A series of gruesome murders are being varied out and the police are completely puzzled who the murderer is A very simple premise but one that is painfully told in a bizarre manner. In this type of movie the audience should be subjected to an element of suspense and mystery if only to involve some basic interest in the narrative but from the outset the audience are shown who the murderer is even if their motive is unclear Along with the lack of mystery nothing else about the story works well either. The dialogue is constantly expositional where characters refer to things they'd already know about. Okay it's a B movie simply to be shown after the cliffhanger serial and before the main feature but even so the audience should demand a bit more from the film makers

Considering it's quick, cheap Monogram Pictures pedigree, this film is has a surprising amount to recommend it. Though the lucks of funds allotted to it shows, it uses the limitation to it's advantage, producing a tense, claustrophobic film set almost entirely in one house seemingly cursed by repeated murders.Bela Lugosi is more genre-cast than type-cast in this film. While it's still a suspense thriller, he is for once given a sympathetic role, he he plays it to the hilt, giving a very sympathetic performance as a man devastated completely after being left by his wife. It's both a strength and a flaw in entertainment terms, though, that the script of this film is utterly strange and bonkers. Lugosi's wife has lost her memory and sanity, and is being fed and hidden away by Kessler's (Lugosi's gardener). She likes to wander around at night in a spectral fashion, whereupon Kessler has a tendency to see her, then go temporarily insane and kill somebody. On this occasion, he kills the crazy ex of his daughter's fiancé Ralph, causing Ralph to take the blame for the murder and be executed. Then Ralph's twin brother shows up from abroad and help investigate the murders.Yes, it's that odd a plot. Which makes it totally unbelievable, but also loads of fun to watch. I liked that it depended on psychological horror, and that the "Invisible Ghost" of the title was invisible because there wasn't one.While I'm sure the direction was done under time constraints, there are a number of nice shots, and Joseph H. Lewis conveys a lot of information evocatively and visually in a scenario that requires a lot of information to be transmitted quickly.All in a all, a good showcase for Lugosi in what's actually rather a tragic and sympathetic role, and some nice creepy film-making around a scenario that's completely ludicrous -- but entertainingly ludicrous!

With all of the unintentionally laughable nonsense that prevailed in the Invisible Ghost's story-line - I can't see how any of the actors were ever able to keep a straight face and not burst out laughing while playing their parts and delivering their ludicrous lines.This "mystery" story definitely lost a lot of its intended clout and suspense by the fact that within the first 10 minutes of the picture the viewer was already clued into the identity of the crazed killer who was offing everybody. So, all that followed this revelation only served to be pretty damn pointless, in the long run.With his flaring nostrils and his typical one-dimensional character portrayals, I sure thought that, as an actor, Bela Lugosi (59 at the time) was nothing but a big ham who obviously over-estimated himself and his apparent abilities as a competent and convincing performer.To me, this moon-faced joker named Bela Lugosi was clearly a "one-note" actor. His presence in the Invisible Ghost only helped to send this film straight down into the gutter.

I loved the high, wide-angel shots looking down a flight of stairs, overlooking the foyer, and the great set designs and lighting in the dark, old house. One cannot miss, nor forget, the shot of Lugosi menacingly staring out the window just before 14 minutes into film; and Lugosi being filmed through the burning fireplace, giving him an even more devilish look. Sometimes harsh black-and-white photography mixes quite well with the more subdued, almost washed-out look the film has during some calmer, tranquil scenes. Well done camera-work and lighting, and impressive set designs, are assets to the film as well as Lugosi's always entertaining presence, in a (sort of) out-of-type character for him. Instead of playing a quieter villain, here, his character is a kindly old man who is completely unaware of the crimes he is committing under hypnosis. I have not mentioned the plot of this film for a reason: it's quite confusing, inconclusive, and at times, downright silly: Lugosi is a sleepwalking killer, who has murdered women in a similar fashion in his dark, old house, after the sudden loss of his beloved wife.Yes, well, I said it was confusing and inconclusive. It's worth a look for Lugosi fans, but film is far from his best, and non-Lugosi fans will be quickly bored with it.