INDESTRUCTIBLE MAN/AMAZING TRANSPARENT MAN (1956/60)
Directors: Jack Pollexfen/Edgar G. Ulmer
The Roan Group

Lon Chaney has one of his best 50s roles in INDESTRUCTIBLE MAN, a longtime favorite of us folks in our late thirties who grew up with it on Saturday afternoon television. As executed crook Butcher Benton, Lon vows to get even with his two cheating cohorts who turned state evidence against him at his trial, along with his traitor lawyer.

When his dead body is accidentally restored to life by a couple of bozo scientists (SUPERMAN's Robert Shayne and McHALE'S NAVY's Joe Flynn) Chaney becomes an invincible killing machine, and even bullets can't stop him. He sets out on a deadly vendetta mission to even the score, stalking his three backstabbing buddies.

The Roan DVD of INDESTRUCTIBLE MAN, I am sorry to report, is poor and the only real misfire I have encountered from this otherwise reliable company. I noticed a tape glitch or two, and this print appeared to be identical to a VHS copy I obtained years ago from Laserlight. Is this disc really culled from a film print? Hmm...

Furthermore, the movie itself looks like a low-grade 16mm, with tons of lines, spots, and grain. In an attempt to "fix" some frames that have deteriorated at the end of certain reels, Roan has slowed the motion down at fadeouts, apparently re-using undamaged frames. This produces an unnatural effect, and I would have preferred to view the film with all its warts rather than be subjected to this kind of tampering. There is also a moment in the jail scene at the film's opening where a close-up is reinstated to compensate for some missing dialog! Since Lon only talks during this opening sequence, it's crucial to have all his lines intact. All in all, a real letdown from Roan for this fan favorite.

On the other hand, THE AMAZING TRANSPARENT MAN is quite a nice copy. It's not as enjoyable as the Chaney feature, but unintended laughs provide a scant hour or so of fun for those seeing it for the first time. It's about a scientist turning a convict invisible to steal some radioactive materials; the criminal decides to try robbing a bank instead. It's always amazing to me when I try to comprehend that this low-grade cheapie was directed by Edgar Ulmer, the same man who gave us the 1934 Karloff/Lugosi horror classic THE BLACK CAT! Come to think of it, I get that same confused feeling when I watch Ulmer's DAUGHTER OF DR. JEKYLL...

Whatever the case, the DVD version from Roan is clean and detailed, and even presented in its original widescreen ration (if you can believe anyone would have bothered to film it that way). The better presentation on this double bill, but the lesser film on the program.

Too bad that I bought this release mostly for INDESTRUCTIBLE MAN. It's a title which I am confident will see a better day on DVD one day (because I don't think it's owned by a major studio). (Joe Lozowsky)

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