Nineteen Eighty-Four (1954)

Starring Peter Cushing, Andre Morell, Yvonne Mitchell, Donald Pleasence, Arnold Diamond
Directed by Rudolph Cartier
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

In a rebuilt society after an atomic war, a government worker risks his future by embarking on a forbidden affair with a lovely associate and seeking to join a rebellion against their leaders.

A powerful adaptation of George Orwell's landmark novel, this telefilm boasts a faithful script from writer Nigel Kneale, and excellent performances from all of its cast, including a showcased role for Peter Cushing that likely started him down a path to stardom.  Orwell's source material remains timely to this day, and despite the limitations of adapting it in the 1950s, the production still has the power to impress and horrify.  As Winston Smith, Orwell's beleaguered hero, who despises the controlling government of "The Party," and its ever present figurehead, "Big Brother," Cushing has our sympathy right from the start as a quiet unassuming type hungry for companionship.  When he attains that with Mitchell, who is also very good in projecting a wonderful vivaciousness, we feel his joy as we would ourselves.  When walls begin to close in around him, and Morell takes center stage in another compelling performance, the degradation Smith goes through and Cushing's reactions to it are quite literally heartbreaking.  With many long speeches, the film does drag a bit, and I couldn't help wishing that there were more of a score, rather than just snippets of music from John Hotchkiss as transitions between scenes.  Regardless, the picture is a masterwork in my opinion, and worthy of preserving for future generations.

Circus Of Horrors (1960)

Starring Anton Diffring, Erika Remberg, Yvonne Monlaur, Donald Pleasence, Jane Hylton
Directed by Sidney Hayers
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

A brilliant plastic surgeon runs afoul of the law and goes into hiding, where he acquires a circus and uses his talents to blackmail scarred criminals into becoming his performers.

Diffring excels as a nefarious and immoral villain in this British shocker which features a number of lovely ladies in the cast who become his accomplices and his victims.  The screenplay leaves several key questions unanswered- how did someone with no experience build a successful circus?  How were all the killings ruled accidents by the police?  Why did his accomplices stay with him for ten years when he apparently provided them nothing in return?  Nonetheless, I didn't have a problem dismissing those quibbles, as Hayers has crafted a visually appealing and gripping chiller, augmented by genuine circus footage credited to the company of Billy Mays.    

Eye Of The Devil (1966)

Starring Deborah Kerr, David Niven, Donald Pleasence, Edward Mulhare, Flora Robson
Directed by J. Lee Thompson
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

A Frenchman returns to his ancestral castle with little explanation to his family, but when his wife follows him there, she discovers he's become involved in weird pagan rituals.

Well-acted and visually striking, with accomplished photography and good suspenseful direction by Thompson, this is an intriguing little mystery, although it reveals its secrets a little too soon.  It probably would have also benefitted from displaying a bit more than the small glimpses of paganism it affords, and not placing quite so heavy an emphasis on Kerr's character.  Still, it's impressively assembled, and is notable for including the first major role for lovely actress Sharon Tate, who per Wikipedia, had her promising film career cut short by her tragic murder at the hands of the followers of Charles Manson.

Fantastic Voyage (1966)

Starring Stephen Boyd, Raquel Welch, Edmond O'Brien, Donald Pleasence, Arthur O'Connell
Directed by Richard Fleischer
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

A secret government organization shrinks a team of experts so they can travel inside a dying man's body and perform surgery from the inside.

Something of a triumph of special effects for the time, this is certainly a unique adventure, although it's been much copied from over the years.  Director Fleischer delivers a taut white-knuckle thriller with many suspenseful scenes, but it's so single-minded in its focus to the mission at hand, it could have benefitted from some comic relief or greater character development.  Nonetheless, for what it is, it's entertaining and well-crafted, and succeeds in suspending the audience's disbelief that shrinking five human beings and a submarine is even possible.