The Invisible Ray

"I believe that this city is at the mercy of a madman whose body is an engine of destruction."

—Dr. Felix Benet

A scifi thriller from Universal, made in 1936.

Scientist Janos Rukh (Boris Karloff) has discovered that in the past a powerful meteorite fell on Africa. He arranges an expedition to there, which includes his wife and a scientist collague Dr. Benet (Bela Lugosi), among others. He researches the meteorite for a long time, which makes him lose his wife to another man and later his health and sanity due to the radiation from it.

After his research is put to use without his consent, his frail mind snaps and he starts killing those he deems to have wronged him with the killing touch he gained from the meteorite.

Some footage of the film would later be reused in Universal's The Phantom Creeps serial.

Tropes used in The Invisible Ray include:

• Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder
• Eye Remember: Image of Dr. Rukh is left on Sir Francis's eyes when he kills him.
• Faking the Dead: Dr. Rukh kills an innocent man in Paris and mangles the corpse so that he can hide .
• Magic Meteor: The meteorite in Africa, that is made of Radium X.
• No Body Left Behind: After Dr. Rukh fails to receive the shot that preserves him, he runs through a window, jumps and turns into a dust mid-air.
• Poisonous Person: Dr. Rukh.
• The Power of Love: When Dr. Rukh is about to kills his wife, he can't through with it as he still loves her.
• Red Right Hand: The radiation from Radium X causes Dr. Rukh to glow in the dark.
• Unobtainium: Radium X.