Memoirs of an Invisible Man (2025)

Memoirs of an Invisible Man
General Information
Directed by	John Carpenter
Produced by	Bruce Bodner Dan Kolsrud
Written by	Robert Collector Dana Olsen William Goldman
Composed by	Shirley Walker
Production Information
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Rating	Unrated
Budget	$35 million
Box office	$14.4 million
Running time	98 minutes
Language	English
Country	United States
Edited by	Marion Rothman
Cinematography	William A. Fraker
Based on	Memoirs of an Invisible Man By H. F. Saint

Memoirs of an Invisible Man is a 1992 American Science Fiction Comedy directed by John Carpenter. The film is loosely based on Memoirs of an Invisible Man, a 1987 novel by H.F. Saint.

Plot[]

Nick Halloway is a stock analyst who spends most of his life avoiding responsibility and connections with other people. At his favorite bar, the Academy Club, his friend George Talbot introduces him to Alice Monroe, a TV documentary producer. Sharing an instant attraction, Nick and Alice make out in the ladies' room and set a lunch date for Friday.

The following morning, a hungover Nick attends a shareholders' meeting at Magnascopic Laboratories. Unable to endure the droning presentation by Dr. Bernard Wachs, Nick leaves the room for a nap. A lab technician accidentally spills his mug of coffee onto a computer console, causing a meltdown, and the entire building is evacuated. The building seems to explode, but there is no debris. Instead, much of the building is rendered invisible, including Nick.

Shady CIA operative David Jenkins arrives on the scene, and discovers Nick's condition. While they are transferring him to an ambulance, the agents joke about how Nick will spend the rest of his life being studied by scientists. In a panic, Nick flees. Jenkins convinces his supervisor Warren Singleton not to notify CIA headquarters so that they can capture and take credit for Nick, who could become the perfect secret agent.

Nick hides at the Academy Club. He locates Dr. Wachs and asks for his help to reverse his condition. Wachs agrees to help, but Jenkins kills him to keep Nick's invisibility a secret. Jenkins' team gets a hold of Nick's background information but it doesn't prove very useful in finding him. It says that Nick has never been married, his parents are both dead, he has no relatives, a few friends but none that he's very close to, and he's not really dedicated to his job as he does it fast and loose. After reviewing Nick's profile, Jenkins says that Nick was an invisible man even before the accident. Nick infiltrates the CIA headquarters to find any information that can be used against them. Jenkins discovers Nick and tries to recruit him, but Nick is disgusted by the idea of him killing people. They have a confrontation, but Nick gets away.

Nick goes to San Francisco and stays in George's remote beach house. George arrives with his wife Ellen, Alice, and another friend, to spend the weekend. Nick phones Alice and tells her to meet him nearby. He reveals his condition to Alice, and she promptly faints. When she revives, Alice decides to stay with Nick and help him. They travel to Mexico, where Nick can start a new life. To make money, he trades stocks using Alice as a proxy. Jenkins tracks them down, and shoots Nick with a tranquillizer gun. Nick falls into a river, revives and escapes. He makes his way to a video store, where he records his memoirs on video tape, including an ultimatum for Jenkins: exchange Alice for the tape, or Nick will give it to the CIA and the press. Jenkins agrees to the exchange.

At the arranged time for the exchange, Jenkins puts Alice into a cab and orders his men to surround the phone booth where he thinks Nick is. The man in the phone booth turns out to be George, who is dressed in Nick's concealing clothing. Nick is disguised as the cab driver; he takes Alice away, pursued by Jenkins. They continue the chase on foot into a building still under construction, in the course of which Nick gets covered with concrete dust, outlining his silhouette. At the top, by taking off his jacket (which has the largest amount of dust on it), Nick tricks Jenkins into thinking that he has become desperate enough to commit suicide. Nick holds the jacket out to his side and pretends to begin to fall. Jenkins lunges at the jacket to try to save him, but ends up plunging off the building to his death.

Believing Nick to be dead, Singleton releases Alice. Nick reunites with Alice and they leave for Switzerland. The film ends with shots of Nick's apparently empty clothing skiing down a mountainside towards their chalet, where a pregnant Alice greets him with a hot drink and kiss.

Cast[]

• Patricia Heaton as Ellen
• Barry Kivel as a Drunk businessman
• Donald Li as a Cab driver
• Rosalind Chao as Cathy DiTolla
• Jay Gerber as Roger Whitman
• Shay Duffin as Patrick, the bartenderSam Neill as David Jenkins
• Michael McKean as George Talbot
• Stephen Tobolowsky as Warren Singleton
• Jim Norton as Dr. Bernard Wachs
• Pat Skipper as Morrissey
• Paul Perri as Gomez
• Richard Epcar as Tyler
• Steven Barr as Clellan
• Gregory Paul Martin as Richard

Production[]

In 1986, Harry F. Saint's Memoirs of an Invisible Man was still unfinished when Hollywood agent William Morris gave it to Chevy Chase to read. The actor instantly got interested, and led to a bidding war among studios. Warner Bros paid $1.35 million for the film rights.

William Goldman was assigned to write the screenplay in the mid 1980s, by which time Ivan Reitman was attached to direct. It was Goldman's first screenplay after what he called his "leper" period when he was in no demand to write scripts; he attributes his comeback to being represented by CAA.

The project was largely a vanity project shepherded by Chase through the studio (the film is billed as "A Cornelius Production" – Cornelius is Chevy Chase's real first name). He wanted to make a film about the loneliness of invisibility, intending the film to be a bridge into less comedic roles. Goldman did three drafts of the script and Warners were prepared to greenlight the film. However Chase was unhappy with the script. Reitman wanted to proceed with the script but the studio backed Chase and Reitman left the project.

Goldman also left the project saying "I'm too old and too rich for this shit." He later said that Mark Canton, head of the studio, did not pay the writer for all his work causing Goldman to initiate a lawsuit against them.

Chase found Goldman's script too comedic, "Clark Griswold becoming invisible", and sought screenwriters to rework it, reportedly to do something "more serious, with more adventure", eventually approaching Dana Olsen and Robert Collector. Richard Donner was attached to direct for eight months given his experience with visual effects, something that made various potential directors turn down the project. Eventually someone suggested John Carpenter, and Chase approved the idea.

Release[]

Memoirs of an Invisible Man was theatrically released in the United States on February 28, 1992 by Warner Brothers.

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