James Whale's The Invisible Man was a new kind of horror movie in 1933--one that made audiences laugh almost as much as it frightened them. Whale might simply have relied on the dazzling impact of John Fulton's special effects, which did an extraordinary job of creating the illusion of an invisible man on screen. Instead, he challenged his audience's expectations by playing many of the key scenes for laughs, such as that of the shirt dancing around the room while the police officer chases it; the scenes between the inn keeper (Forrester Harvey) and his hysterical wife (Una O'Connor); and the confusion of various characters trying to describe what they've seen (or, more properly, haven't). Audiences feel as though they've seen two films for the price of one, and the mixing of genres and moods worked so well that Whale was emboldened to try for even more extremes of humor, irony, and horror in his next major movie, The Bride of Frankenstein, 18 months later, and succeeded even further beyond anyone's expectations, creating that rare sequel that outstrips its predecessor. It is on that film, and The Invisible Man, that much of Whale's 70-year-plus reputation as a master filmmaker and horror creator rest, and from these two movies that dozens of modern filmmakers, from Wes Craven and Tobe Hooper to Tim Burton, derived much of the inspiration for their work and their careers.