Product: Invisible Ghost (UK PAL Region 0)
Rating: 4.0
A notably more complex plot than most Lugosi films (details)
4 stars for genre devotees.This movie would have easily achieved five stars, (targeted specifically, of course, at black-and-white B-horror film fans like me), except for the fact that this flick ends pretty abruptly, catching viewers a bit off-guard. It's as if some assertive studio bean-counter waltzed into the movie set and informed the director, midway through the film, that his budget for this one had just been slashed. It's not a hateful finale but I was surprised at the lack of traditional ceremony near the end and viewers will additionally notice that this 1941 movie is a bit abbreviated at sixty-four minutes, (not all that uncommon for the genre.)THE STORY: (The setting) Mysterious murders have been occurring in the neighborhood of Mr. Charles Kessler (Bela Lugosi), amiable patriarch of a moderate estate.Kessler's lovely daughter, Virginia, is about to be affianced to a promising young man, Ralph Dickson, who had once involved himself in a previous tryst with a young lass who had since gone to work as Mr. Kessler's flashy and concupiscent house maid, Cecile Mannix (played by Terry Walker), all this history being unknown to Virginia and others in the household. This is one domestic gal who is not going to be put off by Dickson's desire for a new love -- she confronts him with the issue but he is not in the least inclined to take her back.Mr. Kessler himself is a bit wacky: his wife had run off with her paramour a couple years before. The amorous two were soon thereafter involved in a spectacular car crash and it was believed that they were both instantly killed. But unbeknownst to all but Kessler's Gardener, Jules Mason and his wife Mrs. Mason, Mrs. Kessler had actually survived and had since been kept alive, housed, and secured in a secret basement cell of Jules' gardening shed. Maintaining a belief that his wife was dead, (whom he unexplainably still loved), Mr. Kessler engages in speaking directly to an empty chair each year on their wedding anniversary as if she was there dining across the table from him.[The plot thickens!] Lugosi freaks out at times when he inadvertently spots his wife on the grounds, (she intermittently overcomes Jules' clearly inadequate security precautions and goes out strolling in her night-clothes), and he falls into a sort of trance, effecting a Frankenstein-ish, arms-extended gait when this happens. As a result of his mesmerized condition, he stalks into the maid's room and strangles her, (and thus, the viewer learns who's been pulling off all the nasty murders in the neighborhood!)This particular murder generates two items of relevance for the young fiancé, Ralph Dickson: 1. his problem concerning the maid's extortion becomes moot, and; 2. he immediately becomes the chief suspect in her murder since the butler, Evans (artfully played by Clarence Muse), had overheard an argument between them and was triggered to reveal this fact to the police when questioned. Poor Ralph is subsequently arrested, convicted, and executed! But soon thereafter, Ralph's identical twin, Paul Dickson, shows up to look into the accusations against his now-dead brother and he's taken in by the Kesslers as a welcome house guest.Lugosi spots his wife on the grounds again and this time he strangles Jules - but Jules revives for just a moment after all others thought he was dead, only to look up and see the faces of both his wife and Kessler hovering over him. It's a very edifying moment when Kessler tasks him: "Jules..! Did you recognize the man who tried to kill you?!?" Ha! Jules' eyes bulge a bit, he sucks in his breath at the image of Kessler, and THEN he conks out for good.So what happens next? A new cook is hired, (Mr. Kessler experiences difficulties in keeping domestic help), Kessler spots his wife again, and then guess what? You'll have to watch the movie to find out as I'm stopping here to avoid spoilers. That's the oddest part about this movie - it takes forever to set up the plot scenario and then it closes out quite hurriedly.One aspect of this film which I especially treasured was the casting of Clarence Muse in the role of Mr. Kessler's butler, Evans. He has a notably major speaking role here and his delivery, as always, was stellar. Muse often provided comic relief as he did inSherlock Holmes in Washingtonwhere he played George the Porter in an uncredited but key role. He could also play more serious parts as he did in this instance and also where he was cast as a tribal official in the terrific old jungle serial:Jungle Queen. Muse possessed a particular talent for conveying great dignity as a domestic worker or, in other period stereotypical African-American film roles.In summary, I award this Lugosi landmark movie a high ranking among its peer films but be prepared for the lightning-quick ending.