X, the Man with the X-Ray Eyes


Roger Corman is universally synonymous with schlock, best known for cheaply made crab monsters and exploitation flicks directed by future Oscar winners. I get the feeling that all too often, people forget that Roger Corman had another side that was much more artistic. During a short period, he crafted some well-made, respectable genre films, highlighted by his Edgar Allen Poe cycle. One film from this period is X, the Man with the X-Ray Eyes. Though not a Poe film, it’s on par with the movies from that cycle, and shows off a director who had a talent for making more profound films.


Academy Award winner Ray Milland portrays Dr. James Xavier, a scientist bent on discovering a path to X-ray vision. As so many of his type do in movies of this sort, Xavier decides to experiment on himself. The metaphor of science is apt: humankind groping in darkness, searching for the light. But that obsessive search is often accompanied by a blindness of good sense and conscience, and as Xavier will soon find out, in striving for the light, we often find ourselves plunging deeper into darkness.


As Xavier steps out to test his powers, he finds himself seeing the world in a whole new way, both literally and figuratively This is an AIP movie, so of course there’s a goofy dance number that’s totally out of place with the rest of the film; it can’t help but be silly when Xavier finds himself accidentally looking through a dancer’s dress. But as the movie progresses into less airy fare, Xavier starts the slow descend into madness. When an evil carny takes advantage of Xavier’s gifts, it leads him inextricably down a dark path that results in tragedy.


In lesser hands than Corman’s, X could easily have turned into another silly programmer. But X is actually compelling fare. Anchoring the film is Milland’s performance. His glory days of The Lost Weekend long behind him, and not yet at the point where he’d be making Frogs and The Thing with Two Heads, his Xavier has a gravity to him that a lesser actor probably wouldn’t have been able to evoke. Because he’s serious in the role, it was easy for me to take the film seriously, no matter how outlandish the concept was. In fact, his work here echoes his Oscar winning turn in Lost Weekend, as he’s once again a man falling apart at the seams. In that movie, alcohol was the drug. Here, it’s a concoction that grants him X-ray vision. Either way, he’s an addict, and the consequences are the same.


Anyone who knows Corman’s output and thinks him a hack must listen to his audio commentary. Corman is eloquent and knowledgeable as he discusses practical matters such as casting Milland, and more technical areas such as dolly shots and special effects. The commentary gets intellectual at times, as Corman expounds on the nature of the science fiction film and the role of the scientist in such fare. Corman’s been making movies since the mid-1950s, and he’s an authority on low budget filmmaking. His commentary on X is an enjoyable, and sometimes profound, listen.


The disc also boasts a five minute prologue that was cut from the film after its initial release. The narrator’s speech is a little too on the nose, and the film’s message is better shown than told. There’s also the movie’s theatrical trailer, which gives away a bit too much.


Roger Corman has been called many things over the years, but not often is he called an artist. X, the Man with the X-Ray Eyes and the Poe cycle prove that he was in fact capable of more than throwing cheaply made crab monsters on the screen. A movie about mankind’s quest for greater vision, this one’s well worth a watch.


--Phil Fasso