the development of The Invisible Man Returns in March 1939, around the time Son of Frankenstein had found itself doing decently in the box office. In May, Joe May was announced as the director of the film with either Boris Karloff or Bela Lugosi hinted at playing the lead. Days after this announcement, Rowland V. Lee was then announced as the film's director. The screenwriter also went through several different writers, with W.P. Lipscomb announced who had previously done the films Les Misérables, A Tale of Two Cities, and Pygmalion. Michael Hogan, who had worked on the adaptation of Rebecca, was later given screenwriting duties. May eventually became the director of the film. The film's screenplay was finally written by Curt Siodmak (credited as Kurt Siodmak) and Lester K. Cole based on a story by May, Siodmak and Cedric Belfrage. On June 29, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Universal was looking for an unknown actor to fill the role, specifically noting they required a "young, good-looking contender even though he would remain invisible until the last reel". The three principal roles were given to actors who had recently completed work on Tower of London: Vincent Price, Nan Grey and John Sutton. Sir Cedric Hardwicke was given top billing in the film despite the role being a more supportive position. Price commented that working with director Joe May worked as "May was difficult to understand, as he spoke no English. I had something of a rapport with him because of my knowledge of German". Filming The Invisible Man Returns was described in the book Universal Horrors as "being plagued with production problems". The film's budget of $243,750 and 27-day filming schedule were not adequate for the special effects and May's time to direct. Filming began on October 13, 1939. The studios back lot was turned into an English mining town which included a coal pile and coal escalator that was 75 feet long. By the second week of shooting, the film was already behind schedule. By November the crew was working until midnight with little expectation that the film would be done on time. Vincent Price when he was not covered by bandages or special effects only appears as himself for one minute in the film. Price spoke on the film saying that the special effects were done with Price being draped in black velvet and working against a set draped