THE AMAZING MR. X (1948)

A solid little B-thriller, with echoes of THE UNINVITED (at least in tone and visuals). It falls short of being a truly good movie mostly due to its budget, but it does have a nice Hitchcockian feel on occasion--though Hitchcock would certainly have done some script revision, as well as had a bigger budget. Lynn Bari is a rich widow who lives in a huge house by the sea with her kid sister Cathy O'Donnell. Bari has never quite gotten over the death of her husband, but she has finally agreed to seriously consider a marriage proposal from nice guy friend Richard Carlson. One spooky night on the beach, Bari meets the exotic Turhan Bey, a psychic who knows a lot about Bari and begins counseling her. O'Donnell and Carlson are afraid that Bey is a con man who will take advantage of Bari, and we learn that he is indeed a fake, getting his information from Bari's housekeeper (Virginia Gregg). Soon, however, there are complications: O'Donnell falls for Bey, and Bari's dead husband seems to have returned, via Bey's seance. The acting is so-so, though Bey is good as a character for whom our sympathies shift now and then. The limited budget was likely an asset in the look of the film--lots of darkness and shadows to cover up the cheap sets and rear projections. The seance scene is very well done, and the ending doesn't disappoint. Recommended for a rainy night. [DVD]