Claude Rains was The Invisible Man, in this 1933 classic horror movie from Universal Studios.

Based on the story by H G Wells the story tells the tale of a scientist's decent into madness after he turns himself invisible with a new drug during an experiment.

The story is a classic which has inspired many later tales, Hollow Man springs to mind as a contemporary take on the original story. There was also a wonderful parody of this original movie in Amazon Women on the Moon with Ed Begley jnr. playing a mad (but not actually invisible) scientist.

Rocky Horror himself takes inspiration from the bandages that Claude Rains wears when he arrives in the small English village at the start of the movie in order to hide his lack of form.

One thing I did realise when watching this classic over again was the fact that the Flash Gordon serials nicked the theme music three years later for their incidental score. I'm sure I also recognised some of the apparatus from this movie in later features.

Extras included on the Region 2 DVD are Now You See Him: The Invisible Man Revealed featurette, a Feature Commentary with Film Historian Rudy Behlmer and a set of on screen Production Photographs.

There is a rather nice continuity error for those collectors of trivia out there. Although the Invisible Man is naked to be completely invisible, the footprints left by him in the snow at the end of the film show the shape of a pair of shoes.

Overall: A classic!

Rating: UK 12   Regions 2 & 4   Aspect Ration: 1.33:1   Sound: 2.0 mono   B&W 1933

Languages on disc: English (+ Deaf & Hard of Hearing), Arabic, Czech, Greek, Hungarian, Turkish and Romanian