Index: src/files.c
===================================================================
--- src/files.c	(revision 5276)
+++ src/files.c	(working copy)
@@ -339,6 +339,28 @@
     }
 #endif
 
+    /* When the given filename is not empty, verify that it exists
+     * and is a normal file. */
+    if (strcmp(filename, "") != 0) {
+	struct stat fileinfo;
+
+	rc = stat(filename, &fileinfo);
+
+	if (rc == 0 && !S_ISREG(fileinfo.st_mode)) {
+	    statusbar(_("\"%s\" is not a normal file"), filename);
+	    beep();
+	    return;
+	}
+
+	/* When the file does not exist, only fail when doing ^R,
+	 * not when specifying a new file on the command line. */
+	if (rc == -1 && undoable) {
+	    statusbar(_("\"%s\" not found"), filename);
+	    beep();
+	    return;
+	}
+    }
+
     /* If we're loading into a new buffer, add a new entry to
      * openfile. */
     if (new_buffer) {