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Do you give up??? I would have been surprised had anyone gotten X. It was actually a very “B” movie at the time. Might have fallen down to a “D” or an “F” by today’s standards! It was…

X: The Man with the X-ray Eyes

(You know, I had NO idea they even HAD official trailers back in 1963!!!)

This film stars Ray Milland as Dr. James Xavier. A world-renowned scientist. Dr. Xavier experiments with X-ray vision and things go horribly wrong. While most of the cast are relatively unknown, Don Rickles is notable in an uncharacteristically dramatic role. Veteran character actor Morris Ankrum makes an uncredited appearance, his last in the movie industry. American International Pictures released the film as a double feature with Dementia 13. (Lordy! Wouldn’t you have loved to see THAT one! What WAS this nation fixated on during that time???)

Dr. Xavier develops eye drops intended to increase the range of human vision, allowing one to see beyond the “visible” spectrum into the ultraviolet and x-ray wavelengths and beyond. Believing that testing on animals and volunteers will produce uselessly subjective observations, he tests the drops on himself. After that things get very transparent! 😀

Shot in a mere three weeks on a budget of under $300,000, Roger Corman, the director of the whole farce, described the film’s success as a miracle. (Apparently I would concur since I remember virtually NOTHING about it…) However, the movie was notable for its use of visual effects to portray Dr. Xavier’s point of view. While crude by later standards, the visuals are still effective in impressing upon the audience the bizarre viewpoint of the protagonist. Personally I think it would have been much more effective shot in black and white with only the pov through his eyes in color. But that’s just me… (Wikipedia, sort of)

So! Has ANYONE else ever seen this movie??? I actually saw it at the drive-in. I was 12.
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Movin’ right along then! We are down to number two in our April A to Z Challenge — the lovely letter Y!

This is a TV series that had its birthing on radio like so many others. It debuted in 1953 with Walter Cronkite as the regular host. It ran from 1953 to 1957, and though it wasn’t my usual western or sci-fi fare, I CAN credit it with making me EXTREMELY curious about the world.

Some of my many fascinations it spawned were for the volcano Krakatoa west of Sumatra in Indonesia; the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco; the hurricane in Galveston in 1900; a fixation on Quake Lake (officially Earthquake Lake) in southwestern Montana which was created after an earthquake struck on August 17, 1959, killing 28 people, mostly campers; and probably the most poignant of all, Gettysburg, which affected me profoundly when I finally got the chance to visit there a few years ago. (Can you imagine how I’m going to react when I see Stonehenge in September!!! If I take off my shoes and walk in the grass will I REALLY feel the vibrations from the supposed sacred ley lines beneath???)

As you can see, I have a tendency to get carried away with “stuff.” 😀 It’s important to note that THIS TV SERIES is the reason my dad hauled my keister to the library to get my VERY FIRST LIBRARY CARD! It was a solemn moment for him and me. He felt like he was handing me the world. (Looking back now it is also a heartbreaking moment for me. But that’s for another post…)

ANYWAY… What do you think? Can you…

(Btw, if you know the answer, please keep it to yourself so as not to give it away. Stick a smiley face on your comment instead. Thank you so much!)

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(Just a quick note. If the title of the show is preceded with the word “The”, it will NOT be included in the name.)

Picture Sources:
X: The Man with X-Ray Eyes — Blu-ray.com
Letter Y — http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/p/to-z-badges-and-banners.html
Name That TV Show — Pinterest