THE INVISIBLE WOMAN (1940) is the third film in the Universal franchise and goes for the all-out comedy approach this time around, maybe because of the world war that had just begun, internationally at least. It's a short and slight little production that sees a woman using her new-found powers to get revenge on her boss before outwitting the usual gangsters you find in films of this era. It's a reasonable exercise which has some humorous moments, although not exactly a classic.

One problem I had with it is John Barrymore as the mad professor, all eyebrow twitching and gurning into the camera lens - not what I'd expected from the guy in SVENGALI. Virginia Bruce is better, bringing a frothy lightness of touch to the titular role, and there are supporting turns from Oscar Homolka, Shemp Howard (!) and the Wicked Witch of the West herself, Margaret Hamilton, as another grumpy character. The film moves at a fair pace and has the usual fun FX, so it could be worse.

What a strong cast for such a silly and stupid (but still decent) movie! Classic movie fans know these names: John Barrymore, Virginia Bruce, John Howard, Charles Ruggles, Oscar Homolka, Shemp Howard, Edward Brophy and Margaret Hamilton.

They are all here in this female version of The Invisible Man. Actually, as stupid as it can get, it also provides a number of funny scenes so I guess it served its purpose.

It's only 73 minutes long, but it should have been shorter as the gags wear thin after 40 minutes. Ruggles almost steals the show as the butler. He provides most of the humor in a real slapstick manner. As in a lot of these old comedies, some of this stuff is really corny but I did laugh out loud at a couple things.

Bruce and John Howard are attractive leads and Barrymore is effective as the typically-portrayed-in-classic films eccentric scientist. It was also fun to see Shemp Howard, of Three Stooges fame, play a gangster, although a Stooge-like goofy one.

The special effects were good in their day but not now. In fact, the DVD is sharp enough that you can see the outline of Bruce's head when she's supposed to be invisible!

What ultimately harmless fun could you get into? (Or unintentionally harmful depending on the victim...) Harassed model Virginia Bruce answers the advertisement from a wacky scientist (John Barrymore) looking for someone willing to become invisible in order to aid the cause of scientific research. All she really wants is the opportunity to get revenge on the nasty boss (a very funny Charles Lane) who wants to dock her pay an hour for being only a minute late then fires her for telling off the imperious customers who purposely ripped her dress. No sooner has she entered Barrymore's lab then she's "outta there!" and back to give payback to Lane in the funniest way possible. This film gives the viewer instant fantasies for similar employers, and should be shown to imperious supervisors who have had too many complaints from their subordinates.

But this only briefly deals with the slapstick brought on by Bruce's determination to show Lane a thing or two. It's about a group of criminals whose boss (Oscar Homolka) has been longing to come back to the United States from Mexico but can't because of being wanted by the fed's. When the two dumb gangster sidekicks (Edward Brophy and Donald MacBride, ironically on the wrong side of the law for a change) go up against Bruce and Barrymore, it's obvious who will triumph. Then, there's flustered butler Charles Ruggles, his playboy boss Cesar Romero and Barrymore's suspicious housekeeper, Margaret Hamilton. "What do you think this is, Halloween?" the former Wicked Witch of the West answers to an invisible presence at the door.

Everybody shines, the humor is hysterically funny, and even if it is obviously a rip-off of "Topper", it works, thanks to its parody of "The Invisible Man". Don't sip on a soft drink while watching this film too much, because the laughs are frequent and truly gut-wrenching. For example, the two imperious wealthy women get a true eyeful when Bruce shows back up to model for them again, quite unexpectedly. Granted, this film doesn't require much intelligence to just enjoy for its comedy, but what results is a film that you will want to share with your friends and watch over again.