The Invisible Ray

Little seen Karloff/Lugosi team-up is fun classic
Part sci-fi, part standard mad doctor on murderous rampage, this is nevertheless a must-see for golden age horror buffs. The story of Karloff discovering Radium X and how it turns him into a glowing killer is pretty dated. You'll cringe at some of the "science". But the fast pacing, sets and characterizations make this decent fun. Karloff is pretty hammy, and Bela surprisingly not (usually it's the reverse). View this in the context of its time and with the spirit of a Universal horror fan, and The Invisible Ray will give you a pretty electric feeling!

Boris and Bela in Good Form
Though it doesn't reach the heights of "The Black Cat" (1934), "The Invisible Ray" (1936) remains an intriguing Karloff-Lugosi vehicle with its offbeat mixture of horror and sci-fi elements. For both actors, it's a definite change of pace. Boris chews the scenery as the radiation-poisoned scientist, while Bela effectively underplays his part as the sympathetic colleague. The film might have been stronger if Karloff and Lugosi had switched roles. Still, "The Invisible Ray" survives as a memorable chiller and John Fulton's special effects are excellent.

From the past
This is my favorite Boris Karloff - Bela Lugosi movie. Rukh (Karloff) learns to capture and project light rays from the past, not bad effects for 1936. He proves to Benet (Lugosi) that radium-x, 1000 times more powerful than uranium, is in Africa from a meteor that crash there years ago. Going to Africa, Rukh becomes poisoned by radium-x and everything he touches dies. Benet discovers an antidote but not a cure and eventually Rukh becomes a killer out for revenge, believing Benet and the party that went to Africa has stolen his discovery.

I hope Universal will put this one on DVD.

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