I like to think of Claude Rains as the kind of Paul Giamatti of his day- a fantastic character actor who played so many great and memorable supporting roles (classic movie fans know him from Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Casablanca, Notorious, The Adventures of Robin Hood), yet rarely got the chance to carry a movie as the lead. Of course in this one where he did, you couldn't see his face. He was The Invisible Man, the scientist whose experiment rendered him transparent and descending more and more into pure cackling villainy and madness. He's actually one of the great movie villains, with an awesomely creepy look (all covered in bandages), and groundbreaking early special effects that really worked in order to make objects appear to move on their own. James Whale, the director of the Frankenstein movies, proved here again that he was the Master of the macabre, and The Invisible Man still holds up fantastically well today, thanks to Claude Rains' deliciously evil performance. Yes, that is him under the costume.
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