Universal Monsters Movies Ranked

16. Invisible Agent (1942)

A still from the 1942 Universal Monsters movie 'Invisible Agent'.

There were a fair few WWII spy movies crossed with other genres to stand out from the run of the mill, including a few starring Universal alum Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes. Invisible Agent sees Jon Hall play Frank Griffin, a printer-turned-spy who uses his grandfather’s invisibility formula to undertake a dangerous mission behind enemy lines.

This is a surprisingly effective, pacy wartime thriller somewhat let down by cartoonish (even for this kind of movie) Nazis and Peter Lorre uncomfortably cast as a Japanese baron.

The special photographic effects are pushed to new heights once more, and this is most impressive in a scene where the Invisible Man needs to make himself temporarily visible again and does so via the liberal application of face cream in front of a mirror.




15. Werewolf of London (1935)

When Victorian Botanist Wilfred Glendon (Henry Hull) returns to England from the Himalayas, he not only brings back some unusual flora but, after being attacked by a feral creature, he also carries an otherworldly infection that leads him to transform and kill each night. In a race against time, he attempts to research a cure before his bloodlust takes hold forever.

A precursor to both The Wolf Man and Hammer’s Curse of the Werewolf, this combines a “Jekyll and Hyde” story and period setting with completely made up Eastern mythology to produce something striking if a little xenophobic.

Much of the werewolf mythology wouldn’t be firmly established until a few years later, but as an early effort it lays the groundwork for much to come.




14. The Invisible Man Returns (1940)

The brother of the original Invisible Man helps Geoffrey Radcliffe (Vincent Price), a man wrongfully accused of murder, to escape and uncover the true culprit within his own family of industrialists.

This is an entertaining sequel with more neat special effects, particularly in a scene where the police are trying to literally smoke the Invisible Man out of his hiding place.

The northern accents are less convincing in the scenes set in a Yorkshire colliery, as are the clearly visible white picket fences seen in an “English” village.

There’s no doubt that, had he just been a few years older, Vincent Price would’ve starred in quite a few of these, but he leaves his mark (as did Claude Rains) playing a character almost entirely reliant on a sonorous voice.

Recommended for you: Where to Start with Vincent Price

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