THE AMAZING TRANSPARENT MAN (1960)

“Amazing,” you say? Well, at 58 minutes, the film is amazingly short. But beyond that? Ain't a whole lot of amazing stuff going on.

The plot: Paul Krenner (James Griffith), an ex-Army major with delusions of grandeur, has blackmailed scientist Peter Ulof (Ivan Tresault) into working for him. On Krenner's orders, Ulof develops a radiation-based technique to turn men invisible, which Krenner will use to create an invisible army to sell to the highest bidder. He busts safecracker Joey Faust (Douglas Kennedy) out of prison and forces him to undergo the invisibility treatment so he can steal more radium to further the experiment. Plans go awry when Faust decides to rob a bank in broad daylight and unexpectedly turns visible halfway through the job.

THE AMAZING TRANSPARENT MAN suffers from a lack of set pieces, indifferent performances, abrupt and senseless plot twists, a scientific explanation that defies belief, misogynist violence all too typical of this era, and a conclusion that makes even less sense than the rest of the film. Not to mention a title character who's invisible, not transparent.

The acting: Douglas Kennedy looks tired and bored. James Griffith is too tall, skinny, and mousy-looking to convincingly play a violent megalomaniac. Marguerite Chapman is barely there in her role as gun moll Laura Matson. And Ivan Tresault's performance is the worst of all. As Dr. Ulof explains the nature of his work to Faust, Tresault is clearly reading his lines off a cue card. But you can't expect much effort when he's given such dialogue as, “There is a man who has unlocked every door except the one to his soul. Now he has the key.”

Item: Krenner says “nucular” instead of “nuclear.”

Item: Although the invisibility process affects the bone and skin, Faust's clothing turns invisible with him.

Item: Ulof tells Krenner, “I've been running all my life,” but he never says why or from what.

Item: The film climaxes with Krenner's house going up in a nuclear blast that we're told “has leveled half the county.” And yet, part of the house remains standing.

Item: Police won't let civilians near the blast area because they're not wearing protective suits. Meanwhile, reporters in civilian clothing freely roam the scene.