Strange Illusion

After his wealthy and influential father is killed in a suspicious accident, a teenager by the name of "Paul Cartwright" (James Lydon) begins to have nightmares about a mysterious man attempting to ingratiate himself with his widowed mother "Virginia Cartwright" (Sally Eilers) and sister "Dorothy Cartwright" (Jayne Hazard). When he tells his family physician and good friend "Dr. Vincent" (Regis Toomey) about it he is initially told not to worry too much about it. However, Paul becomes even more alarmed when a stranger by the name of "Brett Curtis" (Warren William) arrives at his home bearing an uncanny similarity to the man in his nightmares. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a decent grade-B crime-drama which featured solid acting and an imaginative plot. Admittedly, there were some scenes which were a bit unrealistic but this film was certainly worth the time spent to watch it and have rated it accordingly. Average.

For a PRC film Strange Illusion is a top drawer item. It's on a PRC shoe string budget to be sure, but Edgar Ullmer is a director who works good with low budgets and in this case some offbeat casting.

James Lydon who most people will know as the radio and film Henry Aldrich is far from the goofy juvenile persona of that role. He's a rather serious student who is deeply concerned about Warren William who has been paying court to his mother Sally Eilers. Lydon's father was killed six months earlier, among other things he was the former Lieutenant Governor of California. His father was also a criminologist who interested himself in the case of a psychopathic killer who is believed dead, but Lydon thinks William's the guy.

What's really creepy in this film is that William in fact has been a patient at a sanitarium under the care of psychiatrist Charles Arnt. No mystery here, we learn early on that Arnt has William working for him. Psychiatrists intimidate people because they are students of the mind and know what makes people tick. Having one with a killer at his beck and call is a frightening concept unto itself. And William has his own agenda.

The lucky break for Lydon is that he also has a psychiatrist at his beck and call, his uncle on his mother's side Regis Toomey.

Strange Illusion is a film that will scare you far more than some blood and gore things because it explores things we don't like to think about. And that other worldly ending is a truly unique experience. I can't say any more about it.

This is one you have to see for yourself.

Much has been made of Mr. Ulmer's talent, and here, he makes good use of it. While someone on the order of a brooding Farley Granger, for example, would have been preferable as the lead, James Lydon, nonetheless, turns in a commendable job as Paul Cartwright, a college student haunted by prophetic dreams. It's genuinely refreshing for a change, to look back upon a time, when teen-agers were still presented in a wholesome and appealing light. And, Mr. Lydon, movieland's "Henry Aldrich" certainly had the credentials for those traits. But, here, Lydon is caught in a story of deathly threats, with implications far more threatening, than the "Golly--Gee!" consequences of smashing his date's corsage for the Senior Prom.

As for the plot, Paul, manages to prevent his wealthy widowed mother from marrying a male gold-digger, with a string of unsolved murders in his past. Naturally, Paul has to undergo any number of travails before the violent denouement, including amateur "detective" work that triggers both a feigned and a near real nervous collapse. He is even "voluntarily" committed to an asylum where further sinister developments befall him. The ending, cleverly finds him lost in an unconscious dream state again, but now enjoying a vision of a liberated and happy future.

Mr. Lydon was "slumming" at PRC, on loan from Paramount, and preparatory to his turns with glamorous Elizabeth Taylor in "Life With Father" and "Cynthia" both glossy, expensive, mainline productions.

Nonetheless, this PRC production possesses relatively handsome art direction and production values, given that, based on production files with the American Film Institute, it was actually shot in just 15 days, (as opposed to the erroneous oft-cited 6 day schedule.) By the way, take a good, hard, look at the exteriors of the Lydon family chateau in this. Look familiar? Yes, it's the same house used as Robert Walker's home in "Strangers on a Train" and June Lockhart's in "Bury Me Dead."

All told, if you enjoy crime stories focused on young people trapped in traumatic circumstances, it's definately worth a look.

The movie just goes to show cheap doesn't necessarily mean bad. It's a poverty row PRC production. But the movie also has a fine cast, distinguished direction, and expert craftsmanship. On the other hand, the story tends to convolute, and we never do find out the exact nature of the "strange illusion" that anticipates real events. But then an occult touch lends the movie a mysterious nature beyond the who killed young Paul's (Lydon} father. And that opening sequence, apparently filmed through a gauzy filter, remains a real grabber.

Lydon's simply excellent in the pivotal role. Hard to believe he was only twenty at the time since he's so well poised. His teen friends are a lively bunch, showing what teen behavior and slang was like even in those war years. (See if you agree: Jayne Hazard (sister, Dorothy) looks like a fresh-faced young Marilyn Monroe.) But the real grabber is Warren William. What a creepy character his Curtis is, seeing his face light up whenever he spies a nubile young thing like Lydia (McLeod). Actually, having a near-pedophile as a character is a pretty daring move for the time. And William transitions so smoothly from the masterful to the lustful that he steals the film from heavy competition. Too bad this distinctive performer is largely forgotten. He's definitely among the rewards of watching old movies.

Anyhow, cult director Ulmer again shows how to shape difficult material into an intriguing final product, despite budgetary drawbacks.

"Strange Illusion," reminiscent of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" and also director Edgar G. Ulmer's own stylish 1934 effort, "The Black Cat," is so full of holes and contrivances one can hardly take it seriously. It's worth a look, however, for a quartet of captivating performances: a slick and scheming Warren William, past his prime but as solid a screen presence as he was in the early 30s; Jimmy Lydon, the epitome of wholesome, fresh-faced adolescent idealistic innocence as a young man suffering disturbing dreams about the recent suspicious death of his highly-placed politician father; Sally Eilers, also past her prime but ever so competent and fetching as Lydon's widowed mother and Charles Arnt as a weasely psychiatrist in cahoots with William. Besides this quartet, we have the wooden Regis Toomey, a sort of run-of-the-mill "B"-actor during the studio era who ended up playing supporting roles in 1960s TV shows, as a family friend who is gradually convinced by Lydon that William is, to say the least, not to be trusted. The low budget is evident throughout but it doesn't prevent the viewer from rooting for Lydon.