Main Cast: Ray Milland, Diana Van Der Vlis, Harold J. Stone, Don Rickles, John Hoyt
Release Year: 1963
Country: US
Run Time: 76 minutes
Plot
Dr. James Xavier (Ray Milland) is a brilliant but unorthodox researcher whose work with human sight has yielded an experimental chemical that may vastly increase the range of what we can see. Despite the misgivings and warnings of the two people closest to him, Dr. Diane Fairfax (Diana Van Der Vlis) and Dr. Sam Brant (Harold J. Stone), he uses it on himself and finds that he is able to look inside the human body in real-time. This gives him the ability to save the life of a patient in surgery, but in the process, he offends a top physician and calls his own judgement into question. He won't stop or even slow his experiments, however, and when Sam is accidentally killed trying to stop him, he is forced to flee. Soon he is living the life of a hunted man, and is protected and exploited by Crane (Don Rickles), a larcenous carny-man who sets him up as a "healer" on skid row, taking peoples' pennies while Xavier makes his diagnoses. After getting away from Crane, Xavier is found by Diane, who joins him on the run, and by now his own worst nature is coming to the surface. They head to Las Vegas, where his ability to see through objects allows him to win at most of the games in front of him, but he is discovered because of the attention that his "streak" draws to him. Pursued out of town, he heads out to the desert, and by now his ability to see transcends the boundaries of earthly space, leading him to a terrible quandry and a hideous solution to his plight, inspired by an encounter with a preacher. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
Review
A chilling tale of sci-fi terror from legendary director Roger Corman, X offers the story of a scientist who has successfully realized the ability to see through solid matter as a cautionary study in obsessive excess. At first amused with his new discovery, Ray Milland's performance effectively shifts from a sense of intoxicated wonder to inescapable terror as his obsession with furthering his experiments ultimately renders him able to see through much more than clothes and buildings. From respected scientist to miracle worker to man on the run, Milland's turn as the tortured scientist provides the film with a believable lead and a solid foundation. Likewise, master of insults Don Rickles offers a believably uncharacteristic turn as a seemingly sympathetic soul whose true intentions are slowly revealed to be much darker. With an effective and thoughtful screenplay peppered with social commentary, complex and almost hypnotic visual effects, and a bleak ending that is sure to stick with viewers for some time later, Corman has crafted a tight and suspenseful little yarn that some argue is one of his best. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Daniel Haller - Art Director, Marjorie D. Corso - Costume Designer, Roger Corman - Director, Anthony Carras - Editor, Samuel Z. Arkoff - Executive Producer, Bartlett A. Carre - Executive Producer, Les Baxter - Composer (Music Score), Al Simms - Musical Direction/Supervision, Ted Coodley - Makeup, Floyd D.Crosby - Cinematographer, Samuel Z. Arkoff - Producer, Roger Corman - Producer, Harry Reif - Set Designer, Butler-Glouner, Inc. - Special Effects, Ray Russell - Screenwriter, Robert Dillon - Screenwriter
