Strange Illusion
Strange Illusion on the IMDb
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Image Entertainment. James Lydon, Sally Eilers, Warren William. Directed by Edgar G. Ulmer. I had never seen this one when I bought it, so being a huge fan of the dastardly Warren William I shelled out for the Image Entertainment version which is a little more than twice as expensive as other releases of this film. The extras aren't all that special and neither was the film quality from what I recall. The write-up on the back of the case boasts "The most interesting aspect of the film rests with its updating of Hamlet, complete with the message from beyond the grave and the faked insanity, into a contemporary thriller." Okay, but the more apt blurb from the case is "A low-budget classic!" It wasn't what I was expecting and thus I didn't care for it all too much. This is the only Jimmy Lydon flick I've seen and thus my interpretation of him is that he's a pretty bad actor. Being a William fan too, I was a little upset that he was acting like a robot programmed by the top bad guy, and didn't think he was anywhere near as vile as descriptions I read seemed to make him. I much prefer his heels from Skyscraper Souls and Employees' Entrance. The only thing I can agree with is that he doesn't have much charm here, and perhaps that's what makes his other villains so appealing. I was surprised at the somewhat high rating on the IMDb for this one, but then I noticed it only had 90 votes, a pretty low tally over there. My own opinion, skip it unless you're already familiar with it or an Ulmer fan.
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