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 (Donald Curtis), 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]