The Invisible Ray (1935)

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Approved
1h 20min
Horror, Sci-Fi
20 Jan 1936 (USA)
Movie

6.5 (3,029)

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A scientist becomes murderous after discovering, and being exposed to the radiation of, a powerful new element called Radium X.

Director:

Lambert Hillyer

Writers:

John Colton, Howard Higgin, Douglas Hodges

Stars:

Award:

1 win.
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Photos and Videos

Still of Beulah Bondi and Frances Drake in The Invisible Ray (1935)

Still of Boris Karloff (I) in The Invisible Ray (1935)

Still of Violet Kemble Cooper in The Invisible Ray (1935)

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87 photos

Cast verified as complete

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	Boris Karloff	...	Dr. Janos Rukh (as Karloff)
	Bela Lugosi	...	Dr. Felix Benet
	Frances Drake	...	Diana Rukh
	Frank Lawton	...	Ronald Drake
	Violet Kemble Cooper	...	Mother Rukh
	Walter Kingsford	...	Sir Francis Stevens
	Beulah Bondi	...	Lady Arabella Stevens
	Frank Reicher	...	Professor Meiklejohn (Mendelssohn in end credits)
	Paul Weigel	...	Monsieur Noyer
	Georges Renavent	...	Chief of the Surete (as Georges Renevant)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
	Ernie Adams	...	(uncredited)
	Ricca Allen	...	Bystander (uncredited)
	Charles Bastin	...	French Newsboy (uncredited)
	May Beatty	...	Mme. LeGrand (uncredited)
	Ted Billings	...	Counterman (uncredited)
	Ernest A. Bouveron	...	French Newsboy (uncredited)
	Helen Brown	...	Blind Girl's Mother (uncredited)
	Daisy Bufford	...	Infant's Mother (uncredited)
	André Cheron	...	Surete Official Checking Names (uncredited)
	Alex Chivra	...	Cook (uncredited)
	Ann Marie Conte	...	Blind Girl (uncredited)
	Edwards Davis	...	Scientist (uncredited)
	Jean De Briac	...	Gendarme (uncredited)
	Dudley Dickerson	...	Safari Member (uncredited)
	Charles Fallon	...	Gentleman (uncredited)
	Constant Franke	...	Police Detective (uncredited)
	Clarence Gordon	...	Porter / Servant (uncredited)
	Robert Graves	...	Gendarme (uncredited)
	Winter Hall	...	Minister (uncredited)
	Daniel L. Haynes	...	Rukh's Head Bearer (uncredited)
	Isabel La Mal	...	Bystander (uncredited)
	Alphonse Martell	...	Surete Official Checking Names (uncredited)
	Francisco Marán	...	Gendarme (uncredited)
	Paul McAllister	...	Papa LaCosta (uncredited)
	Etta McDaniel	...	Diane's Safari Attendant (uncredited)
	Walter Miller	...	Derelict (uncredited)
	Edward Reinach	...	Scientist (uncredited)
	Hans Schumm	...	Clinic Valet (uncredited)
	Ynez Seabury	...	Celeste (uncredited)
	Adele St. Maur	...	Mme. Noyer (uncredited)
	Lawrence Stewart	...	Runner-boy (uncredited)
	Fred 'Snowflake' Toones	...	Native First Seeing Rukh Glow (uncredited)
	Ray Turner	...	Bearer with Geiger-Counter (uncredited)
	Lucio Villegas	...	Pierre (uncredited)
	Nydia Westman	...	Briggs (uncredited)
	Lloyd Whitlock	...	Scientist (uncredited)

Directed by

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Lambert Hillyer

Written by

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John Colton	...	(screenplay)

Howard Higgin	...	(original story) &
Douglas Hodges	...	(original story)

Produced by

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Edmund Grainger	...	producer (uncredited)
Fred S. Meyer	...	executive producer (uncredited)

Music by

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Franz Waxman

...

(musical score)

Cinematography by

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George Robinson

Editing by

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Bernard W. Burton

...

(as Bernard Burton)

Editorial Department

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Maurice Pivar

...

editorial supervisor (uncredited)

Art Direction by

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Albert S. D'Agostino

Costume Design by

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Brymer

...

(gowns)

Makeup Department

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Otto Lederer	...	makeup artist (uncredited)
Jack P. Pierce	...	makeup artist (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director

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Fred Frank	...	assistant director (uncredited)
Sergei Petschnikoff	...	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department

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Gilbert Kurland	...	sound supervisor
Charles Carroll	...	sound recordist (uncredited)
William Hedgcock	...	sound recordist (uncredited)

Special Effects by

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Raymond Lindsay

...

special effects (uncredited)

Visual Effects by

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John P. Fulton	...	special cinematographer
Cleo E. Baker	...	miniatures (uncredited)
Jack Cosgrove	...	matte artist (uncredited)
David S. Horsley	...	effects assistant (uncredited)
Russell Lawson	...	matte artist (uncredited)

