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Dwight Frye
★ Acting

Dwight Frye

1899 – 1943 · Salina, Kansas, USA · Active 1926–2025

Born in Salina, Kansas in 1899, Dwight Frye became a staple in early horror cinema, known for his unsettling portrayals of disturbed characters. In The Vampire Bat (1933), he plays Herman, a half-wit suspected of murder, showcasing his ability to embody madness. Frye also appears in The Invisible Man (1933), further solidifying his reputation as a master of the macabre. His performances in these films capture the essence of the era's horror, making him a significant figure in the cult film landscape.

▶ Watch on SassyFlix 2 films available
The Invisible Man

The Invisible Man

1933 ★ 7.6
as Reporter (uncredited)

Jack Griffin arrives at a remote inn wrapped in bandages and desperate to reverse an experiment performed on his own body. When suspicion exposes his secret, invisibility frees his growing madness from every ordinary restraint. While researching a new drug, Dr. Jack Griffin (Claude Rains) stumbles on a potion that can make him invisible. When he reveals his new ability to his old mentor (Henry Travers) and his fiancée (Gloria Stuart), it's clear that a side effect of the potion is insanity. Jack goes on a violent rampage, and the police struggle to hunt him down, unable to see their target, while his mentor and his former partner (William Harrigan) desperately try to devise a plan to capture him. Working in Dr. Cranley’s laboratory, scientist Jack Griffin was always given the latitude to conduct some of his own experiments. His sudden departure, however, has Cranley’s daughter Flora worried about him. Griffin has taken a room at the nearby Lion’s Head Inn, hoping to reverse an experiment he conducted on himself that made him invisible. But the experimental drug has also warped his mind, making him aggressive and dangerous. He’s prepared to do whatever it takes to restore his appearance. While researching a new drug, Dr. Jack Griffin (Claude Rains) stumbles on a potion that can make him invisible. When he reveals his new ability to his old mentor (Henry Travers) and his fiancée (Gloria Stuart), it's clear that a side effect of the potion is insanity. Jack goes on a violent rampage, and the police struggle to hunt him down, unable to see their target, while his mentor and his former partner (William Harrigan) desperately try to devise a plan to capture him. After experimenting on himself and becoming invisible, scientist Jack Griffin, now aggressive due to the drug's effects, seeks a way to reverse the experiment at any cost. A scientist finds a way of becoming invisible, but in doing so, he becomes murderously insane.

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Career Highlights Top 6 by popularity · TMDB

Filmography

57 credits
2020s 1 credit
2025
Movie
2000s 1 credit
2000
The Many Faces of Dracula as Renfield (archive footage)
Movie ★ 3.5
1990s 3 credits
1998
Universal Horror as (archive footage)
Movie ★ 7.1
1992
Movie ★ 10.0
1991
Frankenstein: A Cinematic Scrapbook as Fritz / Karl (archive footage)
Movie ★ 6.3
1940s 16 credits
1943
Movie ★ 6.2
1943
Dead Men Walk as Zolarr
Movie ★ 4.6
1943
Submarine Alert as Haldine (uncredited)
Movie ★ 4.8
1943
Movie ★ 6.9
1943
Dangerous Blondes as Hoodlum (uncredited)
Movie ★ 6.3
1942
The Ghost of Frankenstein as Villager at Meeting / Grave Robber (flashback) (uncredited)
Movie ★ 5.8
1942
Don't Talk as Ziggy (uncredited)
Movie ★ 6.4
1941
Movie ★ 5.8
1941
Movie ★ 8.0
1941
Flying Blind as Leo Qualen
Movie ★ 4.6
1941
Devil Pays Off as Radio Operator
Movie ★ 4.1
1940
Drums of Fu Manchu as Prof. Anderson
Movie ★ 6.3
1940
Sky Bandits as Speavy
Movie ★ 5.7
1940
Movie ★ 5.8
1940
Phantom Raiders as Eddie Anders
Movie ★ 6.1
1940
The Son of Monte Cristo as Pavlov's Secretary (Uncredited)
Movie ★ 6.2
1930s 33 credits
1939
The Man in the Iron Mask as Fouquet's Valet
Movie ★ 7.1
1938
Think It Over as Arsonist
Movie ★ 7.3
1938
Sinners in Paradise as Marshall (uncredited)
Movie ★ 5.4
1938
Movie ★ 6.5
1938
Fast Company as Sidney Z. Wheeler
Movie ★ 5.4
1938
The Night Hawk as John Colley
Movie ★ 10.0
1938
Adventure in Sahara as Gravet, 'the Jackal'
Movie ★ 5.8
1938
Movie ★ 7.5
1937
Sea Devils as SS Paradise Radio Operator (uncredited)
Movie ★ 6.0
1937
The Shadow as Vindecco
Movie ★ 7.0
1937
The Man Who Found Himself as Hysterical patient
Movie ★ 8.5
1937
Something to Sing About as Mr. Easton (makeup supervisor)
Movie ★ 6.2
1936
Movie ★ 6.0
1936
Movie ★ 6.5
1936
Movie ★ 7.0
1935
Movie ★ 7.5
1935
Atlantic Adventure as Spike Jonas
Movie ★ 6.0
1935
Movie ★ 5.1
1935
The Great Impersonation as Roger Unthank (uncredited)
Movie ★ 7.5
1933
The Vampire Bat as Herman Gleib
Movie ★ 5.5
1933
Movie ★ 5.0
1933
The Invisible Man as Reporter (uncredited)
Movie ★ 7.5
1932
A Strange Adventure as Robert Wayne
Movie ★ 6.5
1932
Movie ★ 6.3
1932
The Western Code as Dick Loomis
Movie ★ 9.0
1932
By Whose Hand? as Chick Lewis
Movie ★ 6.6
1931
Dracula as Renfield
Movie ★ 7.2
1931
Movie ★ 7.5
1931
The Maltese Falcon as Wilmer Cook
Movie ★ 6.4
1931
Drácula as Renfield (archive footage) (uncredited)
Movie ★ 6.8
1931
The Black Camel as Jessop the Butler (uncredited)
Movie ★ 6.1
1930
The Doorway to Hell as Monk, Gangster
Movie ★ 6.5
1930
Man to Man as Vint Glade
Movie ★ 6.3
1920s 3 credits
1928
The Night Bird as Wedding Guest (uncredited)
Movie ★ 7.0
1927
Upstream as Theatre Audience Spectator
Movie ★ 6.1
1926
Exit Smiling as Balcony Heckler (uncredited)
Movie ★ 7.9