For Once-NOT Seeing is Believing, Thanks to the Amazing Claude Rains in “The Invisible Man”- Tonight!

Posted on January 14, 2023

Tonight on MeTV, with our new extended format, you will see more of our show- but NOT more of our titled terror, as we bring back a truly impressive Universal horror film of the 1930s- based on classic literature and utilizing amazing special effects for its time period. This film is actually a showcase for the acting talent of the great Claude Rains- especially impressive, since, most of the time, it’s his voice and only his voice taking center stage. It’s one of my favorites- the original "The Invisible Man"!

Based on the H G Wells novel- this 1933 classic begins with us seeing a bundled-up stranger struggling against wintry blasts through the snowy countryside of Iping. His dramatic entrance to a local pub, the Lion's Head Inn, stuns the customers and owners into stunned silence! The locals find the completely masked stranger quite disturbing, as this wrapped-up traveler brusquely demands a room. Although it isn’t renting season-the proprietor and his fluttery wife accommodate him – and do their best to comply with his demands for privacy.

 by

It isn’t long before the innkeeper and his wife end up at odds with this bizarre visitor, who always keeps his face covered with bandages and his eyes covered with dark glasses. His odd behavior and demeanor are the talk of the inn and the source of a variety of rumors- as the boozy bar patrons and its staff speculate about why his face is hidden, wondering what he’s up to- especially with all sorts of chemicals and beakers in his room.

Some time passes, and the stranger has not been paying his rent. The innkeeper confronts him about the overdue money he is owed- only to have the mysterious man pay him back by assaulting him and tossing him down the stairs! The patrons who frequent the bar call in the police- but a shock is in store for them all, when the man reveals that beneath his bandages and clothing- there is nothing! He is invisible! The villagers flee in panic as he runs amok!

We learn the identity of this unseen menace-Jack Griffin, a scientist who has been experimenting with an odd chemical mixture known as monocane, which was used in foreign lands to turn cloth white- but unfortunately, it also destroys the cloth in the process. Griffin's employer, along with his daughter –and Griffin’s fiancée-Flora have no idea where he might be- but, in searching his lab, fear the worst when they find a note mentioning monocane. This raises a great deal of concern, since Flora's dad knows only too well that experiments with it on living things have ended in frightening madness and tragedy.

 by

Before long, an assistant to Flora's father, one Dr. Kemp, finds himself with a surprise visitor one night- his former co-worker, the invisible Griffin! He threatens Kemp, and forces him to help him retrieve his notebooks, which he left behind while fleeing from the inn. With Kemp outside to grab the notebooks, Griffin enters the inn, invisible and undetected, as a police inquiry is being held there- but he can’t resist getting further revenge on the crowd-as he goes wild, and kills an officer!

Kemp tries to enlist Flora and her father to help reason with Griffin- but soon, betrayal, paranoia, and his increasing madness set Griffin on a mission of more murder- as he terrifies the entire countryside, leaving the baffled authorities to attempt to stop a deadly enemy who can't be seen!

This is definitely one of the best and most effective of the original Universal classic horror films! Claude Rains' incredible voice makes his work in this film captivating- and we'll tell a little about him and the other cast members, especially the actress who plays Griffin's fiancée Flora- who you probably know from a role she played in her old age! As I mentioned, for the time, the invisible effects are quite remarkable- and we’ll explain, once again, how invisible effects were done in that era. You’ll enjoy a song featuring a duet by Doug Graves AND Anita X. Orcist- a vintage visit with the lovely actress Amanda Wyss, Freddy Krueger’s first on-screen victim- footage from last year’s C2E2 comics and entertainment convention- a look at more “Spawn of Svengoolie” auditions- a sampling of the jokes from “Kerwyn’s Corner”- and some fun from our archives! With this being a movie that we didn’t have to remove time from originally, we’ll have that extra Sven content to keep you entertained!

