What a convoluted little noir thriller: enjoyable and very stylish, but with a plot that takes a few far-fetched twists and turns, leaving the viewer with more than a few questions.
Lynn Bari stars as wealthy widow Christine who, two years after the death of her husband Paul (Donald Curtis), is now courting lawyer Martin (Richard Carlson), although she still cannot put her feelings for her dead spouse behind her. On the beach below her clifftop house, Christine encounters Alexis (Turhan Bey), a spiritualist who displays an uncanny knowledge of her life, right down to the details of her husband's demise. Intrigued, Christine begins paying Alexis visits at his home, unaware that the man is a con artist, having gained his information from his partner in crime, Emily (Emily), a servant at Christine's house.
Disturbed by Christine's behaviour, her younger sister Janet (Cathy O'Donnell) and Martin decide to investigate the psychic shyster, hiring a private detective in the hope of exposing Alexis as a con artist. Things get even more complicated when Paul appears during a seance, convincing Christine that his spirit is reaching out to her. In reality, Paul is very much alive, having faked his death (leading one to ask exactly where he has been hiding for the past two years), and now wants to get his hands on Christine's fortune.
Exactly how some of the haunting hallucinations that plague Christine are achieved is left extremely vague (I'm still not sure how the spooky dress managed to follow Christine around her room), and Paul's timely arrival takes a little swallowing, but the haunting atmosphere, brisk pace, wonderful black and white cinematography (that makes great use of shadow and light), and some inventive use of camera angles (we get a shot from underneath a glass topped table and one from behind the taps of a sink) all go to make The Amazing Mr. X an entertaining and engaging mystery for the duration.
Lynn Bari stars as wealthy widow Christine who, two years after the death of her husband Paul (Donald Curtis), is now courting lawyer Martin (Richard Carlson), although she still cannot put her feelings for her dead spouse behind her. On the beach below her clifftop house, Christine encounters Alexis (Turhan Bey), a spiritualist who displays an uncanny knowledge of her life, right down to the details of her husband's demise. Intrigued, Christine begins paying Alexis visits at his home, unaware that the man is a con artist, having gained his information from his partner in crime, Emily (Emily), a servant at Christine's house.
Disturbed by Christine's behaviour, her younger sister Janet (Cathy O'Donnell) and Martin decide to investigate the psychic shyster, hiring a private detective in the hope of exposing Alexis as a con artist. Things get even more complicated when Paul appears during a seance, convincing Christine that his spirit is reaching out to her. In reality, Paul is very much alive, having faked his death (leading one to ask exactly where he has been hiding for the past two years), and now wants to get his hands on Christine's fortune.
Exactly how some of the haunting hallucinations that plague Christine are achieved is left extremely vague (I'm still not sure how the spooky dress managed to follow Christine around her room), and Paul's timely arrival takes a little swallowing, but the haunting atmosphere, brisk pace, wonderful black and white cinematography (that makes great use of shadow and light), and some inventive use of camera angles (we get a shot from underneath a glass topped table and one from behind the taps of a sink) all go to make The Amazing Mr. X an entertaining and engaging mystery for the duration.