Terror of Mechagodzilla

Japan Release: 1954
Running Time:
70 minutes

Invisible Man


Japanese Title

透明人間
[Tomei Ningen]

Distributor: Production:

Toho
Toho

In the 1940s, a Japanese military scientist discovered a means of rendering a person invisible. An entire platoon of "invisible special operations agents" were assembled and deprived of their visible appearances, though they were believed to have died in one of the Pacific battles. Nine years after the war, a car driving through Tokyo runs over an unseen object, which then materializes into view: one of the missing invisible men, having just committed suicide. This is because an invisible man will regain his appearance only in death. The dead man left a note confirming at least one of his comrades is still alive and present in Japan. The news is still fresh when a gang of men labeling themselves as "the invisible men" start terrorizing and plundering the city. A reporter named Komatsu starts digging into the background of the World War II agents, his investigations bringing him to a local clown named Nanjo. As it turns out, Nanjo is the sole surviving invisible man from Japan's war era, and the gang are merely imposters. Nanjo, who wears heavy makeup to remain visible to normal people, at first avoids contact with the gang until they murder one of his neighbors. Determined to stop their reign of terror, the former soldier removes his disguise, having become the Invisible Avenger...

Live Action Science Fiction

Box Office - Stock Footage - DVDs - CDs - Pictures - Background - Concept Art - Cut Scenes - Reviews

Titles

International Title

Invisible Man

Initial US Title

-
US Distributor: - / Time: -

Alternate Titles

Invisible Man
[Literal translation]

 


Aliens, SDF & Misc.


Staff

Cast

Directed by Motoyoshi Oda
Writing credits Shigeaki Hidaka, Hiroshi Beppu
Produced by Takeo Kita
Music by Kyosuke Kami
Cinematography by Eiji Tsuburaya
Film Editing by Shuichi Anbara
Production Design by Teruaki Abe
Assistant Directors Teruo Maru, Tetsuhiro Kawasaki
Special Effects by Eiji Tsuburaya
Takemitsu Nanjo, Invisible Man Seizaburo Kawazu
Michiyo, Singer Miki Sanjo
Yajima, Gang Boss Minoru Takada
Komatsu, Reporter Yoshio Tsuchiya
Ken Kenjiro Uemura
Mariko, Little Girl Keiko Kondo
Mariko's Grandfather Kamatari Fujiwara
Nomura Sonosuke Sawamura
Chief of Police Seijiro Onda
Police Shoichi Hirose
Otsuka Takuzo Kumagai
Jewelry Store Manager Yasuhisa Tsutsumi
Detective Shin Otomo
Nightclub Dancer Noriko Shigeyama
Men at Nightclub Kazuo Suzuki, Haruo Suzuki
- Haruo Nakajima
- Fuyuki Murakami
- Yo Shiomi
- Yutaka Sada
- Akira Sera

Posters


DVDs and Blu-rays

Japan Region 2 Invisible Man Toho (2007)

Background and Trivia

  • Toho submitted the film to the US copyright office on December 29th, 1997 with the registration number of PA0000881187. The movie was submitted under its international title, Invisible Man, and its Romaji title of Tomei Ningen.
  • Actor Yoshio Tsuchiya volunteered to join the production. However, he originally wanted to play the Invisible Man rather than the reporter he ended up cast as. This detail is cited in Age of the Gods (self-published).

Reviews

Patrick Galvan Star Rating
September 5, 2017