Linkshoch Wonderful Movie

GamerTab That was an excellent one.

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

BA_Harrison There's no ghost in Invisible Ghost, invisible or otherwise. This creaky poverty row potboiler stars Bela Lugosi as Charles Kessler (not a ghost), who laments the loss of his wife (not a ghost), who deserted him for another man a couple of years earlier.Unbeknownst to Mr. Kessler, his wife is actually living in the home of his gardener Jules (not a ghost), who has been looking after the woman, who hasn't been quite right in the head since the car wreck that claimed the life of her lover (dead, but not a ghost). Occasionally, Mrs. Kessler goes on night-time strolls, peering in through the windows of her old home, catching the gaze of her husband. And for some reason, seeing his wife sends Charles into a homicidal trance.Ralph Dickson (not a ghost), fiancé of Charles' daughter Virginia (not a ghost), is wrongly found guilty of Charles' murders and sentenced to death. Following the execution, Ralph's identical brother Paul (not a ghost) arrives at the house searching for answers and is surprised when the killings continue.Not much makes sense about this film, particularly why seeing his wife would cause the otherwise affable Charles to kill, but if you just go with the flow, the film is actually surprisingly watchable. Lugosi puts in an enjoyable turn, and is especially entertaining when he slips into murder mode. Also rather fun are Clarence Muse as butler Evans (not a ghost), who successfully manages to avoid the black stereotype of the era, and George Pembroke who does the opposite, his cigar chomping police detective (not a ghost) about as clichéd as it gets.The Invisible Ghost mightn't be all that memorable, but for Lugosi fans, it's still worth a go (and certainly more enjoyable than the last film I saw of his, the highly over-rated White Zombie).4.5 out of 10, rounded up to 5 for IMDb.

JohnHowardReid Producer: Sam Katzman. Copyright 25 April 1941 by Monogram Pictures Corp. Produced by Banner Productions. New York opening at the Rialto: 7 May 1941. U.S. release: 25 April 1941. Never theatrically released in Australia. 7 reels. 64 minutes. SYNOPSIS: An innocent man (John McGuire) is executed for the murder of his former sweetheart (Terry Walker), a housemaid employed by the father (Bela Lugosi) of his current girlfriend (Polly Ann Young).NOTES: 33rd and final film of Polly Ann Young (older sister of Sally Blane and Loretta Young), who retired from the screen after this effort. She died in 1997. COMMENT: Far-fetched but genuinely scary horror yarn, masterfully directed by Joseph H. Lewis who does wonders with an extremely limited budget. Lugosi is inclined to over-emphasize the catatonics, and Pembroke is singularly colorless as the police investigator, but Miss Young makes a suitably fair heroine and Mr McGuire is quite impressive as both Ralph and Paul. We also liked the sultry, blonde victim played by Terry Walker, silent star Betty Compson as the madwoman, and reliable Clarence Muse as the steadfast butler. A current DVD offering accurately reproduces the compelling sepia tones of the original release prints.

morrison-dylan-fan Picking up a parcel from the local collection office,I was shocked to discover that an extremely kind IMDb'er had sent me a Mill Creek boxset,jam packed with a number of great sounding titles.With the "Horror Challenge" being held on the IMDb Horror board in a few days time,I decided to take a closer look at the titles contained in the set.Being in the mood of taking a look at another movie of Bela Lugosi's pre-Ed Wood low-budget era due to having found Lugosi's Ape Man to be a wild,wacky title,I was delighted to discover a more serious sounding Lugosi title contained in the boxset.The plot:Keeping hold of the things that he held dear to his wife,despite her having recently left him for a younger man,Mr.Kessler celebrates their wedding anniversary all on his own, as a mark of respect for how deep the vows that he made to his wife are contained within his heart.Distressed over seeing Kessler's waiting for his wife's return to have no end in sight,and also seeing Kessler's daughter become desperate to pull her dad out of this dark trance,loyal servant Jules begins to seriously wonder if he should tell Kessler that instead of being away with her boyfriend,his wife is actually hidden in a darken corner of the house,after being pulled from a car crash that has left her permanently brain damaged.Fearing that Kessler's and his wife's reaction to each other might make things worse than they already are,Jules decides to stay quiet,and keep the secret all to himself.Getting ready for bed,Kessler suddenly hears a strange tapping noise coming from outside a window in the living room.Entering the living room,Kessler discovers that the tapping sound is being made by the "ghost" of his wife.Shocked at what he is seeing,Kessler finds himself unable to deal with the supernatural sight in front of him,which leads to Kessler's sweet nature being left in ruins,when "the image" causes Kessler to have a strong desire to go on a killing spree.View on the film:After having been disappointed by the flat directing style of past titles that I have seen in the public domain,I was happily caught by surprise,thanks to director Joseph H.Lewis showing a keen eye in creating a wonderful Gothic chill.Keeping 95% of the movies setting limited to the Kessler house,Lewis uses tracking shots to show the shadow that is being cast around the darkest corners of the Kessler's lives,and also expertly covers the movie in rain,so as to create a wonderful atmosphere of there being no where for the character's to run away from Kessler's murderous urges.Whilst the screenplay sadly avoids trying to look at the psychological reasons behind Kessler's changing personality,the screenplay by Al and Helen Martin takes things into an unexpected,sharp proto-Slasher direction,with the Martin's making sure to keep the viewers on their toes by making Kessler attack and kill some of the main character's early on,in scenes,which impressively still have a real edge around them.Showing both sides of Kessler's conflicting personality,Bela Lugosi gives a terrific performance which carefully balances Kessler's warm hearted,wholesome image with the monster that becomes unleashed when the "ghost" of his wife appears.Along with Lugosi,the very pretty Polly Ann Young gives a good performance as the Kessler's daughter Virgina,with Young showing Virgina being unable to stop the "invisible ghost" from taking over her dad's life.

mark.waltz Lugosi once again gets to try to instill sincerity into a ridiculous plot. He's a seemingly kindly doctor who becomes a psychotic killer (committing the deeds while in a trance) when he spots his insane missing wife (Betty Compson) whom he adored, but in denial over the fact that she abandoned him for another man. One of his duller Monogram programmers, Lugosi couldn't add life to this by adding his own plasma. Obviously cheap sets (that look like they are about to collapse), a script that even lacks camp, and a dull supporting cast (lead by Polly Ann Young as his unfortunate daughter given a dull romance for a secondary story line) are other flaws. Terry Walker adds some amusement as the humorous maid. Young highly resembles her more popular sister (Loretta) but doesn't have her acting chops. John McGuire has the strange role of Young's boyfriend who got sentenced to death for allegedly killing a jealous girlfriend, then suddenly comes back as the twin nobody knew he had. Veteran black character actor Clarence Muse fortunately avoids stereotypes as the loyal butler who is actually the smartest person in Lugosi's household. Compson, a star of the early 30's, would have been better to have skipped this one. The eerie musical score was also heard in Lugosi's 1932 horror classic, "White Zombie", but seems strangely inappropriate here. The painfully slow pacing destroys this even further.