The Man Who Turned To Stone (1957)

Starring Victor Jory, William Hudson, Charlotte Austin, Jean Willes, Ann Doran
Directed by Leslie Kardos
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

A social worker at a women's detention center learns the center's staff is performing deadly experiments on the inmates and covering them up as natural deaths. 

One of producer Sam Katzman's several 1950s science fiction pictures for Columbia, I've been rather fond of this film since I first saw it several years ago on a Goodtimes VHS tape.  Katzman was known for cheap productions, and although this science fiction film lacks any real special effects, Kardos directs effectively, making the most of some limited makeup and a quality cast to drive the story forward.  Jory, as the center's director, is wonderfully creepy while masking his crimes under a benevolent appearance, Austin is believable as the one member of the staff who wants to help the women under their charge, and the always welcome Paul Cavanagh adds gravitas and believability to the revelation of the staff's shocking secrets.  It's an entertaining chiller and one that's well-paced and fun to watch.

Fear In The Night (1947)

Starring Paul Kelly, DeForest Kelley, Ann Doran, Kay Scott, Charles Victor
Directed by Maxwell Shane
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

A mild-mannered bank teller dreams of committing a murder, and becomes shaken after awakening when he finds evidence from the crime in his room.

A low budget film noir of sorts, it's nonetheless a very good one, with an interesting role for a young Kelley, twenty years before being cast as the irascible Dr. McCoy on the classic Star Trek TV series. For those who haven't seen him as anything but McCoy, this is a very different role, and he's earnest and believable as a meek but shaken young man who thinks his life is over.  I'm a person of the same temperament, so I really identified with his character.  Paul Kelly is very good as his detective brother-in-law who's character is cut more from the hard-boiled characters of film noir, and he and Kelley have a compelling on-screen relationship that I found fairly unique.  Maxwell Shane adapted Cornell Woolrich's story and also directed, and employs some interesting visual transitions that echo some higher-budgeted noirs but also make it distinctive on its own.

It! The Terror From Beyond Space (1958)

Starring Marshall Thompson, Shawn Smith, Kim Spalding, Ann Doran, Dabbs Greer
Directed by Edward L. Cahn
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

A spaceship leaves Mars on a journey back to Earth, with a man its crew believes responsible for murder, but the real culprit, a lethal alien creature, has snuck aboard their ship.

Said to have inspired the Alien movies, this effective sci-fi chiller has a low budget and weak special effects, but is written, produced, and directed with such skill, it overcomes those trappings.  Screenwriter Jerome Bixby, who was behind Star Trek's memorable "Mirror, Mirror" episode, delivers an excellent plot and intelligent characters, while director Edward L. Cahn skillfully moves those characters around their tiered rocket, building suspense as the creature advances towards them.  Ray Corrigan, who filled many a gorilla suit during his acting career, inhabits the creature suit and brings it to life, and the filmmakers wisely confine our views of the monster, to build terror in our own imagination.  With all the accolades that have been stacked on the Alien pictures, I don't think this film has been given its due.  It may not have the eye-popping special effects or white-knuckle fright scenes those later pictures brought to the table, but it was there first, and remains a thrilling picture today.