Leofwine_draca Ray Milland stars in this excellent science fiction/horror film, still as frightening and spellbinding today as it was when it was first released. The theme of x-ray vision had been done before, but never in such a scientific, thought-out way. Roger Corman did a good job in eliciting excellent and worthy performances from the likes of Milland, Rickles and Van der Vlis. For the time, too, there are some rather good special effects used where we see through Milland's eyes, and you can really believe that he's a man possessed by an otherworldly sight.The film starts off typically enough with experiments on a monkey, but you just know that something's going to go horrifically wrong if you're a fan of '50s science fiction. At first Milland's new sight enables him to save lives on the operating table, but he comes to realise that it is in fact a curse, not a blessing, and he'll never be able to see normally again. By the end of the film, Milland's eyes have turned black with gold irises, and finally completely black, a wonderful effect achieved just by using some different coloured contact lenses. I'm still of the opinion that the most simple special effect can go a long way, and this film proves me right.It's Milland (previously in Corman's THE PREMATURE BURIAL) who we follow on his hideous journey, and obviously the right actor was needed for the job. Milland brings a charm and sophistication to his role, and getting a distinguished actor for the job was a clever stroke. We really feel sorry for Milland as he begins to fall apart mentally, unable to cope with what he sees. Diana Van der Vlis fits the part of 'blonde female assistant and love interest' admirably, even if she is given relatively little to do, and it's nice to see a supporting actress do some brain work for a change (she traces Milland to his latest hiding place). More scene-stealing comes from Don Rickles, who enjoys himself as a crooked side-show host who just wants to milk Milland for some money.The running time is low, meaning that there's never time to become bored or restless while the story unfolds. There's a lot of action, such as cars being chased by helicopters, and the film looks much more expensive than it actually was to make. It's moving and sometimes horrific, especially in the last freeze-frame moments where a demented preacher and his congregation egg Milland on to rip his eyes out, following the old adage of "if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out!", the camera lingers on the bloody sockets for a split second before the credits roll. As I'm sure you already know, there's a lot of speculation as to a final unuttered line which was cut from the movie, along the lines of Milland saying "I can still see!". This would have been a master stroke and it's just a shame it never came through, nevertheless THE MAN WITH THE X-RAY EYES is a classy sci-fi horror concept executed in a brilliant way.

dougdoepke I love it when the Doc's (Milland) x-ray eyes peel through the fancy clothes at the party. Of course, the camera doesn't show more than bare backs and legs, but my imagination ran wild with the rest. Right away, I was wishing I had the see-through power, that is, until I thought about sleep. In fact, closing your eyes wouldn't help— you'd still be seeing what's above. Nothing it seems would work; you'd still literally see through it all. So, would sleep ever come. Anyway, I decided not to try any eye experiments, nude parties or no.Despite my half-facetious remarks, this is a serious sci-fi, several cuts above Corman's usual drive-in fare. Oscar-winner Milland delivers an ace performance that almost makes things believable. However, the psychedelic light shows almost gave me a headache. That along with the cheezy music didn't help. Still, the text amounts to a good little morality play. After all, consider the possibilities that open up to this heightened perception. That's the doc's dilemma. At first he wants to use it to help diagnose medical problems. That's understandable since he was a respected medical research doctor until funding ceased. But then slickster Crane (Rickles) talks him into charging fees for his x-ray diagnoses, most of which the promoter gets. Now on something of a confused moral slide, the Doc goes to Vegas where he stands to clean up, even though his x-ray vision is becoming unpredictable. In short, his former blessing is becoming a curse. That may account for the final part, which otherwise seems an odd and abrupt intrusion. Still, it was good seeing the craggy Old Testament figure, John Dierkes doing his thing, in blazing Technicolor.All in all, the movie's a fairly imaginative slice of sci-fi, with a fine central performance, and a comely Diana Van Der Vlis as the Doc's confidant.

AaronCapenBanner Ray Milland plays Dr. James Xavier, who is an eyesight specialist who has developed an experimental eye-drop he believes will revolutionize the eye care field, benefiting mankind. Unfortunately, his funding is cut off, so he experiments on himself, with disastrous consequences. Though it gives him X-Ray vision at first, which he puts to amusing use, it later overwhelms his senses. After he accidentally kills a colleague, he is forced to flee, and takes refuge in a carnival run by a shady man(Don Rickles, well cast) who first exploits the good doctor, then later turns him in to the police. With help from another colleague, he escapes, but his condition worsens until he enters a revivalist church where...Wont reveal more, except that it provides a memorable, and chilling end to this occasionally wobbly film, which doesn't quite have the budget or ambition to make full use of its premise, instead of becoming another version of "The Fugitive" TV series! Regardless, Milland is good, and film still overall effective, especially with that ending...

poe426 Roger Corman has opened more doors for more filmmakers than I can recall; here, he opens the doors of perception (metaphorically speaking). "I'm closing in on the gods," Xavier boasts early on in the movie. When a monkey given the "X" eyedrops dies (apparently of fright), X decides it's time to experiment on himself (of course). "It's like a splitting of the world," he marvels: "More light than I've ever seen..." There's a neat POV shot in which his eyes are BANDAGED while he looks at and talks to someone else. "I like the way you look," a young woman tells him... just before the party they're at becomes, for him, a peep show. When his x-ray vision becomes too acute to control, he says of one woman: "She appears a perfect, breathing dissection." It's a gruesome observation, but the fx of the time didn't really allow for a viewer's peek at same. The "X effect" throughout is relatively simple, visually (it looks like a 3D image does without the glasses), but the gold and, finally, black contact lenses ARE effective. Milland's performance here is as tight as in THE LOST WEEKEND. Kudos to Corman.