Vioundon One hour and a half of nothing
Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.
Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.
Scott LeBrun Christine Faber (Lynn Bari) is a young widow still mourning the death of her husband Paul (Donald Curtis), who perished two years ago. She is now being courted by nice-guy lawyer Martin Abbott (Richard Carlson), whose pragmatic approach to life would make Mr. Spock proud. One night, on her way to meet with Martin for a date, she encounters Alexis (Turhan Bey) on the beach. A "psychic consultant", he says all the right things, motivating her to see him for sessions and seances. But things are not quite as they seem, and there are some twists in store for the viewer.The ad copy may try to promote this as a horror flick, but in reality "The Amazing Mr. X" plays more like a straight drama that flirts with the supernatural and owes a lot to the film noir genre. To that end, a big part of its effectiveness comes from the photography by noir specialist John Alton. It also includes some decent special effects by George J. Teague. The twists concocted by the writers ensure that the viewer is consistently amused and kept on their toes. We also feel our emotions / sympathies jerked around a little as we come to dislike Alexis (and real-life charlatans who prey on peoples' weaknesses), and then develop some sympathy towards him.Wonderful music helps add to the mood created by director Bernard Vorhaus, a filmmaker whose career would come to an end a few years later thanks to the Hollywood blacklist. We genuinely like the characters whom we're supposed to like, and root for them. Bari is excellent as a reasonably intelligent woman in a very vulnerable state. The adorable Cathy O'Donnell is simply charming as her younger sister, who is now in more of a protective position when it comes to Christine. Carlson is very engaging, although the film largely belongs to Bey. He doesn't have to stretch himself here, but he displays a natural charisma as this opportunistic scam artist. Curtis, Virginia Gregg (as the maid), and Harry Mendoza (as the cynical private detective) round out the solid cast.All in all, this is a very good "little" film exploring the ways in which humans deal (or can't deal) with the loss of loved ones.Eight out of 10.
BA_Harrison What a convoluted little noir thriller: enjoyable and very stylish, but with a plot that takes a few far-fetched twists and turns, leaving the viewer with more than a few questions.Lynn Bari stars as wealthy widow Christine who, two years after the death of her husband Paul (Donald Curtis), is now courting lawyer Martin (Richard Carlson), although she still cannot put her feelings for her dead spouse behind her. On the beach below her clifftop house, Christine encounters Alexis (Turhan Bey), a spiritualist who displays an uncanny knowledge of her life, right down to the details of her husband's demise. Intrigued, Christine begins paying Alexis visits at his home, unaware that the man is a con artist, having gained his information from his partner in crime, Emily (Emily), a servant at Christine's house.Disturbed by Christine's behaviour, her younger sister Janet (Cathy O'Donnell) and Martin decide to investigate the psychic shyster, hiring a private detective in the hope of exposing Alexis as a con artist. Things get even more complicated when Paul appears during a seance, convincing Christine that his spirit is reaching out to her. In reality, Paul is very much alive, having faked his death (leading one to ask exactly where he has been hiding for the past two years), and now wants to get his hands on Christine's fortune.Exactly how some of the haunting hallucinations that plague Christine are achieved is left extremely vague (I'm still not sure how the spooky dress managed to follow Christine around her room), and Paul's timely arrival takes a little swallowing, but the haunting atmosphere, brisk pace, wonderful black and white cinematography (that makes great use of shadow and light), and some inventive use of camera angles (we get a shot from underneath a glass topped table and one from behind the taps of a sink) all go to make The Amazing Mr. X an entertaining and engaging mystery for the duration.
blanche-2 Though a B movie, "The Amazing Mr. X" from 1948 has excellent technical effects, cinematography, and lighting to make this film above average. Although it has been compared to The Uninvited, and there are similarities, the story is different.A widow, Christine (Lynn Bari) who can't forget her husband seeks out advice from a medium (Turhan Bey). Her current beau (Richard Carlson) and sister Janet (Cathy O'Donnell) are afraid she is being scammed. A detective (real-life magician Harry B. Mendoza) is brought in to expose him. It doesn't work out as anyone planned - for one thing, Janet totally falls for the medium!Good story with solid acting, though none of these actors made it to the top echelon. Lynn Bari, though she had a respectable career, was basically a B film star; Cathy O'Donnell was on her way to stardom when she married William Wyler's brother, with whom her studio boss, Sam Goldwyn, was feuding, so he canceled her contract. Though she continued to act and did some good noir work, she was never associated with a studio again and died of cancer at the age of 46 - still married to Wyler's brother.Carlson wound up doing sci-fi and TV; and Turhan Bey, an exotic WW II replacement for the big stars, wound up returning to Vienna and becoming a successful photographer, though he made an acting comeback in Babylon 5 in the '70s. He died at 90. An interesting group of actors and a solid movie to view especially around Halloween.
Bezenby Remade as a hardcore porno called "The Amazing Mr XXX" in the seventies (which gave a new meaning to the word 'ectoplasm'), the original film is a very interesting mystery film set in the world of séances and medium, with many twists and turns, all presented in a very stylistic way.Millionarre widow Chrissy and her vapid, gullible sister Janet live on a cliff top mansion with their servants. Chrissy's mourning the death of her husband Paul, who died in a car crash or something, but she's in a new relationship with another guy who's set to propose. Going to meet her prospective appointee, she takes a walk on a beach where she hears Paul's voice calling her name, and shortly bumps into a man called Alexis who seems to know everything about her.Alexis states that he's a medium and can help her out, which leads Chrissy to start visiting him a lot and start neglecting her fiancé, who, along with sister Janet, employ a debunker to get Chrissy away from Alexis. They now know Alexis has a previous criminal record, but he's no fool and they're about to get out-manoeuvred again
and even Alexis may not be totally in control of everything.I'll go no further with the plot because it will just spoil things for you. This whole film seems to revolve around sleight of hand, mediumship, illusion and trickery (and not just by Alexis). It also has this great noir look about it and a great use of shady and backlighting, as well as a couple of trippy, creepy scenes, one involving a wedding dress that attacks Chrissy (which could be straight out of a Japanese horror film) and a séance where Alexis himself isn't sure what's going on. Chrissy's a bit of a wet blanket mind you, and Janet comes across as a bit daft, but then again some characters develop and change as the film goes on, and there's a few good twists to keep you going, as well as a pretty poignant ending.You haven't seen a film quite like this I'd say.
