Tomei Ningen Arawaru (1949)

There is no good or evil in science, but it can be used for good or evil purposes.

The Invisible Man Appears holds the unique distinction of being the earliest surviving tokusatsu production and one of three Japanese-made films starring the titular character. It's a relatively unique and unusual production compared to the later tokusatsu films of the 50s and 60s where it remains entirely forward-looking, relegating the trauma of World War II to background context rather than primary motivation.

Jewel thieves become interested in an invisibility formula invented by Professor Nakazato and want to use his invention to acquire a diamond necklace called the "Tears of Amour"...

Clearly taking influence from the exposure to American films during the Allied Occupation of Japan, The Invisible Man Appears is a very loose adaptation of the original Wells novel and appears to take cues from the more recent Universal movies being produced during the then more recent years of the 30s and 40s.

Less focused on murderous intent and instead, leaning into a far more wacky crime spree after a MacGuffin that symbolises post-war greed and selfishness. Astutely pro-science but wary of its misuse, the film develops a preoccupation with the role and responsibility of the scientific community as guardians of future safety.

I take my hat off to Arrow Video once again for managing to liberate these two Daiei classics from their vaults and finally giving them the attention they deserve outside of Japan. Unfortunately, the original film masters for this and its follow-up have long since vanished, a testament to their age, and what we are left with is a film cobbled together from surviving 16mm exhibition prints. There are all the artefacts to be expected with old celluloid; hairs, scratches, and authentic film jitter, but for anyone purchasing these old movies that should be expected and are unobtrusive.

Writer and director, Nobuo Adachi, delivers a fundamentally threadbare affair, the characters themselves are laughable in places. Seriously, these criminals have an Invisible Man at their disposable and all they can think to use him for is stealing a necklace, which they ultimately fail at numerous times. But it doesn't matter too much in the long run given that it nails the basics of being an entertaining cops and robbers film interspaced with a multitude of science fiction elements and a multitude of red herrings along the way.

His direction however is pretty good, there's a heavy noir atmosphere as actors deliver lines with slashes of light across their eyes, while simple actions such as the Invisible Man smashing glasses and pots on the floor are caught with whipping camera movements and canted angles. Clichés of the age, sure, but the darker ambience adds a much appreciated dramatic flair to accentuate the emotional beats.

This film also marks a very early credit for special effects wizard, Eiji Tsuburaya and while very rough in their execution, probably not helped by the so-so picture quality of the film prints, they showcase his talents right from the get-go making it no wonder that he would go on to be such a success in his field. He recreates many of the iconic moments that we've seen done to death in popular culture and yet with its film noir style they take on a very different feel and meaning.

Overall, The Invisible Man Appears is a solid interpretation of the character in an entirely new setting, some good acting, memorable direction and some very 'of the time' music help cement this film as the very definition of a hidden gem.

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