Strange Illusion

Its films like this that gave Edgar G. Ulmer his reputation as a director who could overcome the limitations of rapid lowbudget film making, even though STRANGE ILLUSION is actually an "A" picture by PRC standards. When Ulmer had interesting material to work with, the results were often good, as they are here. The story is fairly involving. Jimmy Lydon plays a college student who dreams of his late father being killed in a train/car wreck. In the dream he sees his widowed mother being seduced by a sinister but charming figure. Then the dream begins to come true, and Lydon has to convince others is was not all just a dream. The photography is low key and moody. The film is well paced and held my interest throughout. The dream sequences are well directed. My only complaint is that Jimmy Lydon's mother looks a bit to young to have a college age son.

For a PRC film Strange Illusion is a top drawer item. It's on a PRC shoe string budget to be sure, but Edgar Ullmer is a director who works good with low budgets and in this case some offbeat casting.

James Lydon who most people will know as the radio and film Henry Aldrich is far from the goofy juvenile persona of that role. He's a rather serious student who is deeply concerned about Warren William who has been paying court to his mother Sally Eilers. Lydon's father was killed six months earlier, among other things he was the former Lieutenant Governor of California. His father was also a criminologist who interested himself in the case of a psychopathic killer who is believed dead, but Lydon thinks William's the guy.

What's really creepy in this film is that William in fact has been a patient at a sanitarium under the care of psychiatrist Charles Arnt. No mystery here, we learn early on that Arnt has William working for him. Psychiatrists intimidate people because they are students of the mind and know what makes people tick. Having one with a killer at his beck and call is a frightening concept unto itself. And William has his own agenda.

The lucky break for Lydon is that he also has a psychiatrist at his beck and call, his uncle on his mother's side Regis Toomey.

Strange Illusion is a film that will scare you far more than some blood and gore things because it explores things we don't like to think about. And that other worldly ending is a truly unique experience. I can't say any more about it.

This is one you have to see for yourself.

"Strange Illusion," reminiscent of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" and also director Edgar G. Ulmer's own stylish 1934 effort, "The Black Cat," is so full of holes and contrivances one can hardly take it seriously. It's worth a look, however, for a quartet of captivating performances: a slick and scheming Warren William, past his prime but as solid a screen presence as he was in the early 30s; Jimmy Lydon, the epitome of wholesome, fresh-faced adolescent idealistic innocence as a young man suffering disturbing dreams about the recent suspicious death of his highly-placed politician father; Sally Eilers, also past her prime but ever so competent and fetching as Lydon's widowed mother and Charles Arnt as a weasely psychiatrist in cahoots with William. Besides this quartet, we have the wooden Regis Toomey, a sort of run-of-the-mill "B"-actor during the studio era who ended up playing supporting roles in 1960s TV shows, as a family friend who is gradually convinced by Lydon that William is, to say the least, not to be trusted. The low budget is evident throughout but it doesn't prevent the viewer from rooting for Lydon.

The movie just goes to show cheap doesn't necessarily mean bad. It's a poverty row PRC production. But the movie also has a fine cast, distinguished direction, and expert craftsmanship. On the other hand, the story tends to convolute, and we never do find out the exact nature of the "strange illusion" that anticipates real events. But then an occult touch lends the movie a mysterious nature beyond the who killed young Paul's (Lydon} father. And that opening sequence, apparently filmed through a gauzy filter, remains a real grabber.

Lydon's simply excellent in the pivotal role. Hard to believe he was only twenty at the time since he's so well poised. His teen friends are a lively bunch, showing what teen behavior and slang was like even in those war years. (See if you agree: Jayne Hazard (sister, Dorothy) looks like a fresh-faced young Marilyn Monroe.) But the real grabber is Warren William. What a creepy character his Curtis is, seeing his face light up whenever he spies a nubile young thing like Lydia (McLeod). Actually, having a near-pedophile as a character is a pretty daring move for the time. And William transitions so smoothly from the masterful to the lustful that he steals the film from heavy competition. Too bad this distinctive performer is largely forgotten. He's definitely among the rewards of watching old movies.

Anyhow, cult director Ulmer again shows how to shape difficult material into an intriguing final product, despite budgetary drawbacks.

It is told that STRANGE ILLUSION was made in little over two weeks with very, very limited funds and fading star power. But director Edgar G. Ulmer had full reins to do what he could with what he had. Still a decent B-movie with plenty of intrigue. The opening "allusive dream" of college lad Paul Cartwright(Jimmy Lydon)is to set up the story line. His well respected father dies mysteriously in a train/car accident which leads to haunting nightmares in which his father warns him of oncoming danger to his mother(Sally Eilers)caused by a mysterious stranger that wants to cause harm to the family. Inter the mystery man Brett Curtis(Warren William)introduced as the widow Cartwright's suitor. Lydon's character becomes a little obsessed with Curtis wooing his mother and making disturbing advances toward his younger sister. Seeking help sorting out circumstances and illusions, Paul turns to a friend of the family Dr. Vincent(Regis Toomey). Next comes maneuvering in and out of a sanitarium and the revelation of false identity and the reason for the unfinished plot to cause destruction of the Cartwright family. This is an enjoyable little psychological melodrama. Also in the cast are: Charles Ant and George Reed.