X (1963)

Director:

Roger Corman

Writers:

Robert Dillon (screenplay) and
Ray Russell (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

18 September 1963 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Suddenly he could see through clothes, flesh... and walls!

Plot:

Dr. Xaviers experiments with X-Ray vision start to go wrong.

Plot Keywords:

X Ray Vision | Eye | Experiment | Animal Research | Psychotronic

Cast

Ray Milland	...	Dr. James Xavier
Diana Van der Vlis	...	Dr. Diane Fairfax
Harold J. Stone	...	Dr. Sam Brant
John Hoyt	...	Dr. Willard Benson
Don Rickles	...	Crane

Also Known As:

Man with the X-Ray Eyes
X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes (USA) (alternative title)
Der Mann mit den Röntgenaugen (West Germany) [de]
El hombre con rayos X en los ojos (Spain) [es]
El hombre con visión de rayos X (Venezuela) [es]
L'horrible cas du docteur X (France) [fr]
L'uomo dagli occhi a raggi X (Italy) [it]
O Homem dos Olhos de Raio-X (Brazil) [pt]
Röntgenkatsemies (Finland) [fi]

Runtime:

79 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Pathécolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:12 | USA:Approved (PCA #20529)

Filming Locations:

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Company:

Alta Vista Productions

Trivia:

It has long been rumored that a final scene, in which Dr. Xavier screams "I can still see!" was cut by censors. No footage of this is known. However, the movie does end rather abruptly just as Dr. Xavier seems about to say something, and those words would provide a chilling climax to the story. This rumor is false according to Corman - In a Q&A with Corman he said this idea was discussed but never filmed.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the casino, when he sees through the cards, the hand of the croupier should be a hand of a skeleton.

Quotes:

Dr. James Xavier: I'm blind to all but a tenth of the universe.
Dr. Sam Brant: My dear friend, only the gods see everything.
Dr. James Xavier: My dear doctor, I'm closing in on the gods.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing (2004)

Still Odd To See Someone Like Milland In This!

This was the typically-hokey-but fun Roger Corman film but one that keeps your interest most the way and at least stars a famous classic-era actor: Ray Milland. One actually wonders what an actor of Milland's status would doing in a B Grade B-type sci-fi movie like this. For someone who had admired Milland's work for many years, it just seems odd for me to see him in a small-budget film. Maybe things got tough for him near the end of his career and he would take most any role. I don't know, and I'm not judging.....just curious why he took this role. I do know having him in the movie elevates it and the dialog isn't as cheesy as one would expect in a 1950-ish sci-fi horror story made in the '60s.

Comedian Don Rickles playing a greedy criminal guy was another odd cast selection, but, he, too, was fun to watch.

Corman was smart to keep this at a respectable 79 minutes. Had it gone on longer, it would have started to drag. It would be interesting to see this film done with today's special-effects.