Le rayon invisible

THE INVISIBLE RAY is a highly enjoyable horror film that seems way ahead of its time, coming as it does in 1936 and making use of meteors and Radium X in its plot design. BORIS KARLOFF is the scientist whose ideas are "stolen", or so he believes, by others and goes about seeking an unusual method of revenge, killing off his intended victims one by one.

FRANK LAWTON and FRANCES DRAKE are the romantic leads with BEULAH BONDI playing an aristocratic Lady Arabella who is one of the victims. But the film is mainly a showcase for BORIS KARLOFF as the mad scientist, with BELA LUGOSI doing extremely well (and underplaying effectively) the role of a colleague among those on the "victim" list.

Universal obviously planned this as a low-budget feature, but the sets are impressive, all the technical credits are more than adequate, and the story is well-paced and effective throughout.

Well worth viewing and certainly one of the better Karloff/Lugosi joint ventures.

THE INVISIBLE RAY (Universal, 1935, released January 1936), directed by Lambert Hillyer, is the third screen teaming of two horror greats, Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, with KARLOFF (as he is billed in the casting credits with all capital letters), supporting a mustache and curly dark hair, this time dominating the storyline. Not quite as memorable or as successful as their previous efforts, THE BLACK CAT (1934) and THE RAVEN (1935), both suggested on Edgar Allan Poe, in which the horror relies on their characters of good versus evil, THE INVISIBLE RAY, often classified as a horror film because of Karloff and Lugosi, is actually a science fiction story with three separate chapters. And of the three, only the African expedition described below in Part II, is the slowest as well as its longest.

PART I: Set in an isolated castle somewhere in the mountains as the thunderstorm rages, Doctor Janos Rukh (Karloff) is a middle-aged but brilliant scientist with a young wife, Diana (Frances Drake), and an elderly mother (Violet Kemble-Cooper), who is not only wise, but blind. Rukh prepares to reveal his latest discovery to a group of scholars: Doctor Felix Benet (Bela Lugosi), Sir Francis Stevens (Walter Kingsford), along with handsome young Ronald Drake (Frank Lawton) and Lady Arabelle Stevens (Beulah Bondi) as spectators. Rukh demonstrates his discovery of "the invisible ray" being a beam of light which he could follow back in time and space in order to see what has happened in the past. He then provides visual proof that a giant meteor struck the Earth in Africa many millions of years ago, and that this meteor is composed of an unknown element that may have substance more powerful than radium. After this demonstration, Rukh and the scholars prepare to go on timely expedition to darkest Africa. PART II: While in Africa, Rukh separates himself from his expedition, especially his wife, and discovers the ancient element called Radium X, intending to use it for the purposes of atomic medicine. He is soon contaminated by Radium X, and realizes that not only does he glow in the dark, but brings death to whatever he touches, with the first victim being his dog. With the help of Benet, an antidote is prepared for Ruhk in which he must take regularly. In the meantime, Diane, feeling neglected by her husband, finds comfort with that Ronald Drake, who now loves her. PART III: Rukh's discovery of Radium X proves successful, in which the ray used by the scholars cures blindness. Rukh uses this experiment to cure his mother from her eternal blindness, and upon getting her vision back, she doesn't like what she sees in her son. With the radiation becoming too powerful, Rukh's mind soon becomes effected, becoming less rational. He then accuses Benet and the others of "theft," even though Benet assures him that he he will get full credit for his work. Rukh is even more upset when he learns that Diane now loves Drake, thus, as in Agatha Christie's acclaimed mystery novel, "And Then There Were None," Rukh prepares to kill off those he felt betrayed him one by one, and with each death comes the destruction of statues that stand on the side of a London church.

