You won't be disappointed!

Absolutely Fantastic

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

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.

Despite owning The Bela Lugosi Collection DVD from the day it came out, I honestly don't think I've seen this film before. If I have, I've forgotten almost everything about in the intervening years. As it is, it's a pretty fun sci-fi/horror hybrid. The movie has a fantastically Gothic opening, with a group of scientists, Bela Lugosi among them, gathering in an old castle on a dark and stormy night. Using his fancy telescope machine, Boris Karloff shows his audience the history of an asteroid hitting Earth, by reflecting rays off of Andromeda. (Is that possible? It doesn't seem possible.) It's hard to go wrong with Karloff narrating over a series of surreal, astral images. The gist of this really cool montage? There's a new element somewhere in the wilds of Africa.In the first of two major location changes, the scientists pack and head for the jungle. After some moderately racist scenes of African natives, Karloff finds the asteroid and immediately turns this fantastic new element into a death ray. Also, he becomes poisoned with the new element's radiation, now glows in the dark and kill things with a touch. His fellow scientists basically run off with Karloff's discovery, though they still technically credit him. He's still pretty upset. Also, his much-younger wife is in love with another guy. That's a lot of set-up, isn't it? I thought so too. "The Invisible Ray" is a half-an-hour in before we finally get to the movie's main point. It's not exactly a problem, as the movie is actually well paced. But still, as far as revenge quest premise go, it's a bit convoluted. In the second location shift, the action heads to Paris and Karloff can get down to the business of killing those who have wrong him with his brand new radiation powers. Perhaps it wasn't the best idea to betray the guy who can kill with a touch.The main pleasure of "The Invisible Ray" is seeing Karloff play an over-the-top villain. There's some excuse about the radiation affecting his sanity but even before then he seems a little obsessive. Having the great actor scream about "Thieves!" is sort of awesome. The second half is exciting enough and there are several nice touches. An eradicated hand-print appears on the skin of each victim. Karloff destroys one of six statues at a near-by church after claiming a victim. Lugosi discovers the identity of the killer with a especially ridiculous, but fun!, method. Bela does well in another nice guy part. The ending rolls around in an unexpected manner. "The Invisible Ray" maybe demands a little more from viewers as far as plot mechanics go but it's a satisfying thriller that drawls its audience in early and keeps their attention.

Lambert Hillyer directed this science fiction story starring Boris Karloff as Dr. Janos Rukh, who organizes an expedition to Africa to locate a newly discovered meteorite of reputed power. Unfortunately, Janos becomes ill when exposed to it, though Dr. Felix Benet(played by Bela Lugosi) finds a cure for his radiation sickness. When they return to London, Benet uses the radiation to develop a cure for blindness, making him a hero, though Janos becomes embittered by what he considers the theft of his discovery, so uses his newfound power to kill by touch to avenge himself on his perceived enemies... Good film has a fine cast and interesting story, which makes inspired use of its familiar plot to create a moving tragedy.

When you see Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi as co-stars, you expect to find a well done horror movie, but this was actually quite different, representing as it did what I would describe as an early effort at science fiction. Karloff and Lugosi both play scientists (Rukh and Benet respectively) - competitors to an extent, until Rukh wins Benet over with a demonstration that proves his great theory. The science here was - to say the least - a bit rough around the edges (thus science fiction, with the emphasis on the fiction) but somehow Rukh harnesses some sort of ray from Andromeda that allows him to look at the earth "several thousand million years ago." In that pre historic time, a huge meteorite slammed into Africa, leaving deposits of a substance the scientists call "Radium X" - which can heal and destroy. A large portion of the movie is set rather tediously in Africa, on a search for the meteorite deposits, which Rukh eventually finds and harnesses to create a great weapon, unfortunately infecting himself with some sort of disease that makes him a great weapon as well.Karloff and Lugosi were both pretty good here. Lugosi pulls off a role in which he's the good guy pretty well, although I frankly found him a bit unconvincing - especially during the scenes set in Africa. The story also plodded along a bit, and while it held my attention it didn't captivate me. Given that this is really a sci-fi rather than a horror flick, and that sci-fi was in its very early stages, I suppose the movie needs to be cut a bit of slack. It was OK - nothing more, but also nothing less than that. 4/10