which you go into and are bombarded with rays to become invisible. In the hands of amateurs the machine does have some interesting side effects and not the ones Claude Rains suffered.

    The Invisible Woman is used as an example of how low Barrymore's career had sunk. Yet even when Barrymore is slowly destroying himself with substance abuse in real life, the man's comic genius is apparent even in a film like this. In fact he led the entire cast in one big orgy of overacting where all these colorful people try to top themselves in scenery chewing.

    The Invisible Woman did get an Academy Award nomination for Special Effects, but lost to Paramount's I Wanted Wings.

    Note in the cast Maria Montez as one of Virginia Bruce's fellow models who shortly would be obtaining short lived stardom in her own genre for Universal Pictures.

    The Invisible Woman is a very funny picture, a really good satire on the horror film genre. Made on a dime so to speak, don't miss it if it's ever broadcast.
    helpful•21
    4
    • bkoganbing
    • Feb 2, 2008

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 27, 1940 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Die unsichtbare Frau
    • Filming locations
      • Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Universal Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    • Budget
      • $269,062 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      1 hour 12 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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