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The Invisible Ray

  • 1935
  • Approved
  • 1h 20m
ÉVALUATION IMDb
6,5/10
3,2 k
MA NOTE
The Invisible Ray (1935)
HorreurScience-fictionThriller

Ajouter une intrigue dans votre langueA scientist becomes murderous after discovering, and being exposed to the radiation of, a powerful new element called Radium X.A scientist becomes murderous after discovering, and being exposed to the radiation of, a powerful new element called Radium X.A scientist becomes murderous after discovering, and being exposed to the radiation of, a powerful new element called Radium X.

  • Director
    • Lambert Hillyer
  • Writers
    • John Colton
    • Howard Higgin
    • Douglas Hodges
  • Stars
    • Boris Karloff
    • Bela Lugosi
    • Frances Drake
  • Voir l’information sur la production à IMDbPro
  • ÉVALUATION IMDb
    6,5/10
    3,2 k
    MA NOTE
    • Director
      • Lambert Hillyer
    • Writers
      • John Colton
      • Howard Higgin
      • Douglas Hodges
    • Stars
      • Boris Karloff
      • Bela Lugosi
      • Frances Drake
    • 62Commentaires d'utilisateurs
    • 54Commentaires de critiques
  • Voir l’information sur la production à IMDbPro
  • Voir l’information sur la production à IMDbPro
    • Prix
      • 1 victoire au total

    Photos87

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    Rôles principaux46

    Modifier
    Boris Karloff
    Boris Karloff
    • Dr. Janos Rukh
    • (as Karloff)
    Bela Lugosi
    Bela Lugosi
    • Dr. Felix Benet
    Frances Drake
    Frances Drake
    • Diana Rukh
    Frank Lawton
    Frank Lawton
    • Ronald Drake
    Violet Kemble Cooper
    Violet Kemble Cooper
    • Mother Rukh
    Walter Kingsford
    Walter Kingsford
    • Sir Francis Stevens
    Beulah Bondi
    Beulah Bondi
    • Lady Arabella Stevens
    Frank Reicher
    Frank Reicher
    • Professor Meiklejohn (Mendelssohn in end credits)
    Paul Weigel
    Paul Weigel
    • Monsieur Noyer
    Georges Renavent
    Georges Renavent
    • Chief of the Surete
    • (as Georges Renevant)
    Ernie Adams
    Ernie Adams
      Ricca Allen
      Ricca Allen
      • Bystander
      • (uncredited)
      Charles Bastin
      Charles Bastin
      • French Newsboy
      • (uncredited)
      May Beatty
      May Beatty
      • Mme. LeGrand
      • (uncredited)
      Ted Billings
      • Counterman
      • (uncredited)
      Ernest A. Bouveron
      • French Newsboy
      • (uncredited)
      Helen Brown
      • Blind Girl's Mother
      • (uncredited)
      Daisy Bufford
      Daisy Bufford
      • Infant's Mother
      • (uncredited)
      • Director
        • Lambert Hillyer
      • Writers
        • John Colton
        • Howard Higgin
        • Douglas Hodges
      • Tous les acteurs et membres de l'équipe
      • Production, box office et plus encore chez IMDbPro

      Commentaires des utilisateurs62

      6,53.2K
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      Avis en vedette

      10franzfelix

      Sci Fi Caviar

      One doesn't get to enjoy this gem, the 1936 Invisible Ray, often. But no can forget it. The story is elegant. Karloff, austere and embittered in his Carpathian mountain retreat, is Janos Rukh, genius science who reads ancient beams of light to ascertain events in the great geological past…particularly the crash of a potent radioactive meteor in Africa. Joining him is the ever-elegant Lugosi (as a rare hero), who studies "astro-chemistry." Frances Drake is the lovely, underused young wife; Frank Lawton the romantic temptation; and the divine Violet Kemble Cooper is Mother Rukh, in a performance worthy of Maria Ospenskya.

      The story moves swiftly in bold episodes, with special effects that are still handsome. It also contains some wonderful lines. One Rukh restores his mother's sight, he asks, "Mother, can you see, can you see?" "Yes, I can see…more clearly than ever. And what I see frightens me." Even better when mother Rukh says, "He broke the first law of science." I am not alone among my acquaintance in having puzzled for many many years exactly what this first law of science is.

      This movie is definitely desert island material.
      10Der_Vampyr

      There's Nothing Invisible About The High Quality Of This Film

      This is just about in the same league as `The Black Cat', although I'd give this a 9 rather than a 9+. That's praise indeed for a film that has been so badly underrated that it is amazing!