THE INVISIBLE RAY is very much a production that predates the science fiction fantasies of the 1950s. Special effects here are first rate, compliments of John Fulton, with one particular standout scene in Africa where Rukh's machine focuses on a giant boulder, and with the strength of the invisible ray, the boulder disintegrates into powder. With Karloff's know-how into holding his viewer's interest throughout the film's 81 minutes, this production presents itself on a more elaborate scale than THE RAVEN for example. It also features a soothing but memorable music score by Franz Waxman. Although Bela Lugosi, as a European scientist supporting a little beard around his mouth, has little to do, his role is essential to the story. On the lighter side is character actress, May Beatty, in her humorous characterization as the nosy, gossipy cockney landlady.

It seems interesting to note, however, that with this third installment of Karloff-Lugosi films that Universal didn't attempt to team these two masters of horror to fulfill the trilogy in having them paired in another Edgar Allan Poe based thriller, something like "The Tell-Tale Heart" for example, but as with the aforementioned predecessors, it would have been more Hollywood than Poe. THE INVISIBLE RAY, however, is in a class by itself, but hardly gets the recognition it deserves.

THE INVISIBLE RAY, once a frequent late show or Chiller Theater replay on commercial television decades ago, played sporadically on the Sci-Fi Cable Channel in the 1990s during the late night hours where vampires and ghouls were its only viewers. It was revived again thanks to Turner Classic Movies (TCM premiere: April 5, 2006). It was also available on video cassette and later DVD, compliments of MCA Universal. (**)

The Invisible Ray is an exciting story about an overworked scientist who works effortlessly in his Carpathian castle looking for secrets of the universe. Boris Karloff plays the scientist Janos Ruhk who travels with a band of other scientists to Africa for the spot where an unidentified element landed centuries ago. Karloff is very good as the scientist who accidentally poisons himself with this new radioactive element. Karloff is obsessed with the idea that his fellow travelers, amongst them the stately Lugosi as Dr. Benet, are after his honors and secrets of this new find. Because of this, Karloff goes on a maniacal murdering spree of his former friends. There are many good elements in this film, most dealing with the rather interesting story of science gone amok. Lugosi is good too, although his role is not very big. I must agree with many that this pairing of the horrific duo is a second to The Black Cat. Nonetheless this is a fine Universal science fiction/horror film.

One doesn't get to enjoy this gem, the 1936 Invisible Ray, often. But no can forget it. The story is elegant. Karloff, austere and embittered in his Carpathian mountain retreat, is Janos Rukh, genius science who reads ancient beams of light to ascertain events in the great geological past…particularly the crash of a potent radioactive meteor in Africa. Joining him is the ever-elegant Lugosi (as a rare hero), who studies "astro-chemistry." Frances Drake is the lovely, underused young wife; Frank Lawton the romantic temptation; and the divine Violet Kemble Cooper is Mother Rukh, in a performance worthy of Maria Ospenskya.

The story moves swiftly in bold episodes, with special effects that are still handsome. It also contains some wonderful lines. One Rukh restores his mother's sight, he asks, "Mother, can you see, can you see?" "Yes, I can see…more clearly than ever. And what I see frightens me." Even better when mother Rukh says, "He broke the first law of science." I am not alone among my acquaintance in having puzzled for many many years exactly what this first law of science is.

This movie is definitely desert island material.

There is no doubt that during the decade of the 30s, the names of Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi became a sure guarantee of excellent performances in high quality horror films. After being Universal's "first monster" in the seminal classic, "Dracula", Bela Lugosi became the quintessential horror villain thanks to his elegant style and his foreign accent (sadly, this last factor would also led him to be type-casted during the 40s). In the same way, Boris Karloff's performance in James Whale's "Frankenstein" transformed him into the man to look for when one wanted a good monster. Of course, it was only natural for these icons to end up sharing the screen, and the movie that united them was 1934's "The Black Cat". This formula would be repeated in several films through the decade, and director Lambert Hillyer's mix of horror and science fiction, "The Invisible Ray", is another of those minor classics they did in those years.

