Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Deeper than the descriptions

Absolutely Fantastic

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

A rich widow thinks of remarrying. However, she is still mourning for her late husband, who, in her fond memories, has grown into a giant of a man : caring, gallant, talented, infinitely charismatic. Within this mix there suddenly arrives a stranger capable of communicating with the dead - well, at least that's what he says... "Mr. X." is quite a good mystery thriller, with an unusual, twisty plot and fine performances. It boasts not one but two interesting villains, both of them driven by greed but different in their evil : one is a liar and a cheat, the other has become more monstrous still. The supernatural or pseudo-supernatural aspects are well evoked, through striking and inventive visual effects. (Watch out for the scene with the vengeful wedding dress !) There are also some fine magic tricks.The movie does have its weak points. For instance, there is a storyline about a private detective, specialised in the investigation of pseudo-psychics, which starts out in a very promising fashion and then peters out, to the point where one gets the impression that the private detective character might just as well have been replaced by a postman or a gardener character. But there is much to enjoy for an audience willing to overlook the occasional mistake. Excellent black-and-white cinematography, proving once more that black-and-white was an artform in itself.

Though a B movie, "The Amazing Mr. X" from 1948 has excellent technical effects, cinematography, and lighting to make this film above average. Although it has been compared to The Uninvited, and there are similarities, the story is different.A widow, Christine (Lynn Bari) who can't forget her husband seeks out advice from a medium (Turhan Bey). Her current beau (Richard Carlson) and sister Janet (Cathy O'Donnell) are afraid she is being scammed. A detective (real-life magician Harry B. Mendoza) is brought in to expose him. It doesn't work out as anyone planned - for one thing, Janet totally falls for the medium!Good story with solid acting, though none of these actors made it to the top echelon. Lynn Bari, though she had a respectable career, was basically a B film star; Cathy O'Donnell was on her way to stardom when she married William Wyler's brother, with whom her studio boss, Sam Goldwyn, was feuding, so he canceled her contract. Though she continued to act and did some good noir work, she was never associated with a studio again and died of cancer at the age of 46 - still married to Wyler's brother.Carlson wound up doing sci-fi and TV; and Turhan Bey, an exotic WW II replacement for the big stars, wound up returning to Vienna and becoming a successful photographer, though he made an acting comeback in Babylon 5 in the '70s. He died at 90. An interesting group of actors and a solid movie to view especially around Halloween.

Competently-written, decently acted, and with direction rather better than one would expect from a "programmer", "The Amazing Mr. X" is a pleasant surprise. Turhan Bey, who usually appeared in "exotic" roles, is especially effective as the phony medium.The problem (and the reason for a 6 rather than a 7 rating) is the shoot-em-up ending, which spoils what has up to then been an acceptable drama. Unfortunately, it's easier to write an "all the bad people die" ending than it is to create a resolution based on the characters' situations and psychologies.Certainly worth a viewing, especially if you can't get to sleep.

The Amazing Mr.X starts off a little slow but then starts to pick up some speed. Its a very interesting and unique old School type thriller. It has an interesting way of shifting the bar to subtle to making you guess what could possibly happen next. Although this movie can appear boring at times, it is a great opening into a psychological portal of the late 1940's. The actors also play their character roles with great feeling that also adds to the mystique of the entire film. Old School movie fans will definitely enjoy this intriguing thriller. Overall the movie is decent with some minor kinks in it, it lacks in the action department but the story plot makes up for this flaw. I definitely recommend this to any Old School Horror/Thriller fan.