Bloodtype Online

    Bela Lugosi stars as a disturbed man who still celebrates his anniversary, in spite of his wife having run off years ago with her lover.  Or did she?  Well no she didn’t actually.  She tried to get away, but the car she was traveling in crashed and her lover was killed.  She suffered a traumatic head injury and is only a former shell of herself.  The gardener/handyman of the house found her and decided that he couldn’t let anyone know she was alive!  See it would kill Lugosi’s character to see his wife in such a state, so out of respect and kindness she is hidden away under the tool shed.  But when she starts to wander around and is seen by Lugosi’s character he goes into a hypnotic rage where he kills, but never remembers doing it.  He is eventually caught, but not until he takes out a big chunk of the household staff.   

    This is exactly the kind of movie that Lugosi made for the poverty row studios all thru the late 30s and 40s.  But in spite of being predictable and that Lugosi hams it up quite a bit when he is in his murderous rage the movie is quite good.  The story is evenly paced and never boring.  Some of the plot is silly (a twin brother, no one noticing a nearly comatose woman wandering around the yard) but is worth turning off you brain for an hour to watch.  Lugosi does a decent job playing the kindly old father, before going off to kill that is.  There were a few times in his career where he didn’t play the villain and like those movies he shows some real talent in those parts.  The rest of the cast is forgettable, except for Clarence Muse, who plays the butler.  Not only does he get a few good lines, but he is portrayed and an intelligent thoughtful human being.  This is noticeable because Muse is an African American playing a servant, and wasn’t asked to act like a buffoon.   

    The movie looks cookie cutter with Lugosi being lit from below for his “evil” close-ups.  The director does a few interesting things with the camera, but the movie is shot in a typical and predictable way.  This was a quickie shot on a really low budget so I won’t be too hard on it.  Picture and sound is fine for a 60 plus year old movie.   

    All in all this is a decent example of the sort of movie you could expect from a studio like Monogram.  Quickly, but competently shot, very formulaic and predictable.  But unlike a lot of them Invisible Ghost is entertaining and fun.  Be warned these movies can be an acquired taste and may not appeal to everyone.  But I really like it and recommend that it is worth at least a rental if not a purchase. 

*note: The copy I watched for this review is from the Legends of Horror box.  It contains sixteen movies starring Lugosi and Karloff, and is worth checking out. 
 

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John “El Juan” Shatzer