{"id":15253,"date":"2010-12-17T11:52:27","date_gmt":"2010-12-17T18:52:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=15253"},"modified":"2021-03-13T15:06:11","modified_gmt":"2021-03-13T22:06:11","slug":"x-the-man-with-the-x-ray-eyes-1963","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=15253","title":{"rendered":"X: The Man With the X-Ray Eyes (1963)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;We are virtually blind &#8212; all of us.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Poster-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Poster-1-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-64417\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Poster-1-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Poster-1-85x128.jpg 85w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Poster-1-180x270.jpg 180w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Poster-1.jpg 399w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA doctor (Ray Milland) develops a serum which gives him x-ray vision, but soon finds that his new power causes him more trouble than glory.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Carnivals and Circuses<\/li>\n<li>Dick Miller Films<\/li>\n<li>Downward Spiral<\/li>\n<li>Fugitives<\/li>\n<li>Mad Doctors and Scientists<\/li>\n<li>Ray Milland Films<\/li>\n<li>Roger Corman Films<\/li>\n<li>Science Fiction<\/li>\n<li>Supernatural Powers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary refers to this &#8220;philosophical sci-fi film, directed by Roger Corman for AIP&#8221;, as &#8220;competent&#8221;, arguing that the &#8220;story is predictable but Milland makes a good lead &#8212; a man who&#8217;s not entirely sympathetic&#8221;, and accurately noting that the &#8220;final few seconds are powerful&#8221;. I actually disagree that it&#8217;s merely &#8220;competent&#8221;, however, given that Robert Dillon and Ray Russell&#8217;s smart script effectively exploits the clever concept of what might happen to a person blessed (or cursed) with x-ray vision. The timbre of their screenplay shifts from the giddy delight experienced by Milland as he engages in pleasant voyeurism at a party:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Milland-Pleasure.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Milland-Pleasure-1024x567.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"354\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-64422\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Milland-Pleasure-1024x567.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Milland-Pleasure-300x166.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Milland-Pleasure-128x71.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Milland-Pleasure-768x426.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Milland-Pleasure-1536x851.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Milland-Pleasure-487x270.png 487w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Milland-Pleasure-1038x576.png 1038w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Milland-Pleasure.png 1673w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Voyeurism2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Voyeurism2-1024x563.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"352\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-64421\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Voyeurism2-1024x563.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Voyeurism2-300x165.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Voyeurism2-128x70.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Voyeurism2-768x423.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Voyeurism2-1536x845.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Voyeurism2-491x270.png 491w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Voyeurism2.png 1681w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; to the ethical dilemma he faces when he knows without a doubt that his medical colleague&#8217;s diagnosis of a patient is wrong:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Surgery.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Surgery-1024x561.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"351\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-64423\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Surgery-1024x561.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Surgery-300x164.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Surgery-128x70.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Surgery-768x421.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Surgery-1536x841.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Surgery-493x270.png 493w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Surgery.png 1693w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; to the (perhaps) inevitable downward spiral of a man who has so clearly become a &#8220;freak&#8221; of nature (albeit a self-created one) &#8212; and by the end, it manages to argue that a man who can see &#8220;everything&#8221; may have access to universal secrets best left untapped. <\/p>\n<p>With that said, in many ways the film is typically low-budget Roger Corman fare &#8212; though it should be noted that his budget and the production values are clearly higher than what he was working with for his more outrageously campy earlier sci-fi outings in the &#8217;50s. The special effects are occasionally laughably cheap (i.e., when Milland sees through flesh to drawings of people&#8217;s innards), but at other times are remarkably chilling &#8212; most notably the final physical transformations that take place in Milland&#8217;s eyes. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Eyes.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Eyes-1024x561.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"351\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-64425\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Eyes-1024x561.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Eyes-300x164.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Eyes-128x70.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Eyes-768x421.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Eyes-1536x842.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Eyes-493x270.png 493w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Eyes.png 1673w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>And while there&#8217;s a smattering of awkwardly handled dramatic moments (c.f. the pivotal &#8220;murder&#8221; scene that drives Milland underground, or Milland&#8217;s tentative flirtations with his colleague, Diana van der Vlis), other scenes hit surprisingly hard &#8212; such as Milland&#8217;s interactions with Don Rickles as a manipulative carnival manager who recognizes Milland as a lucrative cash cow. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Note:<\/strong> Milland gives a believably tortured performance here as the fatally obsessed title character, perhaps his best since his Oscar-winning role in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=19222\"><em>The Lost Weekend<\/em> (1945)<\/a> nearly 20 years earlier. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ray Milland as Dr. Xavier<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Milland2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Milland2-1024x562.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"351\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-64426\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Milland2-1024x562.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Milland2-300x165.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Milland2-128x70.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Milland2-768x422.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Milland2-1536x843.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Milland2-492x270.png 492w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Milland2.png 1689w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Don Rickles as Crane<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Rickles2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Rickles2-1024x557.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"348\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-64424\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Rickles2-1024x557.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Rickles2-300x163.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Rickles2-128x70.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Rickles2-768x417.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Rickles2-1536x835.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Rickles2-497x270.png 497w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Rickles2.png 1687w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>A smart, suspenseful script<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Gambling.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Gambling-1024x574.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"359\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-64427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Gambling-1024x574.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Gambling-300x168.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Gambling-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Gambling-768x430.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Gambling-1536x861.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Gambling-482x270.png 482w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/X-Gambling.png 1651w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as a cult classic by Corman.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Cult Movie<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0057693\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.combustiblecelluloid.com\/classic\/xtheman.shtml\">Combustible Celluloid Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s283x.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.qnetwork.com\/index.php?page=review&#038;id=893\">Q Network Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.timeout.com\/film\/reviews\/78376\/x_the_man_with_x-ray_eyes.html\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;We are virtually blind &#8212; all of us.&#8221; Synopsis: A doctor (Ray Milland) develops a serum which gives him x-ray vision, but soon finds that his new power causes him more trouble than glory. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Carnivals and Circuses Dick Miller Films Downward Spiral Fugitives Mad Doctors and Scientists Ray Milland Films Roger Corman Films Science Fiction Supernatural Powers Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: Peary refers to this &#8220;philosophical sci-fi film, directed by Roger Corman for AIP&#8221;, as&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=15253\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15253","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15253","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15253"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15253\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":70489,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15253\/revisions\/70489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15253"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15253"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}