The Invisible Monster is a Republic

Republic Pictures

Republic Pictures was an independent film production-distribution corporation with studio facilities, operating from 1934 through 1959, and was best known for specializing in westerns, movie serials and B films emphasizing mystery and action....

 film serial

Serial (film)

Serials, more specifically known as Movie serials, Film serials or Chapter plays, were short subjects originally shown in theaters in conjunction with a feature film. They were related to pulp magazine serialized fiction...

.

Plot

A would-be American dictator and mad-scientist, known only as The Phantom Ruler, has developed a formula which, when sprayed on some solid object, renders that object and everything it contains invisible when exposed to rays emitted by a special lamp, also his own invention. Covered from head to toe in formula-treated cloth, he thus moves about unseen, presently with the objective of stealing enough money and formula components to render an entire army of willing followers invisible. Two henchmen assist him, along with several illegal aliens smuggled into the US by him and used to infiltrate, as employees, possible sites for him to later rob while invisible. When he successfully robs a bank vault, an investigator from the bank's insuror teams up with a woman police detective to solve the mystery of the money which to all outside appearances has just vanished. Tracking clues and interrupting other attempts by the Phantom Ruler to commit crimes, the protagonists round up enough evidence that they are not merely dealing with an ordinary crime ring. Eventually they discover the invisibility fluid and lamp, and the Phantom Ruler is killed when he trips over an open high-power electric cable he had laid on the floor of his den to do in the forces of law and order closing in upon him.

Cast

• Richard Webb
  Richard Webb (actor)
  Richard Webb was a film, television and radio actor. He was born in Bloomington, Illinois.He appeared in more than fifty films, including many westerns and films noir including Out of the Past , Night Has a Thousand Eyes , I Was a Communist for the FBI and Carson City...
  
   as Lane Carson
• Aline Towne
  Aline Towne
  Aline Towne born Fern Aline Eggen, also known as Fern Aline Waller, was an American film and television actress, best remembered for her lead roles in 1950s Republic serials, such as Radar Men from the Moon.Towne was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota.Towne appeared in dozens of roles on television, in...
  
   as Carol Richards
• Lane Bradford
  Lane Bradford
  - Career :Born in Yonkers, New York, U.S.. He has appeared in many television series and b western movies. On stage, he co-starred in Desperadoes' Outpost , The Great Sioux Uprising , Apache Warrior .....
  
   as Burton
• Stanley Price
  Stanley Price
  Stanley Price was an American film supporting actor who appeared in over 200 films between 1922 and 1956. He was born in Kansas, United States.-Career:...
  
   as The Phantom Ruler. The villain of the serial uses the trappings of the Mystery Villain but his identity is revealed to the audience in the first chapter.
• John Crawford
  John Crawford
  John Crawford may refer to:* John Crawford , Australian economist* John Crawford , American actor* John Crawford , Canadian hockey player...
  
   as Harris
• George Meeker
  George Meeker
  George Meeker was an American character movie and Broadway actor who became more of a legend off-camera than on. Meeker made several movies such as Crime Inc. , and Thief in the Dark and played an uncredited part in All Through the Night .Meeker has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.-External...
  
   as Harry Long

Production

The Invisible Monster was budgeted at $153,070 although the final negative cost

Negative cost

Negative cost is the cost of actually producing and shooting a film. It does not include such costs as distribution and promotion.Low-budget movies, for example The Blair Witch Project, can have promotional expenses that are much larger than the negative cost.The term comes from the costs up to the...

 was $152,115 (a $955, or 0.6%, under spend).

It was filmed between 7 March and 30 March 1950 under the working title

Working title

A working title, sometimes called a production title, is the temporary name of a product or project used during its development, usually used in filmmaking, television production, novel, video game, or music album.-Purpose:...

 The Phantom Ruler. The serial's production number was 1707.

Stunts

• Tom Steele
  Tom Steele (stuntman)
  Tom Steele was a stunt man and actor, best remembered for appearing in serials, especially those produced by Republic Pictures, in both capacities.-Early life:...
  
   as Lane Carson (doubling Richard Webb)
• Dale Van Sickel
  Dale Van Sickel
  Dale Harris Van Sickel was an American college football, basketball and baseball player during the 1920s, who later became a Hollywood motion picture actor and stunt performer for over forty years...
  
   as Harry Long (doubling George Meeker)

Theatrical

The Invisible Monsters official release date is 10 May 1950, although this is actually the date the sixth chapter was made available to film exchanges.

Television

The Invisible Monster was one of twenty-six Republic serials re-released as a film on television in 1966. The title of the film was changed to Slaves of the Invisible Monster. This version was cut down to 100-minutes in length.

Chapter titles

1. Slaves of the Phantom (20min)
2. The Acid Clue (13min 20s)
3. The Death Car (13min 20s)
4. Highway Holocaust (13min 20s)
5. Bridge to Eternity (13min 20s)
6. Ordeal by Fire (13min 20s)
7. Murder Train (13min 20s)
8. Window of Peril (13min 20s)
9. Trail to Destruction (13min 20s)
10. High Voltage Danger (13min 20s) - a re-cap chapter
11. Death's Highway (13min 20s)
12. The Phantom Meets Justice (13min 20s)

_Source:

External links

• The Invisible Monster at Todd Gault's Move Serial Experience