Children Of The Damned (1964)

Starring Ian Hendry, Alan Badel, Barbara Ferris, Alfred Burke, Sheila Allen
Directed by Anton M. Leader
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

After a pair of scientists discover a remarkably intelligent boy in England, similarly gifted children from across the world are brought to join him, where their dangerous psychic powers are discovered.

A follow-up to Village of The Damned, which itself was an adaptation of John Wyndham's The Midwich Cuckoos, the film is not a literal sequel, featuring no common characters or acknowledgement of earlier events, but could take place in a world sometime after the original story.  I've heard a number of people prefer this movie to the prior film, although I think that version had an eerier quality and a stronger cast.  However, this is still gripping entertainment, well-photographed and directed, and I liked Badel's performance as a geneticist who enjoys asking indelicate questions.  Although the filmmakers try to refocus the original story's themes to point out the evils of nations in an arms race, I think I would have preferred for them to peel back the layers of the mystery of the children, to unravel their origins and purpose rather than re-present the same puzzle we've seen before.

The Night Caller (1965)

Starring John Saxon, Maurice Denham, Patricia Haines, Alfred Burke, Warren Mitchell
Directed by John Gilling
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

A team of scientists investigate an alien sphere that descended from outer space, and soon discover it has brought a mysterious creature to Earth.

A suspenseful sci-fi chiller from director John Gilling, this film has only limited special effects but you don't notice, as Gilling tantalizes us with glimpses of the alien and leaves the rest to our imagination.  Good performances all around and subtle touches of humor are also to the picture's credit, with the one wrong note being a somewhat cheesy pop song played over the opening credits that doesn't fit with the rest of the film.  Although the payoff in the film's closing scenes is somewhat of a letdown as Gilling reveals he has tricked us a little bit, all in all, it's an entertaining sci-fi mystery which makes the most of its budget.