"The Invisible Man" re-appears on MeTV Saturday night at 8pm eastern/pacific, 7 central, or, if you’re unsure of channel or time, check your local listings or at www.metv.com . Remember that MeTV invites you to join the many fans who live-Tweet on Twitter during the program, using the hashtag #svengoolie. Last week, we were trending among the most-Tweeted topics for the entire time of our show! In Chicago, viewers get the encore of the Vincent Price/ Karloff version of “The Raven” on our main local station CW26 at 11 am.

Talking about last week’s show- we had a great reaction to our expanded program, and we want to thank our loyal fans for the ongoing support.

Be with us tonight for a classic that I personally could see- or not see- over and over again!

Are you sure you want to delete this comment?
Close

3399 Comments

 during show

daleuhlmann 14 months ago
Very lame and unfunny Sylvester and Speedy cartoon.
1MikeM 14 months ago
Charlie the deputy just wanted to say "Arrivederci!"
daleuhlmann 14 months ago
The new blog is still invisible.
1MikeM 14 months ago
...another who hasn't been on the blog lately is Trout. It must be like four years now. He said he's gonna be on a boat and haven't heard anything after that. Maybe he sailed off to Tahiti like Paul Gauguin.
Cartoondave 1MikeM 14 months ago
We haven't seen Shayla either?
1MikeM Cartoondave 14 months ago
Yep, that right.
1MikeM 14 months ago
Holly from DE hasn't been on the blog lately.
1MikeM 14 months ago
Has FARMGAL56 been on the blog lately?
Cartoondave 14 months ago
Just a wild guess with the first place blogger I'm calling on abc123 with dale in a close 2nd
Klaatu Cartoondave 14 months ago
Even more than who will be first, how about whether the new Blog will be on time?
TheKodakKid Klaatu 14 months ago
The odds on predicting first blogger are better than the odds on predicting if the blog rolls over at the appointed time.
Katink TheKodakKid 14 months ago
I think you are right, TKK!
Aceman2 Katink 14 months ago
The avatar queen comes through again. Nice Katink!
Katink Aceman2 14 months ago
Thanks, Aceman!😙
Carl_N_Brown 14 months ago
I will say James Whale's THE INVISIBLE MAN followed the plot of the H.G. Wells novel it was based on better than Bert I Gordon's FOOD OF THE GODS or EMPIRE OF THE ANTS did.
abc123 14 months ago
I have decided I am not going to follow a real Bloody Mary recipe for tomorrow, but just mix a few things until I am good with the mix. "a few" equals vodka and V-8. That is all. Wish me luck.
Kyle abc123 14 months ago
I am a Caesar guy.
Mikeyyy abc123 14 months ago
Start experimenting now so you'll have it right for movie night..
Kyle abc123 14 months ago


And it goes a littl something like this...but with V8 for you.

Don't skip the horse radish.
Klaatu Kyle 14 months ago
When I first tried making Sidecar cocktails, it took me 4 attempts to get the receipt perfected. The good news…I drank the mistakes🤪
FKrueger abc123 14 months ago
Hot and Spicy V8 is good too. If you find it.
CrazyK 14 months ago
Made this for MrsG
Yo, MrsG, where you be?
Mikeyyy CrazyK 14 months ago
AWESOME!!
Cartoondave CrazyK 14 months ago
Hope she wasn't kidnapped by joker, riddler or even Catwoman ?
CrazyK Cartoondave 14 months ago
They look mighty guilty to me, the Penguin too… 😂
deadringer42 CrazyK 14 months ago
Commissioner to Mrs G.
Commissioner to Mrs G.
Please respond. We need you.
CrazyK deadringer42 14 months ago
👍
Chief O’Hara: “sure’n that’s the truth” Commissioner!
Kyle 14 months ago
Had a minor disaster on the USS Kyletopia NCC6 7/8.

During the recent power outage, we blew a warp coil on the Captain's Chair.

New chair has been liberated Aisle 6 in the Hardware system.

Fuzzy blankie is in the wash, and we should be fully functional by Big Broadcast time!
VanGooliac Kyle 14 months ago
You should have got the Spinemelter 2000
Kyle VanGooliac 14 months ago
I can see things like that from this chair juuuust fine.
Engineer_Poelzig 14 months ago
My little Sven-viewing Boxer Whitney, had surgery today.
She'll have to recuperate watching the movie tomorrow night.
I'll have to order her a little Sven T-Shirt to wear.
Load previous comments
Best wishes to Whitney for a speedy recovery.

