Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

Invisible Agent Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Justin Dekker February 1, 2024

1942's 'Invisible Agent' returns to Blu-ray as part of the massive 'Universal Classic Monsters Complete 30-Film Collection' which includes all of the timeless monster movies from 1931's 'Dracula' forward. All of the original films from the timeless and unforgettable Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wolfman, The Mummy, Invisible Man, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, and The Phantom of the Opera, are included here on 24 Blu-ray discs. All of the legacy features from the previous collections are included here, giving fans hours of content to pour over once the movies are over. Also included is a 48-page book featuring writing on the classic monsters as well as actors and people behind the scenes that brought them to life.

Invisible Agent sees The Invisible Man's grandson Frank (Jon Hall) who has changed his last name to Raymond operating a printing shop. One night, Axis agents come to visit him, promising to pay him a fortune for his grandfather's invisibility formula. Frank feigns ignorance, and when a search of his shop fails to turn it up, he's threatened with torture. He retrieves the formula, fights off the Nazi and Japanese agents, and narrowly escapes with the precious documents. When he reports the incident to the US government, they indicate that they too wish to purchase and use the formula. He declines. The attack on Pearl Harbor changes his mind, with the caveat that only he is allowed to use the drug in the war effort to obtain the needed information to prevent a surprise attack on the continental United States. Once behind the German lines, he makes contact with Maria Sorenson (Ilona Massey), a double agent who is to help him get the information he needs before it's too late.

Up until that point, the film plays like a solid spy movie. There's decent tension, threatening villains, and an important mission that needs to be completed to avoid disaster. But the moment that the head of the secret police, Karl Heiser (J. Edward Bromberg) arrives for dinner with Maria, the film undergoes a tonal shift that undermines the film's identity, wildly ping-ponging back and forth between silly comedy and very dark spy film elements. Heiser is portrayed as an inept stooge who is unable to understand what's happening at the dinner as Raymond steals his food, his drinks, spills food on him, and a host of other juvenile antics. This behavior is also unexpected and out of character for the serious-minded Raymond who so capably handled enemy agents in his shop, refused to let anyone else use the drug because of its danger, and understands the seriousness of the stakes. It would be wonderful if this was the only instance of this behavior, but Heiser is routinely depicted as clueless, and Raymond continues to careen between being competent and inexplicably adolescent.

Never faltering in their performances are Peter Lorre and Cedric Hardwicke. Lorre's Baron Ikito is perfectly menacing and dangerous, ever the coiled snake ready to strike. He is ruthless but honorable, and he raises the tension in every scene that he's in. It's a character and a performance that should have been in a film with a consistently serious and dark tone. Similar results are achieved with Harwicke's Conrad Stauffer. He's no one's fool, supremely powerful, and thoroughly deadly. Paired with Lorre, the duo creates a formidable enemy presence that has no business being undone by such an erratic hero.

Invisible Agent Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Invisible Agent has a video transfer that is usually quite good but can occasionally be problematic. On the good side, the print is in good shape and damage and debris are virtually nonexistent. Fine detail is visible in costumes, especially in the dressing gown and dresses worn by Massey which afford us opportunities to inspect the intricate embroidery and lace. The printing shop at the beginning of the picture offers great amounts of detail as well in wood grain and the various printing-related tools and objects. Whites are never quite as brilliant as one would want them to be, and blacks can be problematic from time to time, obscuring detail, and in one instance, in particular, masking much of the on-screen action. But the image is stable and the film, in general, is certainly watchable.

Invisible Agent Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The English DTS Digital Surround 2.0 Mono audio track is much more consistent in its performance than the Invisible Agent is in its tone. It never fails in its appointed task to faithfully and accurately handle dialogue, with the track being appropriately balanced and centered. Punches, gunshots, airplane engines, and other sound effects are reproduced with satisfactory weight and energy for a film of this vintage. Music is crisp and clear. The track is without defect or flaw. English SDH subtitles are also available.

Invisible Agent Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

A Theatrical Trailer (1:42) for Invisible Agent is included, and is the film's sole special feature.

Invisible Agent Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Massey, Lorre, and Hardwick shine in the Invisible Agent. However, the film is a difficult and unsatisfying one to watch due to an inability to commit to being either a serious and dark spy movie or a broad and silly comedy. It unwisely attempts to mash them together in what amounts to a clumsy and frustrating film that could have been truly fantastic had it chosen to keep the sinister tone created in the film's opening scenes. Technical merits are solid for those interested in checking out this WWII-era monster movie.