X (1963)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Roger Corman

Writers:

Robert Dillon (screenplay) and
Ray Russell (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

18 September 1963 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Suddenly he could see through clothes, flesh... and walls!

Plot:

Dr. Xaviers experiments with X-Ray vision start to go wrong.

Plot Keywords:

X Ray Vision | Eye | Experiment | Animal Research | Psychotronic

Cast

Ray Milland	...	Dr. James Xavier
Diana Van der Vlis	...	Dr. Diane Fairfax
Harold J. Stone	...	Dr. Sam Brant
John Hoyt	...	Dr. Willard Benson
Don Rickles	...	Crane

Also Known As:

Man with the X-Ray Eyes
X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes (USA)

Runtime:

79 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Pathécolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:12 | USA:Approved (PCA #20529)

Filming Locations:

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Company:

Alta Vista Productions

Trivia:

It has long been rumored that a final scene, in which Dr. Xavier screams "I can still see!" was cut by censors. No footage of this is known. However, the movie does end rather abruptly just as Dr. Xavier seems about to say something, and those words would provide a chilling climax to the story. This rumor is false according to Corman - In a Q&A with Corman he said this idea was discussed but never filmed.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Dr. X operates on the little girl, his hands get no blood on them whatsoever.

Quotes:

Dr. James Xavier: I'm blind to all but a tenth of the universe.
Dr. Sam Brant: My dear friend, only the gods see everything.
Dr. James Xavier: My dear doctor, I'm closing in on the gods.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Son of Svengoolie: X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes (1963) (#1.60)" (1980)

good mad doctor flick

A good mad doctor flick courtesy of Roger Corman, in which Ray Milland plays a doctor who is experimenting with eye drops that allow further vision. Never mind that the monkey he experimented on dropped dead, he wants to try it himself. Of course you know all's not well once he does, otherwise there'd be no reason for this movie. At first he thinks it's kind of cool, especially at a party where he can see all the young ladies without their clothes. And, I might note, this is probably the only film available where you can see Milland do "the twist". But things go downhill at a fast pace when Milland accidentally knocks his best friend out a window to his death and he goes into hiding as a "seer" at a carnival, with Don Rickles as his manger. Eventually he's found by his assistant and ends up in Vegas cleaning out the blackjack tables and then suspicion arises and he's on the run again. I remember the ending from numerous times I saw this on TV and while tame by today's standards it's still a little bit of a shock. Not a bad little flick that shows that you can't mess around in things that you weren't meant to understand because it's too much for your tiny mind to take. 7 out of 10.