This film reminded me of Roger Corman's early efforts. The AMAZING MR. X is something you might catch on television, playing at midnight. It's goofy, spooky, weird, fun, has a terrible soundtrack, and is shot entirely on the grounds of two neighboring Southern California cliff-side ocean homes.
The actors' minds seem to be elsewhere, when delivering their lines. (Perhaps they're thinking about what they'll have for dinner tonight, after they're done shooting the scene.) The close-ups are total glamor shots.
Nearly every scene is accompanied by some inappropriate background music - which does nothing whatsoever to heighten the mood. Every time the dead husband is mentioned - we hear a distant piano, playing the same bars from a slow Chopin Prelude - which just repeats itself ad nauseum. (The dead husband was apparently some great pianist - every time his living wife hears the piano, she grows distressed - then, sentimental - then distressed - then, sentimental...) My favorite sound bit - is the spiritualist's pet raven - who's caw sounds amazingly like a sound fx man imitating a raven!
Many of the scenes appear to be photographed through gauze. A very hazy look permeates the film. Also - lots of intense back-lighting. Windows and doorways flooded with light - reducing any object in front of it, to the status of a silhouette.
There are less than ten actors in this film. Economy wise, it's something worth noting. Same goes for the photography. It's really great photography. There's some trippy ghost images which are genuinely uncanny. However, aside from the séance sequences, the film slogs along at the speed of ectoplasm in January.
Actually, the quality of the film increases as it gets towards the climax. Turhan Bey does a good job playing the spiritualist. His reviving-the-dead techniques are well thought out. The last half of the movie is decent.
BTW - If you're looking for an entertaining thriller about a spiritualist - I'd recommend you check out Fritz Lang's "The 1,000 Eyes of Dr. Mabuse" (1960).
The actors' minds seem to be elsewhere, when delivering their lines. (Perhaps they're thinking about what they'll have for dinner tonight, after they're done shooting the scene.) The close-ups are total glamor shots.
Nearly every scene is accompanied by some inappropriate background music - which does nothing whatsoever to heighten the mood. Every time the dead husband is mentioned - we hear a distant piano, playing the same bars from a slow Chopin Prelude - which just repeats itself ad nauseum. (The dead husband was apparently some great pianist - every time his living wife hears the piano, she grows distressed - then, sentimental - then distressed - then, sentimental...) My favorite sound bit - is the spiritualist's pet raven - who's caw sounds amazingly like a sound fx man imitating a raven!
Many of the scenes appear to be photographed through gauze. A very hazy look permeates the film. Also - lots of intense back-lighting. Windows and doorways flooded with light - reducing any object in front of it, to the status of a silhouette.
There are less than ten actors in this film. Economy wise, it's something worth noting. Same goes for the photography. It's really great photography. There's some trippy ghost images which are genuinely uncanny. However, aside from the séance sequences, the film slogs along at the speed of ectoplasm in January.
Actually, the quality of the film increases as it gets towards the climax. Turhan Bey does a good job playing the spiritualist. His reviving-the-dead techniques are well thought out. The last half of the movie is decent.
BTW - If you're looking for an entertaining thriller about a spiritualist - I'd recommend you check out Fritz Lang's "The 1,000 Eyes of Dr. Mabuse" (1960).