utgard14 First off, this is not a horror movie in any way for those who might be thinking that due to the poster or the fact Turhan Bey is in it. During the '40s he appeared in several of the lesser Universal horror films. This isn't one of them. This is a somewhat noirish psychological thriller about a widow, a fake psychic, and a dead husband that may not be so dead. I see a lot of praise for this in the reviews here but this is one time when I'm not in agreement with the majority. Frankly, I found this to be a real bore. The cast is nice and the twists look good on paper but the whole thing is just so unexciting I could barely stay awake during it. Also I don't get the praise for the cinematography. The film looks fine but, again, I'm just not seeing what others are seeing. It's nothing special, in my opinion. Give it a look and judge for yourself but keep expectations low.

begob A rich widow meets a dark stranger on the beach after she hears her name being called by her late husband, and is pulled into a con-trick. But who's being conned? This starts out as an over-dialogued ghostly melodrama, but develops okay into a mystery-thriller and delivers a solid twist. So it's worth bearing with, but the initial pace really plods along and the lighting and visual clichés are just too dull. I saw a bad youtube copy, so don't want to be too harsh. Some of the effects are interesting if not convincing, and the music is the usual constant romantic background manipulation.The acting is fine, but the story doesn't inspire, and although there are noir touches it's not a patch on Chandler.Overall, won't be watching again.

arfdawg-1 Despite the good reviews here, this movie is dismal. Slow and plodding. Rather boring and over acted. The direction is heavy handed. Not of interest in the slightest.The Plot On the beach one night, Christine Faber, two years a widow, thinks she hears her late husband Paul calling out of the surf.Then meets a tall dark man, Alexis, who seems to know all about such things. After more ghostly manifestations, Christine and younger sister Janet become enmeshed in the eerie artifices of Alexis.But he in turn finds himself manipulated into deeper deviltry than he had in mind.

Scarecrow-88 Turhan Bey (very good) has an actual starring role in this badly titled gem, "The Amazing Mr. X" (a schlocky title that would have you thinking it is a science fiction film of some sort when it is not), as a charlatan, Alexis, who pretends to be a psychic to swindle the wealthy looking to talk with their deceased love ones who have passed away. Lynn Bari is Christine Faber, a widow who is engaged to another, Martin (Richard Carlson the star of "Creature from the Black Lagoon", in an underwritten role here), but has not recovered from the supposed death of her husband. The pretty and vulnerable sister of Christine, Janet (Cathy O'Donnell, a sweetheart many might remember in Nicholas Ray's "They Live by Night"), is smitten with Alexis, completely bamboozled by his so-called abilities to raise the dead in séances, all nefarious parlor tricks those utterly fooled and convinced have a hard time realizing. Martin joins forces with an investigator, Hoffman (Harry B Mendoza) to prove to Christine and Janet the fraud that Alexis really is. Oh, but there's someone else ready to stir up trouble, a crook who sees a goldmine by using Alexis' abilities to his own advantage. The story is actually rather strong, and Turhan Bey is allowed to put all his attributes to good use. He has those exotic looks, a debonair sophistication, charm, and intelligence which contribute to his skills as a con artist, along with his cunning (you have to be perfectly capable of manipulation, gaining trust in clients, keeping them returning for more phony séances) and elaborate tricks (such as projected images, escaping from rope knots, secret windows and rooms which allow him to spy on his clients (or potential clients) and move about the building without them knowing). The real star of this picture is cinematographer John Alton (his photography on "Reign of Terror" for Anthony Mann is a visual work of art) who composes some positively breathtaking shots of the ocean, including Bari standing on her balcony overlooking the scenery below as the wind catches her hair and gown. There are these wonderful compositions of actors from afar which, along with the subject matter, is more comparable to Val Lewton productions than Universal Studios, particularly with the characters involved and the plot that is more akin to film noir. Bari impresses as a lovestruck victim, still longing for a husband that was no good to begin with, tormented by his "presence", this psychological abuse only encouraged by Alexis' fraudulence. Donald Curtis contributes in a small part as Paul Faber, Christine's husband, a dirty rotten scoundrel whose true colors seemed absent from his wife during their marriage "before his death." "This Amazing Mr. X" should have the best restoration money can buy so fans of 40s films such as this can see such a beautiful movie in the format for which it deserves. I had never heard of this and happened to read a few details about it on the sleeve of a criminally poor public domain print available to me in one of those Mill Creek movie packs--I can only imagine the film's existence would not be so little known if it had the proper treatment by a DVD company willing to go the extra mile, but considering "The Amazing Mr. X" isn't a "studio" product, released by 20th Century Fox or Universal, I'm afraid the film will remain in relative obscurity, only to be discovered by accident like in my case, literally stumbling upon while looking for something to blow 70 minutes on.