Joseph H. Lewis had directed a somewhat similar film on Poverty Row five years earlier. "The Invisible Ghost" featured Bela Lugosi in a rare non-horror role as a schizophrenic haunted by the memory of his adulterous wife who had deserted him years earlier and was presumed to be dead following an automobile accident. When she inexplicably resurfaces, her appearances cause her husband to lose control and fly into a homicidal rage. Once he regains his senses, he has no memory of his crimes which he commits in a trance like state.
As a Monogram Studios production from Sam Katzman, "The Invisible Ghost" is undeniably cheap looking, but Lewis always manages to try make something out of next to nothing. There are some scenes of Lugosi staring from a window during a rainstorm that reminded me of Geray doing much the same in "So Dark the Night."
"The Invisible Ghost" has some wild plot twists that strain all credibility. It is also unique as the screenplay was written by an African American husband and wife team. John McGuire ("Stranger on the Third Floor") and Clarence Muse are in the supporting cast.
The two films are not identical, but both share some thematic similarities. Geray and Lugosi eventually learn that they are the murderers rather than some third persons.
Dan
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