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James (Jimmy) Lydon plays college student Paul Cartwright who, through a series of troubling dreams, is convinced that his family, especially his mother, is in danger from a mysterious, unscrupulous man. He then learns that his mother is engaged to marry a suave gentleman she barely knows. Paul sets out, with the help of family friends, to expose this man and save his mother from ruining, and perhaps losing, her life.
Mr. Ulmer usually has a talent for creating intriguing atmosphere despite budget limitations and time restraints. But, apart from s few interesting moments during the dream sequences, this film doesn't generate much mystery, and the story itself isn't all that involving. Jimmy Lydon was a talented, likable actor who was especially adept at comedy. In fact, he is mostly remembered for playing teenager Henry Aldrich in a series of popular B-movies at Paramount. But he overacts in this movie to the point where his character is hard to take seriously. Veteran actors Warren William, Sally Eilers, and Regis Toomey fare somewhat better. Still, STRANGE ILLUSION is a fun programmer to watch if you happen to like films of this type (I do!), but a big disappointment considering the director.
Jimmy Lydon continued his long career as an actor into the 1970's. He also worked in television production, and was instrumental in the creation of two hit series: 77 SUNSET STRIP and M*A*S*H. He died on March 9, 2022, at the age of 98.
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| Jimmy Lydon, left, in the 1940's, and right, at a screening of STRANGE ILLUSION in 2013. |
You should write professionally, the next Gene Siskel?
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the compliment! I appreciate the feedback. It would take a lot of effort and talent to fill Gene Siskel's shoes.
ReplyDeleteAs you point out, Strange Illusion is not one of Ulmer's best efforts, but at least it tries something a bit different with the weird dream sequences. Speaking of Jimmy Lydon, I saw a couple of his Henry Aldrich movies on TV way back when. I remember being particularly impressed by Henry Aldrich Haunts a House (1943), but I don't remember much of the movie itself. It's great that he had a long, robust career and life.
ReplyDeleteThanks Brian! To be honest, I almost regret this blog post. It's a reworking of a Letterboxd post I did in 2018 after watching Strange Illusion for the first time. After posting it here, I watched the film again and my opinion is a little more positive. For example, I appreciate Jimmy Lydon's performance and don't see it as "overacting" as much I did before. Maybe it was the weakness of the story that gave me that impression. I haven't seen any of the Henry Aldrich pictures in a long time, so it's hard to remember much about them. Lydon turned up in some interesting places during his career. Recently, I rewatched an old favorite, The Hypnotic Eye (1960), and there he was playing a doctor. Always nice to see him.
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