(Ape caricature art by Richard Smith)
Welcome to Apes on Film! This column exists to scratch your retro-film-in-high-definition itch. We’ll be reviewing new releases of vintage cinema and television on disc of all genres, finding gems, and letting you know the skinny on what to avoid. Here at Apes on Film, our aim is to uncover the best in retro film. As we dig for artifacts, we’ll do our best not to bury our reputation. What will we find out here? Our destiny.
3.5 out of 5 Bananas
Starring: Turhan Bey , Lynn Bari , Cathy O’Donnell , Richard Carlson
Director: Bernard Vorhaus
Rated: NR
Studio: The Film Detective
Region: A, B
BRD Release Date: October 26, 2021
Audio Formats: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
Video Codec: MPEG-2
Resolution: 1080p HD
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1
Run Time: 78 minutes
Fans of Guillermo Del Toro’s recent remake of NIGHTMARE ALLEY should enjoy THE AMAZING MR. X, which explores similar territory (spiritualism and con men, but without the carny trappings) painted in the same film noir brush strokes.
Universal Studios stalwart Turhan (The Mummy’s Tomb) Bey stars as “Alexis, Psychic Consultant” – code for con man – who’s set his sights on Lynn (The Bridge of San Luis Rey) Bari’s Christine, a not-too-recent rich widow who’s being haunted by the spirit of her dead husband, Paul (Donald Curtis). Richard (Creature from the Black Lagoon) Carlson intervenes as her sensible and skeptical lawyer/suitor Martin and Cathy (The Best Years of Our Lives) O’Donnell plays younger sister Janet, who wants nothing more than for Christine to forget the past and move on to a happy future with Martin. As much a character in the drama as any of the actors is the cinematography of John Alton , who creates dream-like misty, and sometimes even downright fog-laden environments that enhance the lighting and lens choices he makes. Shot very much in a gothic, film noir style, the camera’s eye is used as a narrator rather than simply a passive window.
Bey’s inside accomplice (Christine’s housekeeper Virginia Gregg ) feeds him enough information to dazzler her and point her towards him as a solution to her problem as it begins to spin out of control. Alexis remains a smooth operator until the moment Martin holds him to a seance table and dead husband Paul appears without any pre-arranged special effects. From then on, the fake spiritualist is in over his head and unable to find a way out.
The Film Detective’s release of The Amazing Mr. X is sourced from a 4K restoration of Bey’s own print of the film, and a definite improvement over earlier home video releases. As much of the film is set at night, there are some very grainy segments, but for the most part, the picture is as crisp or as sharp as the cinematographer and director decided it should be. Other artifacts pop up occasionally – there are some shots with slight lens doubling effects that stem from the original film elements. Audio is consistent with the technology of 1948, sweetened a bit for modern tastes. It’s no distraction from the imagery but could have been more of an enhancement.
Special Features include a commentary by professor and film scholar Jason A. New, Mysteries Exposed: Inside The Cinematic World of Spiritualism, an original documentary featuring author Lisa Morton and writer/producer C. Courtney Joiner by Ballyhoo Motion Pictures, and a full-color booklet with essay The Amazing Mr. Bey, by Dan Stradley.
If you’ve never seen this movie or seen it only in a diminished format sourced from a bad public domain print, don’t hesitate to buy this disc. Well worth the price!
Written by Apes on Film, Anthony Taylor in Collaboration with ATLRetro
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