The Invisible Man
1958 - United KingdomDirected by Pennington Richards who had previously worked on The Buccaneers and Ivanhoe and produced by Danger Man creator Ralph Smart, The Invisible Man was Dr Pete Brady, a scientist who had become victim of his own experiments into light refraction, leaving him permanently transparent.
Unable to find a cure, Brady went to work for the British government. The series was notable for its special effects such as the self-smoking cigarette, and the self-drinking glass of wine. A self-driving car caused one motorist to almost have an accident when it pulled up alongside him at a set of traffic lights during location filming. An actor ran across to the car and, on opening the door, recoiled from an invisible blow. The onlooker's reaction was so genuine that the production team kept it in the transmitted programme. The actor who played Brady never received a credit although his voice belonged to Tim Turner, and Lisa Daniely starred as his sister. Other cast members were Deborah Watling (who later went on to star as travelling companion Victoria Waterfield in Doctor Who), as Brady's niece, and Ernest Clark (Prof. Loftus in the sitcom Doctor In The House), as Brady's boss Colonel Ward.
There was a US version in 1975 with Man From U.N.C.L.E. star, David McCallum and the series was revived again in 2000. Chances are we haven't seen the last of The Invisible Man.
Published on December 23rd, 2018. Written by Laurence Marcus for Television Heaven.