Music Department

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C. Bakaleinikoff	...	conductor (uncredited)
W. Franke Harling	...	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Gilbert Kurland	...	music supervisor (uncredited)
Abe Meyer	...	music contractor (uncredited)
Clifford Vaughan	...	orchestrator (uncredited)
Franz Waxman	...	composer: stock music (uncredited) / musical director (uncredited)

Script and Continuity Department

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Myrtle Gibsone

...

script clerk (uncredited)

Additional Crew

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Carl Laemmle	...	presenter / president: Universal Productions, Inc.
Alfred Stern	...	production assistant
Ted Behr	...	technical advisor (uncredited)
June Blumenthal	...	secretary to director (uncredited)
Camille Collins	...	production secretary (uncredited)

Crew believed to be complete

Production Companies

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Universal Pictures

Distributors

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Universal Pictures (1936) (United States) (theatrical) (as Universal Pictures Corporation)
Canadian Universal Film Company (1936) (Canada) (theatrical)
General Film Distributors (GFD) (1936) (United Kingdom) (theatrical)
Universal Film Manufacturing Company (1936) (Australia) (theatrical)
Universal Pictures Corporation of Mexico (1936) (Mexico) (theatrical)
Universal Films Argentina (1936) (Argentina) (theatrical)
La Universal (Cis Distribuidora de Peliculas) (1936) (Cuba) (theatrical)
Universal Pictures do Brazil (1936) (Brazil) (theatrical)
Realart Pictures (1948) (United States) (theatrical) (re-release)
Screen Gems (1957) (United States) (tv) (as Shock Theatre) (syndication)
MCA Home Video (1987) (Canada) (VHS)
MCA Home Video (1987) (United States) (VHS)
MCA/Universal Home Video (1998) (United States) (VHS) (reprint)
MCA/Universal Home Video (1992) (United States) (VHS)
Universal Studios (2005) (United States) (DVD)
Concorde Home Entertainment (2008) (Germany) (DVD)
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (UPHE) (2014) (United States) (DVD) (Universal Vault Series)
Scream Factory (2019) (United States) (Blu-ray)
Media Target Distribution (2021) (Germany) (Blu-ray)
Eureka Entertainment (2022) (United Kingdom) (Blu-ray) (on 'Maniacal Mayhem' set)

Special Effects

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Other Companies

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Motion Picture Producers and Distributors Association of America (approved by: certificate no. 1746)
Western Electric (noiseless recording)

Storyline

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Plot Summary	Visionary scientist Janos Rukh convinces a group of scientists and supporters to mount an expedition to the African continent to locate and study an ancient meteorite of great significance. He exposes himself to the highly toxic radiation of the meteorite, and while an antidote devised by Dr. Benet saves him from death by radiation poisoning, his naked touch causes instant death to others. Back in London, the benefits of the meteorite's controlled radiation offer Dr. Benet an opportunity to restore eyesight to the blind. The antidote's toxicity excites Prof. Rukh into paranoid rages as he seeks revenge against the members of his expedition, who he accuses of stealing his discovery for their own glory. Written by Sister Grimm Plot Summary Plot Synopsis
Plot Keywords	eyesight-restored deceit radiation scientific-expedition husband-wife-relationship See All (95) »
Taglines	Beware the Luminous Man! See more »
Genres	Horror Sci-Fi Thriller
Parents Guide	View content advisory »
Certification	Australia:A Norway:7 (recommended rating) United Kingdom:A United States:Approved United States:TV-G (TV rating)

Additional Details

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Also Known As	Le rayon invisible (France) El poder invisible (Spain) To agaliasma tou thanatou (Greece) De usynlige Straaler (Denmark) 透明光線 (Japan, Japanese title) See more »
Runtime	80 min
Country	United States
Language	English French
Color	Black and White
Aspect Ratio	1.37 : 1 See more »
Sound Mix	Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)
Filming Locations	Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA See more »

Did You Know?

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Trivia	The church in which Frank Lawton and Frances Drake get married, though called the "Church of the Six Saints" in the film, is actually the set of Notre-Dame Cathedral recycled from the 1923 Universal production "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame," starring Lon Chaney, Sr. See more »
Goofs	The film shows a clipping from a news magazine announcing that the principal characters have gone on an expedition to Nigeria to find the meteor containing Radium X. Yet in the earlier sequence showing the meteor landing on earth, it hit on the southwest coast of Africa over 1,000 miles away from Nigeria. See more »
Movie Connections	Edited into Mondo Lugosi - A Vampire's Scrapbook (1987). See more »
Soundtracks	Bridal Chorus (Here Comes the Bride) See more »
Crazy Credits	The character of "Professor Meiklejohn," correct in the opening credits, is listed as "Professor Mendelssohn" in the closing credits. See more »
Quotes	Ronald Drake: [discussing Benet's plan to invite unwitting scientists to a lecture intended as a trap for Rukh] Do you think it's fair to expose them to the danger? Dr. Felix Benet: There are only two people he wants to destroy. Two, or perhaps... three. See more »

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