O Homem dos Olhos de Raio-X

Dr Xavier (Ray Milland) thirst of knowledge experiments with a formula on his owns eyes which will allow to see through solid material. As he can read a closed book , making diagnosis ills , and seeing naked people. He can literally observe through things , watching beyond of visible lights and turning into a rarefied figure as mad doctor. Then the staff intends to cut off his funds for further research . But an accident takes place , dieing a medic (Harlod J Stone), as he flees and the newspapers publicize , as the Angeles Daily Sun : ¨Doctor falls to death¨, ¨Physician murdered¨ and the Angeles Chronicle : ¨Doctor killer flees¨. Later on , Xavier wearing dark glasses works at a sideshow (ruled by Don Rickles) as fortune teller and finally as psychic consultant. Such increased powers of perception and knowledge bring him neither happiness nor strengthening but transform him an outcast, unsettling person.

A stylish and first-rate film , confidently realized and plenty of eye-popping moments referred to the visions. The basic opposition between blindness and vision is a central key of this interesting work. Good performances from Ray Milland as doctor who gains power to see beyond, Harold J Stone as unfortunate medic who accidentally falls and Don Rickles as ambitious manager . Appears uncredited notorious secondary cast as Morris Ankrum, John Hoyt, and John Dierkes as preacher. Furthermore unbilled actors of the Corman factory as Dick Miller and Jonathan Haze. It packs not withstanding and weak special effects made by date means. Rare musical score by Lex Baxter and colorful cinematography by Floyd Crosby, booth of whom are habitual of Roger Corman.

After his period realizing poverty-budget horror movies as ¨Swamp woman, The beast with a million of eyes, Attack of the crab monsters , Undead¨, then came the cycle of tales of terror based on Poe as ¨ House of Usher, Pit and pendulum, The raven , Tales of terror, The masque of the red death ¨ , and Corman made this undisputed masterpiece , X , that won the Golden Asteroid in the Trieste Festival of Science Fiction Films in 1963. Rating : Above average, definitively wholesome watching , Corman's achievement to have bent the Sci-Fi genre with splendid results.

... in that a doctor makes a great discovery -in this case a formula that allows people to "see through" objects, starts out trying to do good, becomes his own guinea pig, becomes obsessed, becomes bitter because others do not see the importance of his discovery, and in the end just makes a bunch of stupid decisions. Oh, and the formula is cumulative and yet the doctor keeps taking it!

This film would be completely unmemorable without Ray Milland as the title character - Dr. Xavier. Like with his other horror films, independent producer/director Roger Corman smartly uses a lead from the golden age of Hollywood - in this case Milland - and builds a simple story that still strikes at the essence of fear in human beings.

There are a quite a few goofy and outright dumb things going on.When Xavier goes on the run because of a tragic accident, he ... decides to work as a "seer" in a carnival?? Isn't that one of the first places the police might come looking for him? In his quest for money to look for a "cure" for his situation, he decides to go to Vegas. And win a bunch of money in just one casino. And get a loud and obnoxious attitude about it. Maybe the most tragic thing about Xavier's situation is that he is inflicted with the company of Don Rickles during the mid part of the film.

The one fun and light hearted moment of the film is when Xavier is invited to a swinging 60s party and because of his unique condition sees naked people everywhere. Roger Corman will need to wait a few more years into the 60s before he can feature actual naked people. But I digress.

The special effects are laughable in the 21st century, but Milland's distinguished and empathetic presence makes this work. And it goes after the question - If you can see through EVERYTHING, what exactly DO you see?

Here is Corman at almost his best. Ray Milland was as good an actor as Vincent Price, and this story isn't trapped in the Poe mode of rotting flesh and dilapidated mansions. It's more in the manner of Corman's The Trip, which was made a few years later. Dr. Xavier discovers something that he can use to see through solid objects, but its effect is cumulative, and by the end of the movie he's seeing all the way to the core of reality.

Of course, he has to go on the run, and must abandon his medical career. We see him in a carnival, reading peoples' thoughts, and later teaming up with his x girlfriend and going to Vegas and seeing through the cards and winning big, and finally, escaping from the police, and as he drives through the Nevada desert, we see that he can't see a thing. Abandoning his Lincoln Continental, he stumbles into a tent revival meeting. The preacher, played by Royal Dano(?)is telling his followers to throw Satan out. Filmed by Floyd Crosby, with beautiful special effects, this is a real piece of 60's film-making by one of the masters.

RELEASED IN 1963 and directed by Roger Corman, "X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes" chronicles events in Los Angeles when a doctor (Ray Milland) develops a formula that grants x-ray vision, which derails his career and forces him to join a carnival, using his new power to make a living. Diana Van der Vlis plays his disciple while Don Rickles is on hand as a carnival barker.

The early 60's vibe is to die for, but the beginning is rather dull. Things perk up at an adult party where the aging doctor tries to keep hip and eventually sees everyone nakkid (lol). The carnival sequence and what it leads into are arguably the best parts, although the Vegas and tent revival episodes have their attractions. The movie scores meh on the female front, but Lorrie Summers and Cathie Merchant have small parts.

THE MOVIE RUNS 1 hour 19 minutes and was shot in Los Angeles, California & Las Vegas, Nevada. WRITERS: Robert Dillon and Ray Russell. ADDITIONAL CAST: Harold J. Stone and John Hoyt play colleagues of the doctor.

GRADE: B-

This was the typically-hokey-but fun Roger Corman film but one that keeps your interest most the way and at least stars a famous classic-era actor: Ray Milland. One actually wonders what an actor of Milland's status would doing in a B Grade B-type sci-fi movie like this. For someone who had admired Milland's work for many years, it just seems odd for me to see him in a small-budget film. Maybe things got tough for him near the end of his career and he would take most any role. I don't know, and I'm not judging.....just curious why he took this role. I do know having him in the movie elevates it and the dialog isn't as cheesy as one would expect in a 1950-ish sci-fi horror story made in the '60s.

Comedian Don Rickles playing a greedy criminal guy was another odd cast selection, but, he, too, was fun to watch.

Corman was smart to keep this at a respectable 79 minutes. Had it gone on longer, it would have started to drag. It would be interesting to see this film done with today's special-effects.