The Kings of Horror (and One Otherwise) in “Invisible Ray”- Tonight!

Tonight on MeTV- a fascinating chiller that takes us from a brilliant scientist's observatory/laboratory to remote Africa and then to France- as a great discovery leads to medical miracles, as well as paranoia and deadly revenge- all stemming from "The Invisible Ray"!

This  1936 horror has both Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi aboard- as the brilliant but troubled Dr. Janos Rukh (Karloff)  calls a conference at his remote headquarters to demonstrate to scientific colleagues- whom he feels hold him in disdain- his discovery that a large meteor struck earth years ago- and is the source of "Radium X"- a powerful radioactive element with many amazing uses. Dr. Benet (Lugosi), whom has doubted Rukh in the past, is nonetheless impressed- and he and Rukh join the others  to travel to the meteor's possible resting place in Africa to find the element. Rukh's lovely young wife, who often feels she plays second-fiddle to her husband's research,  also makes the trip- along with a group including a handsome young man  whose attraction to her (and vice versa) only complicates matters.

Rukh goes off on his own and finds the mysterious element- but- the strange radiation it emits has a frightening effect on him- he has absorbed enough of it that he begins to glow- and- his very touch can cause death! He secretly enlists Benet to create a serum that will  hold off the radiation posioning affliction- and goes into hiding , even from his wife.

When Benet uses "radium X" to heal the sick- Rukh, suffering both physically and mentally from his exposure to the element, feels he has been betrayed, that his work has been stolen-and he begins a plan of ultimate vengeance against everyone in the expedition party. Will his "touch of death" bring him revenge -or eventually end his own life?

If you saw "Man Made Monster" a few weeks ago on our show, you'll see the similarity between  the glow effects used here and those in that movie.In fact, Karloff and Lugosi would have starred in "Man Made Monster" but Universal felt it was too similar to this film! In any event, this movie has a somewhat different tone- and we'll fill you in on the cast, some familiar locations and footage used, and various and sundry Sven shtick. Plus- not only do you get Universal's kings of horror, Karloff and Lugosi- but we add to the mix our old friend, another king- WWE Hall of Famer, Jerry "the King" Lawler (you may have caught the clip of him and Andy Kaufman on Dave Letterman's final show), who was gracious enough to spend some time with us at C2E2- to chat about his career, his artwork, and about some of the stars of MeTV 's  "Super Sci Fi Saturday Night" that he has worked with.

It all comes your way tonight on MeTV at 10 pm eastern/pacific- 9 pm central- or, if you're unsure what time to see it  where you live, please check your local listings, or go to www.metvnetwork.com and click on "where to watch"  for your local information. Our Chicago viewers get a second viewing of "The Land Unknown" (with more C2E2 stuff, and a visit with Sven fan C M Punk) at 11 am on our sister station, WCIU, the U!

Enjoy the "Invisible Ray" with some (hopefully) visible laughs  tonight on MeTV- and watch for the June Svengoolie newsletter, coming to subscribers at the beginning of next week!