The Invisible Man
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Image:InvisibleMan.jpg The Invisible Man is a famous 1897 science fiction novel(la) by H.G. Wells. Some say it is a large short story, as implied in an introduction to the Bantam Classics edition. It is also commonly mistaken with the title to Ralph Ellison's novel, Invisible Man (1952).
Wells' novel was originally serialized in Pearson's Magazine in 1897 and published as a novel the same year. The Invisible Man of the title is "Griffin", a scientist who theorizes that if a person's refractive index is changed to exactly that of air and his body does not absorb or reflect light, then he will not be visible. He successfully carries out this procedure on himself, but becomes mentally unstable as a result. The story begins when the bandaged invisible man comes to Iping to rent a room.
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The First Movie
Main article: The Invisible Man (1933 film)
The Invisible Man is also a movie produced by Universal Pictures in 1933, directed by James Whale. The movie is considered one of the great Universal horror films of the 1930s, and it spawned a number of sequels, plus many spinoffs using the idea of an "invisible man" that were largely unrelated to Wells' original story. Among these were The Invisible Man Returns (1940), The Invisible Woman (1940) and Invisible Agent (1942).
Another related movie is the 2000 film Hollow Man, which chronicles Sebastian Caine becoming invisible, and his subsequent madness as well as the ensuing chaos.
Yet another related movie is Memoirs of an Invisible Man, starring Chevy Chase.
The TV series
At least four television series have been produced for American television, and all have cast the "invisible man" character in the role of secret agent.
1958 - Invisible Man - Uncredited
The first series was an Associated TeleVision production in the UK. It was distributed by ITC Entertainment to the United States and networked by CBS. The actors playing the Invisible Man were not credited,though the actor whose voice was used was later revealed to be Tim Turner,who also played a villain (visible) in one episode. See main article on The Invisible Man (1958 series).
1975 - Invisible Man - David McCallum
The second series, The Invisible Man, debuted in 1975 on NBC and starred David McCallum as a scientist (Daniel Westin). The initial movie, which is the pilot of this series, relates to the fact that Daniel Westin is working for a company called "Klae". Klae is doing experiments in molecular disintegration and is having the side effect of making it possible to turn objects invisible. He first does successful experiments on animals, and tries to find medical applications for his invention. Objects that are invisible reappear after a few hours, and on animals the objects they wear appear before the cells themselves. Obsessed by his invention, he wants to be invisible himself. His boss wants to sell the project for military purposes, so Daniel Westin wants to destroy his invention. Westin becomes invisible for a second time, but the process is not stable, and Westin can't return to visibility anymore. He goes to his friend Nick Maggio who is a skilled plastic surgeon. Nick Maggio can create a mask for him using a special material, called Dermaplex, that has the same properties as the skin. The Dermaplex side effect is that Daniel has to remove the mask from time to time, because as Nick Maggio stated "The beard will be your enemy".
From this pilot 13 episodes from a series were done, but only 12 of these 13 episodes were aired as part of the series. The 13th episode was broadcast later in syndication. Daniel Westin is as well known as the "Klae Resource". The series and Daniel Westin character had a different mood than the movie. Although there is a dramatic side on the pilot movie, the series is more humoristic, something that David McCallum, in an interview, stated he didn't like.
Daniel Westin is clearly a victim of the invisible state. This is a big difference from the other series (Gemini Man for example). During the episodes of the series, Westin will do some further experiments to try to become visible again, but without success.
This series, unfortunately, was not well received by the public.
1976 - Gemini Man - Ben Murphy
The next year the same concept was tried again in a series called Gemini Man, though this time the agent in question uses a device (watch) which turns him invisible for short periods. This series lasted only 12 episodes, only half of which were actually broadcast. Later, a TV movie entitled "Riding with Death" would be released, which was simply two episodes of "Gemini Man" strung together through a loose plot. "Riding with Death" was featured 20 years later on an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000.
2000 - Invisible Man - Vincent Ventresca
A somewhat more successful The Invisible Man series debuted in 2000 and starred Vincent Ventresca, Paul Ben-Victor, Eddie Jones, Shannon Kenny and Mike McCafferty. Ventresca played Darien Fawkes, an ex-con recruited by a low-rent spy organization and given the power of invisibility via the implantation of a special "quicksilver gland" in his head. The gland lets Fawkes secrete a light-bending substance called "Quicksilver" from his pores and follicles. The substance quickly coats his skin, hair, nails and clothes and renders him invisible (he can still see because the quicksilver covering his eyes shifts other wavelengths of light into the visible spectrum.) He can consciously release the quicksilver, which then flakes off and disintegrates. The catch is that the quicksilver accumulates in his bloodstream and causes intense pain, followed by psychosis and antisocial behavior, once it reaches a certain level. He requires regular doses of "counteragent" to keep him sane and healthy, which is controlled by said government agency. This series lasted for two seasons, before being cancelled due to cost issues and internal bickering between the Sci Fi Channel and its then-parent company, USA Networks.
Misc.
Several other attempts at "invisible" TV series, including an Invisible Woman, have not gotten past the pilot TV-movie stage.
In 1984, the BBC produced a faithful adaptation of the novel in six episodes. It was produced by Barry Letts and starred Pip Donaghy as Griffin. It was considered ground-breaking at the time but in retrospect stuck too closely to the novel, rendering it somewhat slow as a television serial. A DVD is available.
Other references
Rock bands Queen and Helloween both recorded songs called "The Invisible Man". In addition, the British satirical show Spitting Image featured a song called "The Invisible Man", sung by the puppet of then-employment secretary Tom King.
The character of the Invisible Man, given a full name of "Hawley Griffin", appears in the graphic novel The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen by Alan Moore. In the spin-off movie adaptation he is played by Tony Curran, though the character is renamed "Rodney Skinner", and instead of being the inventor of the formula, he is a thief who stole the formula from the inventor.
In the 1987 compilation comedy Amazon Women on the Moon, a "son" of the original Invisible Man played by Ed Begley, Jr. appears in a short spoof of the 1933 Claude Rains film, entitled Son of the Invisible Man. He was named simply "Griffin".
Ken Hill adapted the book to play form in 1991, and it debuted at Theatre Royal Stratford East in 1991. It played in the West End in 1993 with Michael N. Harbour as Griffin.
External links
es:El hombre invisible (Welles) fr:L'Homme invisible (roman) it:L'uomo invisibile he:האיש הבלתי נראה zh:隐身人