The Invisible Woman (1940)

Starring Virginia Bruce, John Barrymore, John Howard, Charlie Ruggles, Oskar Homolka
Directed by A. Edward Sutherland
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

An eccentric scientist perfects a method of turning someone invisible, and gets a dress model to volunteer to be his first subject.

While Universal made a more serious sequel to The Invisible Man the same year, they also fashioned this much more lighthearted comedy, with Bruce starring as the lady who's made transparent by John Barrymore, of all people.  For me, a lot of the comedy falls flat, but have to admit laughing at a number of lines and situations.  When Donald MacBride, playing a gangster's henchman named Foghorn, loses his voice, I don't think it's as funny as it would have been with an actor with a more booming sound, and Shemp Howard is sadly wasted in a limited role, although Charlie Ruggles fares better as John Howard's butler, the chief comic presence in the film.  While Bruce gives a fine starring performance, with a sharp tongue and wit, some of the gender commentary is badly dated and a couple lines are pretty offensive.  However, I'm sure there were women in the audience cheering when Bruce gets revenge on her cruel boss, and John P. Fulton's special effects are again marvelous.

Murders In The Zoo (1933)

Starring Charlie Ruggles, Lionel Atwill, Gail Patrick, Randolph Scott, John Lodge
Directed by Edward Sutherland
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

A sportsman who captures wild animals he donates to a city zoo concocts a plot to use the zoo to dispose of his philandering wife's lover.

One of Lionel Atwill's best showcases is a memorable horror film with some daring scenes of pre-code violence, well-scripted by Philip Wylie and Seton I. Miller.  Although comedic actor Charlie Ruggles is brought in to bring light moments to balance out the horror, this is Atwill's chance to shine, and he's chilling, exposing cold calculating expressions to the camera, and covering up his crimes and blaming them on the zoo's staff with righteous indignation.  Adding to the menace is the convincing photography of real savage beasts, who are well integrated in the film, although the film's violent climax would definitely not be approved by PETA today.  Other familiar faces in the cast include future western star Randolph Scott as the zoo's toxicologist and Island Of Lost Souls' Panther-Woman, Kathleen Burke, as Atwill's nervous wife.