The Invisible Woman (1940)

Enjoyable,  11 March 2021

A model named Kitty agrees to become a guinea pig for an eccentric scientist and his experiment.  He intends to use a machine he’s developed to make Kitty invisible.  It works, but the experiment draws the unfortunate attention of a mob boss who has nefarious notions for the professor and his machine.  

I think anyone who’s written about The Invisible Woman begins by pointing out the obvious - it’s a comedy - actually, a screwball comedy.  There’s not a single element of horror to be found.  Other than the fact that The Invisible Woman was made by Universal, includes some nice special effects, and has the word “Invisible” in the title, this movie has nothing at all in common with its predecessor, The Invisible Man.  Instead, The Invisible Woman features a light, engaging, breezy tone that worked on me.  Thanks in large part to a fantastic cast (including John Barrymore, Virginia Bruce, Shemp Howard, Margaret Hamilton, and plethora of other familiar faces) most of the comedy works - highlighted by Kitty’s revenge on her boss.  I might not have laughed out loud, but I had a smile on my face the whole time.  The film’s pacing is also a plus.  The 72 minute runtime flies by.  And while this may have been a “B” film with a “B” budget, you’d never guess by looking at it.  Like a lot of Universal’s output from this period, The Invisible Woman looks far better than it has any right.  The cinematography is on point.

So, comedy that works, solid acting, snappy direction, nice cinematography - sounds like a winner.  If the film were a bit less predictable, I’d easily rate it higher.  Still, a 6/10 from me.

6/10