Review of The Invisible Ray (1936) by Andy S — 31 Mar 2012
This tale which begins as a pure Sci-Fi story ends as a Mad Scientist bent on killing those who he thinks wronged him story. Yes, it was the discovery of Radium X which drove poor Dr. Janos Rukh (Boris Karloff) mad.
Enough Radium X will make you glow as Karloff did. Bela Lugosi ( as Dr. Felix Benet) is relegated to a side character here as we follow Janos on his journeys through Africa and Paris, seeking the secrets of Radium X, which is actually part of a crashed meteor from deep space that is millions of years old.
The science in the film is extremely wonky and at times feels ridiculous. Some of the tech/medical/scientific jargon is actually kind of funny. Of course there is a torrid love affair here with Dr. Janos' Wife, Diana (Frances Drake) falling for someone a little closer to her age.
This fact and the Radium X poisoning sends Janos over the edge and the film becomes the hunt for the "mad scientist killer". The film in all is a bit multi-directional as it tries to be a Sci-Fi and Horror film in one.
As always it's great to have Lugosi and Karloff together but I'm afraid here it is quite benign. The person responsible for giving Karloff a curly afro and a heavy suit in tropical Africa needed to be slapped.
This is a forgettable little romp that does have some fun Sci-Fi value to it. "The Invisible Ray" is a crap title. Why not "Radium X" or "The Glowing Scientist"? Put this one in the "just OK" category.
This review of The Invisible Ray (1936) was written by Andy S on 31 Mar 2012.
The Invisible Ray has generally received mixed reviews.
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