The Amazing Mr X [The Spiritualist] *** (1948, Turhan Bey, Lynn Bari, Cathy O’Donnell, Richard Carlson) – Classic Movie Review 3,316

The 1948 American horror thriller film noir The Amazing Mr X [The Spiritualist] tells the story of a phony spiritualist racket, and is famed for its noir cinematography by John Alton.

Director Bernard Vorhaus’s intriguing and effectively handled 1948 B-movie film noir mystery thriller The Amazing Mr X [The Spiritualist] stars Lynn Bari as a widow called Christine Faber, who is trying to put her life back together two years after the accidental death of her husband.

But odd occurrences make Christine believe her late husband is trying to communicate with her, and one night on the beach she thinks she hears her late husband Paul calling out of the surf. Then she meets and consults a tall dark stranger, a possibly dodgy psychic named Alexis (played by Turhan Bey), who comes up with eerie, ghostly stuff. However, her sister and fiancé suspect Alexis is a crook out to trick Christine and set out to try to prove it.

[Spoiler alert] It turns out that the psychic is in league with the widow’s only apparently recently deceased spouse (played by Donald Curtis) in screen-writers Muriel Roy Bolton and Ian McLellan Hunter’s entertaining yarn, based on a story by Crane Wilbur that is likely to raise the spirits.

In the useful cast, both Bari and Bey are both outstanding, while Richard Carlson plays Bari’s fiancé and Cathy O’Donnell her sister, both also effective. All four give involving performances.

It is famed for its noir cinematography by John Alton, which he highlights in his 1949 book Painting with Light, the first book on cinematography written by a major cinematographer. John Alton’s striking noir-style black and white cinematography and Alexander Laszlo’s attractive score (particularly over the opening credit sequence) are big assets to this sleekly crafted, neat little movie.

Also in the cast are Virginia Gregg, Harry B Mendoza and Norma Varden.

The screenplay started as an original story by Crane Wilbur. Muriel Roy Bolton was hired to adapt the story into a script, and then Vorhaus asked Ian McLellan Hunter for a rewrite, which he did in a week.

Filming started on 5 January 1948 for three weeks.

Release date: July 29, 1948 (US).

Turhan Bey recalled: ‘A fantastic role with wonderful people to work with.’

The Amazing Mr X [The Spiritualist] is directed by Bernard Vorhaus, runs 79 minutes, is made by Ben Stoloff Productions, is released by Eagle-Lion Films, is written by Muriel Roy Bolton and Ian McLellan Hunter, is shot by John Alton, is produced by Ben Stoloff, is scotred by Alexander Laszlo, and is designed by Frank Durlauf.

The cast

The cast are Turhan Bey as Alexis, Lynn Bari as Christine Faber, Cathy O’Donnell as Janet Burke, Richard Carlson as Martin Abbott, Donald Curtis as Paul Faber, Virginia Gregg as Emily, Harry B Mendoza as Detective Hoffman and Norma Varden.

John Alton also memorably shot T-Men (1947), He Walked by Night (1948), Hollow Triumph [The Scar] (1948), The Crooked Way (1949), Reign of Terror (1949) and The Big Combo (1955).

The film is in the public domain. Watch free: https://archive.org/details/TheAmazingMr.X1948Avi

© Derek Winnert 2016 Classic Movie Review 3,316

Link to Derek Winnert’s home page for more reviews: http://derekwinnert.com/