      `The Invisible Ray' is part horror, part drama and certainly part sci-fi. For a movie made in 1936 the sci-fi elements were a good deal ahead of their time. The mixture of horror, drama and sci-fi are a perfect blend, while the acting on the part of Lugosi and Karloff couldn't be better.

      Director Lambert Hillyer captures a lot of elements that James Whale did so often. What I'm saying is that this film is eerie and well shot. The scene with the gargoyles outside of Lugosi's room is a perfect example of the mood. It's a standout moment in the film, which is so sadly missing in today's movies of the genre.

      As with `The Black Cat' and `Island of Lost Souls', I can't understand why this film has yet to be released on DVD. When you consider some of the junk that's already been transferred to DVD it's that much more puzzling.

      Anyway, watch this film if you get the chance. When it's released on DVD grab it fast and put it in an honored spot within your DVD library.
      8stevebob99

      Delightful movie, great acting performance, laughable science

      The Invisible Ray is an excellent display of both the acting talents of Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. Karloff pulls off a flawless performance as a sullen and conflicted scientist who appears to put his scientific achievements ahead of his relationships with others, even his wife. His already loner personality becomes unbearable as he becomes paranoid.

      Lugosi plays the consummate professional, who is passionate about his work but still finds time to maintain on good terms with everyone, but still seems to have no real close friends. This was one of his few roles as a good guy and he plays it very well. It is hard, however to hear his accent and believe he is French.

      The biggest problem with the movie was that it was all based on "junk science" but, in a way, even the junk science makes it work well. Since the ideas and theories are completely idiotic, they are as "relevant" today as they were when the movie was made. And they are also as forward reaching- and always will be.

      This is a perfectly delightful movie to watch again and again. I saw it maybe 5 times this weekend and I could easily sit through it five more times. The acting is marvelous and the science is amusing. I highly recommend it.
      8jluis1984

      Another minor classic with Boris and Bela

      There is no doubt that during the decade of the 30s, the names of Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi became a sure guarantee of excellent performances in high quality horror films. After being Universal's "first monster" in the seminal classic, "Dracula", Bela Lugosi became the quintessential horror villain thanks to his elegant style and his foreign accent (sadly, this last factor would also led him to be type-casted during the 40s). In the same way, Boris Karloff's performance in James Whale's "Frankenstein" transformed him into the man to look for when one wanted a good monster. Of course, it was only natural for these icons to end up sharing the screen, and the movie that united them was 1934's "The Black Cat". This formula would be repeated in several films through the decade, and director Lambert Hillyer's mix of horror and science fiction, "The Invisible Ray", is another of those minor classics they did in those years.

      In "The Invisible Ray", Dr. Janos Rukh (Boris Karloff) is a brilliant scientist who has invented a device able to show scenes of our planet's past captured in rays of light coming from the galaxy of Andromeda. While showing his invention to his colleagues, Dr. Felix Benet (Bela Lugosi) and Sir Francis Stevens (Walter Kingsford), they discover that thousands of years ago, a meteor hit in what is now Nigeria. After this marvelous discovery, Dr. Rukh decides to join his colleagues in an expedition to Africa, looking for the landing place of the mysterious meteor. This expedition won't be any beneficial for Rukh, as during the expedition his wife Diane (Frances Drake) will fall in love with Ronald Drake (Frank Lawton), an expert hunter brought by the Stevens to aid them in their expedition. However, Rukh will lose more than his wife in that trip, as he'll be forever changed after being exposed to the invisible ray of the meteor.

      Written by John Colton (who previously did the script for "Werewolf of London"), "The Invisible Ray" had its roots on an original sci-fi story by Howard Higgin and Douglas Hodges. Given that this was a movie with Karloff and Lugosi, Colton puts a lot of emphasis on the horror side of his story, playing in a very effective way with the mad scientist archetype and adding a good dose of melodrama to spice things up. One element that makes "The Invisible Ray" to stand out among other horror films of that era, is the way that Colton plays with morality through the story. That is, there aren't exactly heroes and villains in the classic style, but people who make decisions and later face the consequences of those choices. In many ways, "The Invisible Ray" is a modern tragedy about obsessions, guilt and revenge.

      A seasoned director of low-budget B-movies, filmmaker Lambert Hillyer got the chance to make 3 films for Universal Pictures when the legendary studio was facing serious financial troubles. Thanks to his experience working with limited resources, Hillyer's films were always very good looking despite the budgetary constrains, and "The Invisible Ray" was not an exception. While nowhere near the stylish Gothic atmosphere of previous Universal horror films, Hillyer's movie effectively captures the essence of Colton's script, as he gives this movie a dark and morbid mood more in tone with pulp novels than with straightforward sci-fi. Finally, a word must be said about Hillyer's use of special effects: for an extremely low-budget film, they look a lot better than the ones in several A-movies of the era.

