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| Geoffrey Radcliffe | |
| Aliases: | The Invisible Man |
| Continuity: | Universal Monsters |
| Notability: | Main character |
| Gender: | Male |
| Race: | Altered human |
| Location: | Radcliffe Manor, England |
| Relatives: | Michael Radcliffe (brother) |
| Status: | Deceased by virtue of time era |
| Born: | 1911 [1] |
| First: | Invisible Man Returns, The (1940) |
| Actor: | Vincent Price |
Geoffrey Radcliffe is a fictional character featured in the Universal Monsters film series. He was the main character in the 1940 movie The Invisible Man Returns where he was played by actor Vincent Price.
Biography[]
Geoffrey Radcliffe was born sometime in the 1910s. His family lived at Radcliffe Manor and owned the Radcliffe Colliery, which was a coal mining operation in England. Geoffrey managed the operation along with his brother, Michael. Geoffrey was in love with a woman named Helen Manson, who lived on the estate.
Geoffrey and Michael had an ambitious cousin named Richard Cobb, who sought to gain control of the family fortune. One day, Richard and Michael were in the mines and Cobb saw his moment of opportunity. He murdered Michael and convinced a worker named Willie Spears to conspire with him to frame Geoffrey for the crime. Geoffrey Radcliffe was arrested and sentenced to prison.
One of Geoffrey's closest friends was a man named Frank Griffin. Frank was the younger brother of Jack Griffin - the late mad scientist who had created an invisibility formula that had caused quite a stir some nine years earlier. On the eve of Geoffrey's execution, Frank paid his friend a visit. He injected him with his own version of the invisibility formula, enabling Radcliffe to break out of prison so he could clear his name. To conceal himself from detection, he operated totally naked so that no one could see him. He visited Griffin later in order to see Helen, at which point donned proper attire and swathed his head in bandages and dark sunglasses. Griffin told him that he was working on an antidote, but he had to make haste with his investigation. The longer he remained invisible, the more likely it would become that his mind would deteriorate, same as what had happened to his brother.
The Invisible Man.
Radcliffe suspected that Willie Spears might have been involved in the frame-up, so he tracked him down. The besotted miner was driving home inebriated when the invisible Radcliffe sabotaged his car. Willie stumbled about as Geoffrey's disembodied voice tormented him, repeating his name over and over, pretending that he was a ghost. Spears became so startled that he ultimately fainted. Radcliffe dragged his body to a puddle of water and dunked his face into it until he revived. After more torment, Willie eventually confessed that Richard put him up towards framing Geoffrey for the murder by promising to make him superintendent at the coal mines. Geoffrey let Willie go free, but he wasn't done with him yet. Willie ran back to his cottage and began packing his bags. Radcliffe broke into his home, smacked him about, then bound his feet together. He left him alone in the cottage, unable to escape. Armed with the truth about his murderous cousin, Radcliffe set out to plot his revenge.
Meanwhile, an inspector from Scotland Yard named Sampson had been investigating Radcliffe's escape from prison. Having already spoken with Frank Griffin, he suspected that Radcliffe had become a benefactor of the invisibility formula and was still at large in the area - perhaps even still lingering about at Radcliffe Manor. When the inspector received word that Richard Cobb had been attacked, he made a personal visit to the manor, accompanied by a squad of men.
Geoffrey Radcliffe had indeed returned home and confronted Richard even though his cousin could not see him. The police presence however, made it impossible for Geoffrey to remain in the house for very long. Samson had ordered his men to don gas masks and spray the house down with smoke canisters to make Radcliffe more visible. Geoffrey attacked one of the guards and took his uniform so that he could get Helen out of the house to safety. When he tried to leave himself, two constables spotted his shape taking form in the smoke and opened fire, but Geoffrey escaped.
Radcliffe brought Helen over to Frank's home. Frank was growing increasingly nervous and frustrated, for he had not yet formulated an antidote to the serum, and he was concerned over what the long-term side effects of invisibility might entail. Radcliffe however, felt completely liberated. He spoke at length of the power that was now at his fingertips; the ability to go wherever he wanted or do whatever he wanted completely unfettered. Griffin knew that Radcliffe was now succumbing to the madness. He tricked him into drinking a glass of drugged wine and tied him up in the basement of his home. Radcliffe escaped however and headed back towards Radcliffe Manor to confront Richard anew.
Radcliffe sneaked past the guards into Richard's room and confronted him again. Holding him at gunpoint, he forced Richard to leave the protective custody of the police, warning him not to tip them off to his presence. Richard calmly left his room and went downstairs, whereupon the two of them left the estate in Richard's car.
Geoffrey brought Richard back to Willie Spears' cabin. Spears had been strung up in a noose, but the noose had yet to be drawn tight enough to hang him. Richard took advantage of the opportunity to shut out the lights, claiming that they were now on equal footing. The two fought one another and during the struggle, the rope around Willie's neck drew taught, killing him. Richard tried to escape and Geoffrey gave chase.
The real Geoffrey Radcliffe.
Radcliffe pursued Richard Cobb to the colliery, where Richard climbed aboard a mining car that was riding up an escalator. Radcliffe leaped upon him and tried to beat a confession out of him. Police and workers arrived on the scene and Inspector Samson took a blind shot in their direction. The bullet miraculously struck the unseen Radcliffe, who was then forced to flee. Richard however, was unable to extricate himself from the coal car before it was dumped from the escalator and he fell to the ground amidst a pile of rocks. Before dying, Richard confessed to Helen that he had in fact murdered Michael Radcliffe.
Although he was injured, Geoffrey managed to secure himself some clothes from a neighborhood scarecrow and make his way back to Doctor Griffin. By this point, Griffin had completed work on his cure, which was now vital, since Radcliffe required emergency medical attention to remove the bullet from his side. Griffin administered the injection. Miraculously, not only did the antidote restore Geoffrey Radcliffe's visibility, but it also restored his sanity. Using blood from volunteers, Griffin was able to save his life. [2]
A few years later, Geoffrey Radcliffe - or someone very similar to him, was scene in the town of La Mirada, Florida. He was on a rowboat that two frightened freight haulers named Chick Young and Wilbur Grey were using to escape from the Frankenstein Monster. Radcliffe was apparently taking the invisibility formula again and introduced himself as the Invisible Man. The two men were so taken aback that they dove off the boat into the water in order to get away. [3]
Notes & Trivia[]
- The character of Geoffrey Radcliffe was created by director Joe May and writers Curt Siodmak, Lester Cole and Cedric Belfrage based on concepts originally developed by H.G. Wells.
See also[]
The World of the Invisible Man
External Links[]
References[]
- ↑ Date approximated based upon the age of actor Vincent Price.
- ↑ Invisible Man Returns, The (1940)
- ↑ Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)