utgard14 Enjoyable noir from one of the great 'B' directors, Edgar G. Ulmer. A young man (Jimmy Lydon), disturbed by premonitions, tries to prevent his mother from marrying a man (Warren William) he finds suspicious. An interesting little picture with some nice atmosphere and bits of weirdness that Ulmer was so good at. The cast is good. William is always great. Lydon's performance is corny and odd but that's part of the appeal of the picture. Regis Toomey is solid in a role suited to his sometimes wooden screen presence. I really liked this for what it is. It's not a Detour or My Name is Julia Ross kind of B classic but it is much much better than the average movie of its type from that time.

Spikeopath Strange Illusion is directed by Edgar G. Ulmer and written by Fritz Rotter and Adele Comandini. It stars Jimmy Lydon, Warren William, Sally Eilers, Regis Toomey, George Reed and Jayne Hazard. Music is by Leo Erdody and cinematography by Phillip Tannura.Adolescent Paul Cartwright (Lydon) is startled by a dream he has about his father's death. In the dream he comes to believe the death was not an accident, but murder, and there seems to be a shadowy figure moving in on his mother and sister. When the mysterious Brett Curtis (William) arrives in his mother's life, Paul begins to suspect his dream may be coming true...It's a tricky one to recommend, for it's one of Ulmer's most divisive noir movies amongst his fans. It's hard to argue with some of the complaints put forward because undoubtedly the acting is poor, the villains weak (and revealed way too early), the score obtrusive and it's a good 15 minutes too long. Yet Ulmer could quite often make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, and here he manages to rise above the flaws to craft a most intriguing picture. A film in fact of many psychological pangs.The framing device for the story is essentially that of a evil step- father, and since we know early on that Brett Curtis is indeed evil, it becomes a simple case of if young Paul can find the proof before harm comes to his mother and sister. He willingly checks into a mental health sanatorium as part of his investigation, while the clock ticks down elsewhere as the sinister Curtis homes in on his prey. There's a dastardly accomplice with Curtis and a good old family doctor aiding Paul from the sidelines. That's pretty much it for plotting.However, analysis shows plenty to keep the film from sinking without trace. There's obviously the Freudian factor concerning dreams, the interpretation of such, but there's also oedipal overtones pulsing throughout. The relationship between Paul and his mother never feels natural, evident in the way he holds her or talks to her. Ulmer cannily keeps it bubbling under the surface, but it is there. Then there is Brett Curtis, a monstrous creation, a serial killer and sexual predator of young ladies, the latter of which is deftly handled by Ulmer as we pick up on his sordid ways only via aftermath clues and conversations.It's also a moody picture visually, as you would expect from Ulmer. The budget of course is small, thus the production design is accordingly tight, but the director gets much atmosphere from such sparsity. It's filmed in shadowy black and white and this perfectly marries up with the psychological discord of Paul Cartwright, while dastardly conversations unfold in darkened rooms. One particular shot of Paul in the sanatorium standing in front of a huge barred window, the shadows stretched around him, is very striking and it makes you wish there was more shots like that, but Ulmer doesn't short change us for moody atmospherics.From the hazy dream beginning to the denouement that plays out in a rickety old cabin, there is much to enjoy and pay attention to. Oh it's a mixed bag for sure, but the good far outweighs the bad in my humble opinion. 7/10

MartinHafer "Strange Illusion" begins with a wacky young man having a very Freudian sort of repetitive dream about an evil man trying to steal his widowed mother. This seemingly Oedipal theme, however, turns out to instead be a sort of prescient warning, as his mother IS in trouble and it's up to this boy to save the day. How he KNEW what would happen was baffling--did his dead father send him these dreams, was he psychic or did he simply read the script! This film has many elements that are quite interesting and could have made a great film. However, I found the film to be frustrating because at the same time there are elements that severely detract from the story and made it hard viewing. The biggest problem was the complete lack of subtlety as well as the film telegraphing what would occur. At no point was the audience in any doubt that the neurotic young man was correct--and having there be doubt would have made the film far more suspenseful and interesting. Second, if you can accept the idea of these incredibly detailed dreams 100% accurately predicting a coming danger (even though the guy did not even know that his mother was dating anyone--let alone an evil man), then you'll much more enjoy the film. I just felt it was all a lot of mumbo-jumbo.For me, the film COULD have been great. As I said above, make the threat much less obvious and subtle--SUBTLE! And, get rid of the warning dreams completely--the film certainly didn't need this angle and the mother could have still been at risk from a creepy fiancé. Or, if all of what the kid later discovered was all a product of his disturbed and delusional mind--that could have been great. I wish I could have liked this film more. I think just by looking at it that the film was rushed into production and they just didn't give the plot problems much thought.Oh, and by the way,...the ending totally sucked. Totally.

Michael O'Keefe 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.