The Invisible Ray (1936 film)
The Invisible Ray | |
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Directed by | Lambert Hillyer |
Screenplay by | John Colton[3] |
Story by |
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Produced by | Edmund Grainger[3] |
Starring |
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Cinematography | George Robinson[3] |
Edited by | Bernard Burton[3] |
Music by | Franz Waxman[3] |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 79 minutes[3] |
Country | United States[1] |
Language | English |
The Invisible Ray is a 1936 American
Prior to production, Universal Pictures was originally developing the film Bluebeard for Karloff and Lugosi. When that production did not start, Universal wanted a release by the end of 1935 with Karloff and Lugosi, and hired director
Plot
A visionary astronomer, Dr. Janos Rukh, has invented a telescope that can look far out into deep space, into the Andromeda Galaxy, and photograph light rays that will show the Earth's past. He has theorized about this being possible for some years, much to his discredit among his fellow scientist-colleagues. Looking at the remote past on a planetarium-like dome in his lab, two of those ardently skeptical scientists, Dr. Benet and Sir Francis Stevens, watch a large meteorite smash into the Earth a billion years ago, in what is now the continent of Africa. Amazed by Rukh's demonstration, the pair invite him to go on an expedition to locate the impact site.
Rukh finds the meteorite, but is exposed to its unknown radiation, now dubbed "
Benet takes a piece of the meteorite back to Europe, where he modifies its effects to help people, including curing the blind. Working along similar lines, Rukh cures his mother's blindness, but in spite of her warning, he goes to Paris to confront Benet and the others. There, he pretends to acknowledge his wife's new relationship with Drake, but in reality, it is the first step in his plan for revenge. Rukh murders a Frenchman he closely resembles, making it appear that he has died and been rendered unrecognizable due to an accident with Radium X.
Believing the deception, Diana marries Ronald. Rukh now begins to use his radiation poisoning to kill off the expedition members. He marks each death by disintegrating a single statue on the exterior of a church across from where he is hiding. Each time, he focuses the radiation through a window using a raygun-like device. He manages to kill both Stevenses before the police realize what is happening. Dr. Benet helps them set a trap by convening a scientific conference at his home to discuss Radium X, but Rukh secretly gains access and kills Benet. He has saved his revenge on Ronald and Diana for last but finds himself unable to kill his former wife. This hesitation brings him to a confrontation with his mother, the most important woman in his life. She has foreseen her son's growing madness and smashes the last of his antidote bottles in order to stop him. As the Radium X begins to consume him from within, Rukh jumps from a window. He disappears in an explosive flame, having been vaporized before reaching the ground.
Cast
Credits adapted from the book Universal Horrors:[4]
- Boris Karloff as Dr. Janos Rukh
- Béla Lugosias Dr. Felix Benet
- Frances Drakeas Diana Rukh
- Frank Lawton as Ronald Drake
- Violet Kemble Cooperas Mother Rukh
- Walter Kingsford as Sir Francis Stevens
- Beulah Bondi as Lady Arabella Stevens
- Frank Reicher as Professor Meiklejohn
- Paul Weigel as Monsieur Noyer
- Georges Renavent as Chief of the Sûreté
Nydia Westman, though billed on the film's poster, appears in an uncredited role as Briggs.[5]
Production
Producer David Diamond, who teamed up actors Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff for the 1935 film The Raven, had plans to reunite the two actors in an upcoming Karloff film Bluebeard.[4] The script for Bluebeard did not proceed as expected, leading the studio executives at Universal Pictures to put that film on hold and put Lugosi and Karloff in a different film.[4] In August 1935, the studio announced that production on The Invisible Ray would commence with producer Edmund Grainger.[4]
At the time of production, Universal Pictures was among reports that the studio was going to be sold.
The film was initially given a budget of $166,875, an amount described in the book Universal Horrors as "a fairly lavish budget" for an "upper-class B" film.[6] Filming began on September 17.[6] Filming concluded on October 25 which was over-schedule and $68,000 over-budget.[6] Walker later responded to this, retorting that "the director who did the picture started nine or ten days after I was ordered to start and finished 25 or more days after I was ordered to finish".[6]
Release
The Invisible Ray was distributed by Universal Pictures on January 20, 1936.[1] Marguerite Tazelaar of the New York Herald Tribune commented on the audiences response to the film on their viewing, stating the audience "composed largely of men, gave to the picture their respectful attention, finding the laboratories especially absorbing, and the climax vastly exciting".[7]
The film was released on DVD as part of the Bela Lugosi Collection in 2005 along with
Reception
From contemporary reviews, "Char." of Variety declared that the film was not "as blood-curdling to the point achieved in some Hollywoodian efforts, but it is different and fairly entertaining".[7] Frank Nugent of The New York Times stated that Universal had "made its newest penny dreadful with technical ingenuity and the pious hope of frightening the children... Boo right back at you, Mr. Laemmle!"[7]
From retrospective reviews, Kevin Thomas of
Legacy
Footage of The Invisible Ray, specifically the scenes where a scientist descends into a fiery pit, was re-used in the Universal Pictures
See also
- Boris Karloff filmography
- Béla Lugosi filmography
References
Footnotes
- ^ a b "The Invisible Ray". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on January 7, 2024. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
- ^ Nourmand & Marsh 2003, p. 70.
- ^ a b c d e f g Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007, p. 153.
- ^ a b c d e f g Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007, p. 154.
- ISBN 978-0786421534.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007, p. 155.
- ^ a b c d Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007, p. 161.
- ^ Gilchrist, Tod (October 27, 2005). "The Bela Lugosi Collection". IGN. Archived from the original on January 15, 2020. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
- ^ Erickson 2019.
- ^ Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007, p. 162.
- ^ Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007, p. 156.
Sources
- Erickson, Glenn (June 18, 2019). "Universal Horror Collection: Vol.1 (Blu-ray)". DVDTalk. Archivedfrom the original on August 5, 2020. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
- Nourmand, Tony; Marsh, Graham, eds. (2003). Science Fiction Poster Art. London: Aurum Press Limited. ISBN 1-85410-946-4.
- Weaver, Tom; Brunas, Michael; Brunas, John (2007) [1990]. Universal Horrors (2 ed.). McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0-7864-2974-5.
External links
- The Invisible Ray at IMDb
- The Invisible Ray at AllMovie
- The Invisible Ray at the TCM Movie Database