Michael Radcliffe

Michael Radcliffe is a fictional character referenced in the Universal Monsters film series. He was a minor character featured in the 1940 movie The Invisible Man Returns. The character did not actually appear in the film and was referenced only. As such, he was not portrayed by any actor.

Biography
Michael Radcliffe was the brother of Geoffrey Radcliffe and lived at Radcliffe Manor in England. He was also co-owner of the Radcliffe Colliery, which was a mining operation that employed dozens of workers. One day, Michael was surveying the mines with his cousin and business associate Richard Cobb. Richard secretly wanted control over the family's business and fortune, so he murdered Michael deep in the mine shaft.

Richard convinced a miner named Willie Spears to conspire with him to implicate Geoffrey for the murder. In exchange, Richard made Willie superintendent of the colliery. Geoffrey Radcliffe was convicted of Michael's murder and sent to prison. On the eve of his execution, family friend Frank Griffin visited Geoffrey's cell and administered an injection of a formula that rendered him invisible. Radcliffe was able to escape prison undetected and set about solving his brother's murder.

Geoffrey initially suspected Willie Spears of being involved and psychologically tortured the besotted miner until he confessed to conspiring with Richard Cobb to kill Michael. Radcliffe had several altercations with his murderous cousin, the last of which took place at the colliery itself. Richard Cobb fell from the top of a coal car down an external escalator. Before succumbing to his mortal wounds, he confessed to murdering Michael Radcliffe.

Notes & Trivia



 * Few of the servants at Radcliffe Manor believed that Geoffrey Radcliffe had killed his brother. Two of the more vocal servants were the butler, Mister Cotton - who adamantly refused to believe that Geoffrey killed Michael, as well as Cookie, the cook, who noted that Geoffrey and Richard were very close to one another, "like pals".