Now You See Him . . .

 

 

 

The H.G. Wells classic, The Invisible Man, has been the subject of more than a dozen move, radio, and TV productions over the past 80 or so years.  

 

During the 1950s, it was even adapted for British Television (and broadcast in the US on CBS) as a sort of adventure/spy/Science Fiction program.  

 

While not exactly true to the H. G. Wells version, the series followed the adventures of Dr. Peter Brady who accidentally renders himself invisible when a lab experiment goes awry.    

 

He is first locked up as a security risk, but then is `recruited’ to do spy work for the government.   

 

The creator was Ralph Smart, who would go on to create one of the great 1960’s spy series,  Danger Man (aka Secret Agent) with Patrick McGoohan).  

 

The original pilot for the show was never aired, as Smart realized that the special effects were simply too crude, even for TV back then,  They reshot the pilot, this time with better production values, and the series ran 26 episodes over two years.

 

The lead character was never credited, since his face was never shown.  Johnny Scripps, a midget, played Dr. Brady ensconced inside his suit – his diminutive size allowing him to see through the button holes in Brady’s suit.

 

When viewed in context (low budget, made more than 50 years ago, and during the height of the cold war), this remains a nifty little series as long as you aren’t expecting much in the way of special effects.

 

Certainly worth a look, particularly if you remember this one from your childhood as do I.

 

Here then is the first episode, and a link to the entire series, available on The Internet Archive.

 

Invisible Man - Secret Experiment (1958)
First episode of the 1958 British television series "H.G. Wells' The Invisible Man". Not really anything to do with the Novel, the series is a fantasy-espionage series - like Danger Man or the Avengers with the added invisibility gimmick.

 

The entire run of 26 episodes is available at this link.