In "The Invisible Ray", Dr. Janos Rukh (Boris Karloff) is a brilliant scientist who has invented a device able to show scenes of our planet's past captured in rays of light coming from the galaxy of Andromeda. While showing his invention to his colleagues, Dr. Felix Benet (Bela Lugosi) and Sir Francis Stevens (Walter Kingsford), they discover that thousands of years ago, a meteor hit in what is now Nigeria. After this marvelous discovery, Dr. Rukh decides to join his colleagues in an expedition to Africa, looking for the landing place of the mysterious meteor. This expedition won't be any beneficial for Rukh, as during the expedition his wife Diane (Frances Drake) will fall in love with Ronald Drake (Frank Lawton), an expert hunter brought by the Stevens to aid them in their expedition. However, Rukh will lose more than his wife in that trip, as he'll be forever changed after being exposed to the invisible ray of the meteor.

Written by John Colton (who previously did the script for "Werewolf of London"), "The Invisible Ray" had its roots on an original sci-fi story by Howard Higgin and Douglas Hodges. Given that this was a movie with Karloff and Lugosi, Colton puts a lot of emphasis on the horror side of his story, playing in a very effective way with the mad scientist archetype and adding a good dose of melodrama to spice things up. One element that makes "The Invisible Ray" to stand out among other horror films of that era, is the way that Colton plays with morality through the story. That is, there aren't exactly heroes and villains in the classic style, but people who make decisions and later face the consequences of those choices. In many ways, "The Invisible Ray" is a modern tragedy about obsessions, guilt and revenge.

A seasoned director of low-budget B-movies, filmmaker Lambert Hillyer got the chance to make 3 films for Universal Pictures when the legendary studio was facing serious financial troubles. Thanks to his experience working with limited resources, Hillyer's films were always very good looking despite the budgetary constrains, and "The Invisible Ray" was not an exception. While nowhere near the stylish Gothic atmosphere of previous Universal horror films, Hillyer's movie effectively captures the essence of Colton's script, as he gives this movie a dark and morbid mood more in tone with pulp novels than with straightforward sci-fi. Finally, a word must be said about Hillyer's use of special effects: for an extremely low-budget film, they look a lot better than the ones in several A-movies of the era.

As usual in a movie with Lugosi and Karloff, the performances by this legends are of an extraordinary quality. As the film's protagonist, Boris Karloff is simply perfect in his portrayal of a man so blinded by the devotion to his work that fails to see the evil he unleashes. As his colleague, Dr. Benet, Bela Luogis is simply a joy to watch, stealing every scene he is in and showing what an underrated actor he was. As Rukh's wife, Frances Drake is extremely effective, truly helping her character to become more than a damsel in distress. Still, two of the movie highlights are the performances of Kemble Cooper as Mother Rukh, and Beulah Bondi as Lady Arabella, as the two actresses make the most of their limited screen time, making unforgettable their supporting roles. Frank Lawton is also good in his role, but nothing surprising when compared to the rest of the cast.

If one judges this movie under today's standards, it's very easy to dismiss it as another cheap science fiction film with bad special effects and carelessly jumbled pseudoscience. However, that would be a mistake, as despite its low-budget, it is remarkably well done for its time. On the top of that, considering that the movie was made when the nuclear era was about to begin and radioactivity was still a relatively new concept, it's ideas about the dangers of radioactivity are frighteningly accurate. One final thing worthy to point out is the interesting way the script handles the relationships between characters, specially the friendship and rivalry that exists between the obsessive Dr. Rukh and the cold Dr. Benet, as this allows great scenes between the two iconic actors.

While nowhere near the Gothic expressionism of the "Frankenstein" movies, nor the elegant suspense of "The Black Cat", Lambert Hillyer's "The Invisible Ray" is definitely a minor classic amongst Universal Pictures' catalog of horror films. With one of the most interesting screenplays of 30s horror, this mixture of suspense, horror and science fiction is one severely underrated gem that even now delivers a good dose of entertainment courtesy of two of the most amazing actors the horror genre ever had: Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. 8/10