      As usual in a movie with Lugosi and Karloff, the performances by this legends are of an extraordinary quality. As the film's protagonist, Boris Karloff is simply perfect in his portrayal of a man so blinded by the devotion to his work that fails to see the evil he unleashes. As his colleague, Dr. Benet, Bela Luogis is simply a joy to watch, stealing every scene he is in and showing what an underrated actor he was. As Rukh's wife, Frances Drake is extremely effective, truly helping her character to become more than a damsel in distress. Still, two of the movie highlights are the performances of Kemble Cooper as Mother Rukh, and Beulah Bondi as Lady Arabella, as the two actresses make the most of their limited screen time, making unforgettable their supporting roles. Frank Lawton is also good in his role, but nothing surprising when compared to the rest of the cast.

      If one judges this movie under today's standards, it's very easy to dismiss it as another cheap science fiction film with bad special effects and carelessly jumbled pseudoscience. However, that would be a mistake, as despite its low-budget, it is remarkably well done for its time. On the top of that, considering that the movie was made when the nuclear era was about to begin and radioactivity was still a relatively new concept, it's ideas about the dangers of radioactivity are frighteningly accurate. One final thing worthy to point out is the interesting way the script handles the relationships between characters, specially the friendship and rivalry that exists between the obsessive Dr. Rukh and the cold Dr. Benet, as this allows great scenes between the two iconic actors.

      While nowhere near the Gothic expressionism of the "Frankenstein" movies, nor the elegant suspense of "The Black Cat", Lambert Hillyer's "The Invisible Ray" is definitely a minor classic amongst Universal Pictures' catalog of horror films. With one of the most interesting screenplays of 30s horror, this mixture of suspense, horror and science fiction is one severely underrated gem that even now delivers a good dose of entertainment courtesy of two of the most amazing actors the horror genre ever had: Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. 8/10
      BaronBl00d

      Karloff/Lugosi...Need I Say More

      The Invisible Ray is an exciting story about an overworked scientist who works effortlessly in his Carpathian castle looking for secrets of the universe. Boris Karloff plays the scientist Janos Ruhk who travels with a band of other scientists to Africa for the spot where an unidentified element landed centuries ago. Karloff is very good as the scientist who accidentally poisons himself with this new radioactive element. Karloff is obsessed with the idea that his fellow travelers, amongst them the stately Lugosi as Dr. Benet, are after his honors and secrets of this new find. Because of this, Karloff goes on a maniacal murdering spree of his former friends. There are many good elements in this film, most dealing with the rather interesting story of science gone amok. Lugosi is good too, although his role is not very big. I must agree with many that this pairing of the horrific duo is a second to The Black Cat. Nonetheless this is a fine Universal science fiction/horror film.

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      Histoire

      Modifier

      Le saviez-vous

      Modifier
      • Anecdotes
        The set for Dr. Rukh's laboratory appeared as that of Ming the Merciless in Flash Gordon (1936) and Countess Zelaska's castle in Le Fille de Dracula (1936).
      • Gaffes
        The film shows a clipping from a news magazine announcing that the principal characters have gone on an expedition to Nigeria to find the meteor containing Radium X. Yet in the earlier sequence showing the meteor landing on earth, it hit on the southwest coast of Africa over 1,000 miles away from Nigeria.
      • Citations

        Ronald Drake: [discussing Benet's plan to invite unwitting scientists to a lecture intended as a trap for Rukh] Do you think it's fair to expose them to the danger?

        Dr. Felix Benet: There are only two people he wants to destroy. Two, or perhaps... three.

      • Générique farfelu
        The character of "Professor Meiklejohn," correct in the opening credits, is listed as "Professor Mendelssohn" in the closing credits.
      • Connexions
        Edited into Mondo Lugosi - A Vampire's Scrapbook (1987)
      • Bandes originales
        Bridal Chorus (Here Comes the Bride)
        (1850) (uncredited)

        from "Lohengrin"

        Written by Richard Wagner

        Played on an organ for the wedding

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      • How long is The Invisible Ray?Propulsé par Alexa

      Détails

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      • Date de sortie
        • 20 janvier 1936 (United States)
      • Pays d’origine
        • United States
      • Langues
        • English
        • French
      • Aussi connu sous le nom de
        • El rayo invisible
      • Lieux de tournage
        • Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, Californie, États-Unis(Hunchback of Notre Dame church set)
      • société de production
        • Universal Pictures
      • Consultez plus de crédits d'entreprise sur IMDbPro

      Spécifications techniques

      Modifier
      • Durée
        1 heure 20 minutes
      • Couleur
        • Black and White
      • Rapport de forme
        • 1.37 : 1

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