Just wondering if that collar would help improve the reception of MeTV?
Jack NoPersonalChicks 14 months ago
“That’s no moon…”
Pocket says woof woofie woof.
Translation: get well soon and loose the dang collar.
Aceman2 Engineer_Poelzig 14 months ago
E_P. My Henry is no longer with me but I think I heard a shout out from heaven: “Feel better sweetie!”
DrFish28136 14 months ago
Klaatu DrFish28136 14 months ago
That reminds me…I wish we could see Abbott and Costello’s version of Jack and the Beanstalk.
CountCurt DrFish28136 14 months ago
Ain't it the truth! There is a fancy French patisserie close to my place that sells macarons. They are delicious but at $5.00 each that is ridiculous. It is on.y two bites.
Kyle 14 months ago
Hulkster is on A-Team again!

And my power is back on!

For the moment, anyway.
CrazyK Kyle 14 months ago
Cool on both counts, I’ll check it out at 6 my time!
Aceman2 14 months ago
Getting closer to Sventheater presentation of KOTV!
Kyle Aceman2 14 months ago
Isn't this the x rated one, for gore or something?
Drang Kyle 14 months ago
Released in the early 60s, before X ratings and IMDb says "Unrated"., in the USA. (But X in the UK. Not sure how it compares.)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057226/parentalguide?ref_=tt_stry_pg

I'm curious whether we will be seeing the original release, or the TV version which apparently cut almost the entire last scenes?
CrazyK Kyle 14 months ago
This poster that Aceman put on the board yesterday actually shows
“X Adults only” kind of at the lower right and apparently this rating was used for graphic violence in the UK.
Carl_N_Brown CrazyK 14 months ago
X Certificate - Adults Only
Sure way to get the British teens interested. Like the later "video nasties" crusade.
Drang 14 months ago
Let's see if this copies over...


Source: https://twitter.com/shashj/status/1615716082588815363
Drang Drang 14 months ago
That is a screenshot of a page from a book called _Four_Battlegroubnds_ about Artificial Intelligence.

We think Looney Toons, but I guess video gamers have their equivalent:
https://kotaku.com/real-soldiers-cardboard-box-mgs-metal-gear-solid-robot-1850003072
Catbat Drang 14 months ago
Right on!
Carl_N_Brown 14 months ago
When I read "Wild Wild West" would be on Saturday, I checked the time: 10am in the morning.
I had remembered when the lead-ins to Svengoolie were "Wild Wild West" and "Wonder Woman" and had my hopes shattered.

The MeTV schedule has this plot summary for THE KISS OF THE VAMPIRE: "When car trouble strands a honeymooning couple in a small Southern European village, an aristocratic family in the area reaches out to help them with sinister consequences." I seem to recall that plot used in a different movie. I know, that was not plagiarism, that was homage.
Cartoondave 14 months ago
It's been snowing here most of the day and looking forward to getting home and watching Metv
CountCurt 14 months ago
I am looking forward to the Wild, Wild West tomorrow. Villain Doctor Loveless, actor Michael Dunn, makes his first appearance in the series.
Load previous comments
NoPersonalChicks Aceman2 14 months ago
Dunn was also in the "Get Smart" pilot as the leader of KAOS before Bernie Kopell took over as the hilariously short-tempered Siegfried.
Catbat CountCurt 14 months ago
Heck yeah!I'm recording
CrazyK Aceman2 14 months ago
Oh, ok, I recognize him, I just didn’t know his name, thanks! I haven’t seen him in WWW yet so I’m definitely looking forward to it! 👍
Engineer_Poelzig CountCurt 14 months ago
Michael Dunn was great in a 70s Film Noir Good_Night_My_Love, with Richard Boone as a pair of down on their luck private eyes back in the 1940s.
Fun watch.
Are you sure you want to delete this comment?