Maidgethma Wonderfully offbeat film!

Greenes Please don't spend money on this.

FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Keeley Coleman The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

clanciai What strikes you from the start in this film is its very romantic character, immediately introducing Chopin's most mesmerizing prelude (which is used throughout the film) accompanying a lady wandering about the rocky shore of a stormy sea, when her deceased husband seems to call on her from the roaring surf. Could a film have a more romantic start?However, the story develops and invites you on constantly more surprising turns, as gradually more characters appear to complicate the story: her sister, her wooer (a lawyer) and then the mysterious Mr. Alexis, who turns up from nowhere and seems to know everything about her.But the main thing about the film is its spellbinding cinematography. The photo here is simply terrific the whole way, and you feel tempted to stay with many of the pictures just to look further and deeper into them. It is supposed to be a B feature, but it is actually class A, and although the actors are no film stars of the highest rank, they are quite convincing enough. It's an ingenious plot exploiting all the tricks of occultism and actually touching on metaphysics, just to turn to the dire realism of a very sinister thriller. When the first gun is pulled, you know the romantic game is over.

Bezenby Remade as a hardcore porno called "The Amazing Mr XXX" in the seventies (which gave a new meaning to the word 'ectoplasm'), the original film is a very interesting mystery film set in the world of séances and medium, with many twists and turns, all presented in a very stylistic way.Millionarre widow Chrissy and her vapid, gullible sister Janet live on a cliff top mansion with their servants. Chrissy's mourning the death of her husband Paul, who died in a car crash or something, but she's in a new relationship with another guy who's set to propose. Going to meet her prospective appointee, she takes a walk on a beach where she hears Paul's voice calling her name, and shortly bumps into a man called Alexis who seems to know everything about her.Alexis states that he's a medium and can help her out, which leads Chrissy to start visiting him a lot and start neglecting her fiancé, who, along with sister Janet, employ a debunker to get Chrissy away from Alexis. They now know Alexis has a previous criminal record, but he's no fool and they're about to get out-manoeuvred again…and even Alexis may not be totally in control of everything.I'll go no further with the plot because it will just spoil things for you. This whole film seems to revolve around sleight of hand, mediumship, illusion and trickery (and not just by Alexis). It also has this great noir look about it and a great use of shady and backlighting, as well as a couple of trippy, creepy scenes, one involving a wedding dress that attacks Chrissy (which could be straight out of a Japanese horror film) and a séance where Alexis himself isn't sure what's going on. Chrissy's a bit of a wet blanket mind you, and Janet comes across as a bit daft, but then again some characters develop and change as the film goes on, and there's a few good twists to keep you going, as well as a pretty poignant ending.You haven't seen a film quite like this I'd say.

museumofdave This is a delicious little House-On-The-Cliff-By-The Seething Sea" "B" movie, an immersion in style and spiritualist hocus-pocus, starring Lynn Bari, who usually played hard-bitten criminal types, and Turhan Bey, a 40's leading man almost forgotten, since many of the films he was in (with folks like Maria Montez) haven't been released on DVD. Bey usually played exotic types in flashy costumes, and here is no exception--he even has a cackling pet raven to follow him around with avian commentary on the shifty doings in the neighborhood.As a side note, Bey retired to Vienna and worked as a photographer, and passed away in 2012; Out of The Blue, an odd little comedy made for Eagle-Lion, in which he co-stars with George Brent, Ann Dvorak and Virginia Mayo, has been released on DVD.What makes The Amazing Mr. X. stand out from most of its kind is the dazzling atmospheric cinematography from John Alton--just the opening interior scenes are enough for me to watch the film again! Yes, it's hokey melodrama, but great fun if you're in the mood.

grizzledgeezer Competently-written, decently acted, and with direction rather better than one would expect from a "programmer", "The Amazing Mr. X" is a pleasant surprise. Turhan Bey, who usually appeared in "exotic" roles, is especially effective as the phony medium.The problem (and the reason for a 6 rather than a 7 rating) is the shoot-em-up ending, which spoils what has up to then been an acceptable drama. Unfortunately, it's easier to write an "all the bad people die" ending than it is to create a resolution based on the characters' situations and psychologies.Certainly worth a viewing, especially if you can't get to sleep.