X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes (1963)

The month of June is nearly around the corner so I am trying to get in as many classic films for Sunday At The Classics as I possibly can before that challenge begins. While I was cruising through Amazon Prime, I stumbled upon a film that looked too good to pass up and the film I am talking about is 1963's X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes which was produced and directed by B-movie King Roger Corman (The Little Shop Of Horrors). The film stars Ray Milland (Dial M For Murder) as Dr. James Xavier, a man who is obsessed with the idea of wanting to see more than just what the human eye and brain allows you to see. Through some experiments, he develops an eye drop that instantly gives you x-ray vision, but the only problem is that it comes with a great cost that he does not yet understand. Despite the pleas of colleagues, he will continue his research to the extent that he reaches the point of no return. The film also stars Don Rickles (Toy Story 2) as Crane, Diana Van der Vlis (The DuPont Show Of The Month) as Dr. Diane Fairfax, Harold J. Stone (The Doctors and The Nurses) as Dr. Sam Brant, and John Hoyt (Attack Of The Puppet People) as Dr. Willard Benson.

This was an excellent film and one that I was happy to watch because Ray Milland who I often mix up with Jimmy Stewart was an excellent actor who absolutely commanded the screen every time he was awarded it. As minuscule as they were in terms of what can be done with today's special effects, I thought the effects they used in this film were great and helped tell the story with all of the bizarre colors helping convey his strange visions. I wouldn't mind seeing the film get a remake, but I am afraid that the club scene would actually show nudity in today's version where the original didn't and they really didn't need to because you got the gist of what he could see. The visions definitely worked as colorful as they were, but you could understand how frustrating they must have been for him as much as he may have astonished the fact. The film really has that battle as he fights it within because this is after all what he has always wanted, but the consequences of it are weighing heavily on him as well. It's both a gift and a curse if you get what I am saying and it's one that some will try to expose for their financial gain like the completely serious role that Don Rickles has in this film. I have to be honest in saying that it worked because I could honestly believe the character that Rickles was portraying as being money hungry and misleading. This was probably one of my favorite Sunday At The Classics films that I've watched all year so far which is why I am going to be giving the film an A- for a final grade.