The Mad Magician (1954)

Starring Vincent Price, Mary Murphy, Eva Gabor, John Emery, Donald Randolph
Directed by John Brahm
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

Gallico, a designer of death trap illusions for magic shows, seeks vengeance when his employer prohibits him from starting his own career as a magician.

One of Vincent Price's lesser known films, and one hard to see until it was recently released on video, for me it's a personal favorite among all his movies.  Following his triumph in House Of Wax, it was Price's lone outing afterward as an out and out horror villain for a number of years, and despite the absence of his trademark mustache, he's well worth watching here.  I really like the behind the scenes magic backdrop of the film, and although Price's impersonations of other characters beneath so-called masks aren't always convincing, the dark villainy he's engaged in is on a par with what we're used to in his more popular efforts.  I liked the supporting cast too, as actor John Emery, who plays a rival magician, is marvelous sneering at Price in a French accent, and Lenita Lane is colorful as a murder mystery author and busybody who grows suspicious of Price.

The Deadly Mantis (1957)

Starring Craig Stevens, William Hopper, Alix Talton, Donald Randolph, Pat Conway
Directed by Nathan Juran
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

A paleontologist discovers a giant praying mantis has been freed from suspended animation in the Arctic, and is now heading south, feeding on the humans it encounters.

This is a halfway decent "giant bug" movie from the many made during the 1950s, although it is more than a little derivative of The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms, and is plagued a bit by overuse of a large amount of military stock footage.  Nevertheless the special effects are well-done and the mockup of the creature is certainly imposing and frightful, more than likely a cause of nightmares for children of the period.  While the film has a capable enough cast, including Hopper who was to be featured on TV screens the same year as investigator Paul Drake on the Perry Mason TV series, there's not really anything new and different for them to do.  Talton has some moments as a liberated female reporter, but is also saddled with a clunky romance with Stevens her character doesn't seem to be all that interested in.  It's still fun movie monster viewing, but I've seen the same story done far better before.