Invisible Opponent: A Steamer Full of Liars

Is it worth your time?

If you like old-school, smoky-room thrillers where everyone is wearing a tuxedo and lying through their teeth, you’ll dig this. If you need pacing faster than a brisk walk or can’t stand black-and-white films that feel like a stage play, skip it. It’s a bit dusty, but there’s a certain kick to watching people get conned in 1930s formal wear.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Invisible Opponent (1933) through its definitive frames.

The whole thing takes place on a boat. I’ve always found that setting to be inherently stressful. You can’t go anywhere, and if someone is trying to swindle you, you’re trapped in a floating office with them. Peter Lorre shows up, and as usual, he owns every single inch of the frame he’s standing in. He has this way of looking at a camera that makes you feel like he knows exactly what you had for breakfast.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Invisible Opponent (1933) through its definitive frames.

The plot is a mess of fake contracts and greed. It’s one of those movies where you stop trying to follow the exact legal details of the oil rights about twenty minutes in. It doesn't matter anyway. It’s all about the posturing. The two investors are so desperate to outsmart each other that they practically hand the money over to the grifters themselves.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Invisible Opponent (1933) through its definitive frames.

There is a scene in the lounge that goes on for ages. They just talk. And talk. But the lighting is so sharp and high-contrast that you don't really mind the lack of action. It feels a bit like watching a chess game where both players are cheating.

It’s not quite as tense as The Sixth Sense when it comes to the twist, obviously, but it shares that same DNA of people being led down a garden path. It’s nowhere near as grand as the scale of The Lost Squadron, but sometimes a small, claustrophobic con job is more fun than a sky full of planes anyway.

The ending feels a bit abrupt. It’s like the writers realized they were out of film and just decided to wrap it up while someone was mid-sentence. I kind of liked that, actually. No big speeches, no grand moralizing. Just a bunch of people realizing they’ve been had.

Quick thoughts:

• The wardrobe department really earned their paycheck here.
• I’m pretty sure someone loses their hat in a background shot and nobody cares.
• The dialogue is snappy, even if it’s totally ridiculous.
• It’s a reminder that people have been trying to scam each other over imaginary oil for a very long time.

It’s a solid enough way to spend a rainy afternoon. Don't expect to be changed, just expect to be entertained by a bunch of folks in hats being very, very naughty. 🎩