The Invisible Ray (1936)

Lack of good storyline.

A bit overrated, but still an amazing film

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

"The Invisible Ray" is a well crafted horror/sci fi film that features Boris Karloff in a new early Mad Scientist role and he plays it well. Bela Lugosi is cast against type as the good and honest character who attempts to help Karloff when his experiments go badly wrong (don't they always?)The subplot is a tiresome waste of time and should have been left out of the screenplay.The special effects for 1936 are very good.

A good and interesting older sci-fi film. I love the idea of finding a cure for blindness but this particular fictitious form of radium called Radium X also has it's dark side if it falls into the wrong hands (as we see in the film). This movie is a grim reminder that scientific discoveries in real life (as well as in the movies) can be used for good but it can be used for bad/evil if one uses that way.Great film for fans of the science fiction genre. It tells the story of Dr. Janos Rukh (Karloff) who discovered the (fictitious) Radium X, is exposed to the poison and becomes a murderous maniac against the scientists and supporters of the expedition were the Radium X was found.7.5/10

Brilliant scientist Janos Rukh (Boris Karloff) discovers a rare element called Radium X that has unusual properties. Dr. Felix Benet (Bela Lugosi) encourages Rukh to hand over his work on Radium X because it could be used for the benefit of mankind. But Rukh refuses to do so until his research is complete. After discovering the exposure to the element has made him radioactive and lethal to touch, Rukh turns to Benet for help. Benet creates a temporary antidote for Rukh and then promptly steals his research and presents it to the scientific community, which praises Radium X's healing properties. Enraged by this and his wife (Frances Drake) leaving him for another man (Frank Lawton), Rukh fakes his own death and uses his lethal touch to seek revenge against those who have wronged him.Another good Karloff/Lugosi film. This one is an early foray into science fiction by Universal. Karloff is marvelous as always. Lugosi gives a fine, surprisingly restrained performance. More proof that he was a better actor than he's often said to be. It's also a credit to the script that his character doesn't go the clichéd route of becoming a full villain. Actually, that's one of the more intriguing things about this movie. There are no clear-cut black & white heroes. Though the narrative often portrays Karloff as the villain, the "good guys" consist of two adulterers, two thieves, and an obnoxious old crow. That's to say nothing of a mother who betrays her son even after he restored her sight! As to the rest of the cast, Frances Drake is gorgeous and does a good job with a somewhat difficult part. Her legendary braless bounciness early in the movie will brighten anyone's day. Poor Janos was making the wrong discoveries, sadly. Frank Lawton is as exciting as dishwater. To be fair, these types of parts are always a hard sell. At least he's no Lester Matthews in Werewolf of London. Beulah Bondi is best in small doses as the butch buttinsky Arabella. Exceptional turn by Violet Kemble Cooper as Karloff's mom. Walter Kingsford is funny as Arabella's husband.Great sets, decent effects, good cast, and a smart script with interesting ideas. Not the best of Universal's 1930s horror films or even the Karloff/Lugosi pairings, but a very good one nonetheless.

The invisible ray comes from Andromeda and allows Dr Rukh (Boris Karloff) to see a meteorite that hit Africa millions of years ago. He goes in search of evidence with a party that includes his wife Diane (Frances Drake), Dr Benet (Bela Lugosi), Sir Francis (Walter Kingsford), Lady Arabella (Beulah Bondi) and non-entity Ronald (Frank Lawton). He discovers Radium X and lets Dr Benet into his secret, but it has a fatal effect on him. He starts to glow and decides to exact his revenge on the party that "stole" his discovery. He's a madman!It's a film that starts out spooky, then goes into science fiction, then switches to adventure in Africa before changing into a murder story. It contains quite a lot of shifting story lines but it never really settles into any. It's a bit of everything and comes across as quite dull in parts. The best thing about the film is the performance of Violet Kemble Cooper as "Mother Rukh". She is proper scary and her performance would still creep the hell out of audiences today. At the opposite end of the scale is the dreadful Frank Lawton who has no charisma, especially as a love interest for Diane. Lugosi is laughable at first because of his accent but then becomes very likable. I was convinced by his performance as a good scientist and quite surprised that he managed to pull it off.Unfortunately, the film ends rather unimaginatively. My mind drifted in parts, Violet Kemble Cooper is good but the film is just OK.