"X" The Man with the X-Ray Eyes 1963 Alta Vista Productions
Director: Roger Corman
Starring: Ray Milland and Don Rickles(!)
Dr- James Xavier (Milland) is working on a miracle drug, which will allow the human eye to see the "90 percent of the spectrum" it does not naturally see. He is a paid a visit by Dr- Fairfax (who looks a lot like Samantha Stevens). She is there to see how her foundation's money is being spent. He gives her a demonstration, which kills the lab monkey he tries it on!
So, how better to prove the drug's effectiveness than to try it on himself? He wrangles his friend into helping him and it works! He can see through a sheet of paper. He continues his use of the eye drops and the effect grow stronger- soon he can see through clothing, skin and stone. Trouble is, he can't really control when and what he can see.
After repaying his friend, by throwing him out the window, Xavier goes on the run. Eventually, he joins a circus sideshow and mistaken for a "healer" by a huckster named Crane (Rickles), who sets him up in a new racket. When Dr- Fairfax sees a sudden upswing in her business, she seeks out the mysterious "healer" and confirms her suspicions. Knowing he can't keep it up, he decides to run and takes the fair Fairfax with him.
Where can he make enough to continue his research and control the effects of the drug? Where will his x-ray vision be a very lucrative business? Vegas, baby! Across the desert they go and land in sin city, where they take right to the high-roller room and win a fortune. Of course, security thinks something is up and again Xavier is forced to run...
Finally, I review a film that starts with an "X"! I loved this show when I was a kid and now, even though it has lost some of it's novelty, it is still a pretty good picture. Not Corman's best, but even his worst is better than most of his contemporaries and this is far from his worst. It's every bit as good as Little Shop and Rickles really livens things up in the middle. I my humble opinion, Don Rickles should be in every movie! XXXX