... in that a doctor makes a great discovery -in this case a formula that allows people to "see through" objects, starts out trying to do good, becomes his own guinea pig, becomes obsessed, becomes bitter because others do not see the importance of his discovery, and in the end just makes a bunch of stupid decisions. Oh, and the formula is cumulative and yet the doctor keeps taking it!

This film would be completely unmemorable without Ray Milland as the title character - Dr. Xavier. Like with his other horror films, independent producer/director Roger Corman smartly uses a lead from the golden age of Hollywood - in this case Milland - and builds a simple story that still strikes at the essence of fear in human beings.

There are a quite a few goofy and outright dumb things going on.When Xavier goes on the run because of a tragic accident, he ... decides to work as a "seer" in a carnival?? Isn't that one of the first places the police might come looking for him? In his quest for money to look for a "cure" for his situation, he decides to go to Vegas. And win a bunch of money in just one casino. And get a loud and obnoxious attitude about it. Maybe the most tragic thing about Xavier's situation is that he is inflicted with the company of Don Rickles during the mid part of the film.

The one fun and light hearted moment of the film is when Xavier is invited to a swinging 60s party and because of his unique condition sees naked people everywhere. Roger Corman will need to wait a few more years into the 60s before he can feature actual naked people. But I digress.

The special effects are laughable in the 21st century, but Milland's distinguished and empathetic presence makes this work. And it goes after the question - If you can see through EVERYTHING, what exactly DO you see?

This was the typically-hokey-but fun Roger Corman film but one that keeps your interest most the way and at least stars a famous classic-era actor: Ray Milland. One actually wonders what an actor of Milland's status would doing in a B Grade B-type sci-fi movie like this. For someone who had admired Milland's work for many years, it just seems odd for me to see him in a small-budget film. Maybe things got tough for him near the end of his career and he would take most any role. I don't know, and I'm not judging.....just curious why he took this role. I do know having him in the movie elevates it and the dialog isn't as cheesy as one would expect in a 1950-ish sci-fi horror story made in the '60s.

Comedian Don Rickles playing a greedy criminal guy was another odd cast selection, but, he, too, was fun to watch.

Corman was smart to keep this at a respectable 79 minutes. Had it gone on longer, it would have started to drag. It would be interesting to see this film done with today's special-effects.

This is one of two Roger Corman films that starred Ray Milland (the other being "The Premature Burial"). Interestingly, the two have been combined onto one DVD--and they both are very entertaining and would make a nice purchase for your home video collection.

In "X", Ray Milland plays a crazed scientist who is working on a formula to improve vision. It seems he's stumbled upon a formula to make eye drops that might allow someone to actually see through things! He is so focused on his work that he's willing to even try out his formula on himself--a very, very bad decision in retrospect.

The film gets high marks for just being entertaining and goofy fun. It's not intellectual or brilliantly made, but it is fun to watch--something too often neglected in film reviews. The only serious drawbacks are the ways that people behave in the film--it just didn't make sense on many occasions. I'll give a few examples. First, because Milland had such wonderful x-ray vision, he could see that a child about to undergo surgery actually has a tumor--the other doctor is wrong in his diagnosis. How this other doctor reacts--both before AND after Milland saves the girl makes no sense. Likewise, soon after this, a psychiatrist way overreacts to Milland's powers--a tries to forcibly stab Milland with a hypo filled with a sedative while standing DIRECTLY NEXT TO A GIANT WINDOW!! Is anyone that dumb?! And, when the psychiatrist ends up falling out the window after a brief struggle, Milland runs--yet he'd really done nothing wrong--just reacted to people's overreactions and assaultive behavior. It was as if he had a giant fly head or was Godzilla in the way some reacted! Come on, folks, he's just got great vision!!

My score of 6 is for the overall quality of the film. It ain't brilliantly made. But, as far as the entertainment factor goes, I'd give this one an 8--it is a must-see for lovers of low-budget 60s horror.