To me, this is arguably the best of the "A&C Meet…" series. The boys get mixed up with a prizefighter accused of murder who escapes the cops and gangsters by turning invisible with the help of an experimental serum. Naturally, this leads to an array of amusing hijinks.The comic potential here is greater than in other A&C monster entries (…Meet Frankenstein; … Meet the Mummy; etc.) because the menace here has the power of invisibility. That means the menace can challenge the boys in public without the public knowing it. On the other hand, the other monsters can't mix in public without being seen which narrows the comic potential to haunted houses or other non-public spaces. For example, take the punching bag scene. It looks like Lou (Costello) has lightning speed rocking the bag when in reality it's the invisible boxer Tommy (Franz) who's doing it. There're a number of set-ups like this where the public is astonished by Lou's apparent powers, while actor Costello milks the comic potential.That's not to say the other monster entries are not funny to varying degrees. But the monsters are restricted in these movies to scaring everyone in over-the-top fashion, whereas being invisible greatly expands the possibilities, such as the nightclub scene with the poor flummoxed waiter (Syd Saylor) who can't figure out who's doing what.Anyway, the movie's consistently amusing and inventive. However, I wish we saw more of that great flashy blonde Adele Jergens (Marsden) and that great phony gangster Sheldon Leonard (Morgan). Seeing them together here resembles a match made in some cheap nightclub heaven. All in all, this is one of my A&C favorites among their many comedies.

Bumbling private detective Bud and Lou are hired by a boxer wrongly accused of murder to help clear his name when he is on the run. Bud decides to take the case but, when he learns of a reward for the man's capture, decides to turn Tommy Nelson into the police. Unfortunately for him, while Lou "keeps an eye on him", Tommy takes a serum that makes him turn invisible. Unable to be captured (because of course nobody believes Lou), Tommy gets the twosome to continue to help investigate the real murderer – with his help. But can they expose the killers before the dangerous side-effects kick in on Tommy?I have recently been give Abbott and Costello another pass on my TV, checking out some films I have not seen for some time. Of course I have remembered enough about them to watch the ones considered "good" and hence Invisible Man was next on my list after Meet Frankenstein. Watching them close together made me think that maybe one followed the other directly (after all the latter ends with an "appearance" by the invisible man) but they do not – not that narrative cohesion really matters too much. As is normally the easiest, this film has a fairly "straight" plot that is simple enough to not take up much time but solid enough to provide a structure. The rest of the film is the Abbott and Costello doing their thing in their own way and of course the film falls or rises based on how well this aspect of it works.Here it works pretty well. OK it is still a fairly unsophisticated style of humour but it works. The use of special effects (for the time) adds something to the mix but ultimately it is down to the players and down Abbott and Costello are in good form here. Both seem to be putting in work and are quite sharp in their delivery, with Abbott sharp while Costello delivers on the bumbling really well. The supporting cast feature solid enough b-movie turns to keep the plot moving (Guild, Jergens, Franz) while Frawley and others do many good variations on the "I can't believe what I'm seeing/not seeing" double take.It is not a brilliant comedy but it is one of A&C's better films that I have seen recently. It holds together well and, while my changing humour and aging mind did not find many big belly laughs in here, I did have a few laughs and plenty of smaller chuckles – it certainly didn't bore or annoy me. Worth seeing if you like their style because it works well here.

Our intrepid bumbling duo deliver the goods in one of the better offerings on their considerable CV. Here they are freshly qualified Private Investigators thrust into a murder investigation with an invisible man. That alone should tell you that the fun flows at a very decent clip, so with that I just need to say that some of the sequences here are comedy gold. Like a scene at a restaurant that is excellent, or Costello pretending to work the ball in the gym, and a final reel of a boxing match that really gets the laughter flowing. Watching these guys act as if with a real invisible man is wonderful, and of course the effects team also deserve praise for doing such a damn fine job with the invisible man of the piece.Not quite as good as...Meet Frankenstein, but it's darn near close. 8/10

Very funny in spots ("How did I ever graduate?" - "I slipped that guy 20 bucks!"), slow-going in others (despite the complete and welcome absence of any musical numbers), "Abbott and Costello Meet The Invisible Man" is probably not one of the duo's best films from a purely comedic standpoint, but it is nevertheless fascinating, if only for its amazing special effects. Clever, elaborate photographic, editing and other tricks are employed to achieve such effects as the invisible man removing his bandages from his head which is completely transparent while the rest of his body is not ("There is no reason to lose your head over this", observes Lou) - effects that in our digital age would probably be achieved by pressing some buttons in a computer. That's why you have to appreciate the effort and creativity that went into making such things happen. (**1/2)