As with all episodes of this podcast there are spoilers ahead!
For full detailed shownotes (without character limits) you can choose the episode on the watch page here.
I would love for you to join in by watching The Invisible Man here.
You can follow what I'm researching and working on next on the podcast Instagram page @everyscififilm.
Description:
When HG Wells wrote The Invisible Man in 1897 he was in a world in which the telephone, the phonograph and even the invention of the radio brought the idea of disembodied voices to an increasing number of people. In the 1933 film director James Whale (who also directed Frankenstein) imbued the film with themes of mass communication more relevant to an age of radio broadcasts and film newsreels.
Although it is a part of Universal Pictures classic monsters it often feels more like a comedy than a horror. The film was a great success with the special effects impressing moviegoers and critics. This week’s wonderful experts break down the themes and history of the film. We also have a little discussion about Things to Come (1936) which is also based on an HG Wells story and touch upon the infamous War of the Worlds radio play (1938) which (apparently) led people to think aliens were invading.
The Experts
Keith Williams is a Reader in English at the University of Dundee with a special interest in the pre 1945 period and HG Wells. He is the author of the book H.G. Wells, Modernity and the Movies.
Marc Longenecker is an Associate Professor of the Practice of Film Studies at Wesleyan University and wrote an article titled A Brief History of Invisibility on Screen.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction
01:35 Invisibility on film and by HG Wells
10:28 Humour, satire and prejudice
14:26 A man walks into a pub
15:28 Rags to riches: Whale, Wells and Rains
20:12 The invisible actor
22:02 Phonographs, radio and Hitler
27:18 War of the Worlds (1938 radio drama)
29:58 The special effects
35:37 HG Wells Vs the movies
41:00 Things to Come (1936)
46:42 Legacy
49:08 Conclusion
51:32 Recommendations
NEXT EPISODE!
No film to watch for next episode as we will be discussing the development of early pulp fiction magazines and comics and their relationship to science fiction. You can start catching up with the Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers film serials of the 1930s as I am working on an episode based on them. You can check JustWatch to see where you can access them.
You can also watch them on YouTube. There are also some colourised versions. There were three Flash Gordon serials and one Buck Rogers serial
Flash Gordon (1936)
Flash Gordon’s Trip to Mars (1938)
Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (1940)
Buck Rogers (1939)
CORRECTION: at 24:09 Keith Williams misspeaks and says 1933 was the year of the Nazi coup. This was the year the Nazis came to power in a landslide election. The Beer Hall Putsch was in 1923.
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