The She-Creature (1956)

Starring Chester Morris, Tom Conway, Cathy Downs, Lance Fuller, Marla English
Directed by Edward L. Cahn
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

A mentalist runs a sideshow attraction in which he mentally regresses a young woman to her past lives, but one of those is a prehistoric monster that commits murders in the seaside community.

We have here one of the early films distributed by American Releasing/American International Pictures and notably one in which Roger Corman was not involved, but plenty of his past and future collaborators were.  It also is worthy of attention for starring Chester Morris, a familiar 1930s and 1940s leading man in a slew of detective pictures.  I read that producer Alex Gordon had wanted to get John Carradine for the role, and Carradine would have been excellent, and an improvement on Morris, but Morris is capable enough playing the role with a creepy visage highlighted by bags under his eyes and a sinister mustache.  Paul Blaisdell provides and acts in the monster outfit, which is structurally similar to several of his other monster costumes, but has some unique twists.  The picture's certainly low-budget, but I think it has a number of problems beyond financial limitations, starting with Fuller's extremely low key leading man, whose romance with English is relegated to scenes of them talking with the sound removed, and several unexplained developments in the script, including why Morris is using English to kill in the first place.  Still, the movie's not unwatchable, and it's fun to spot all the familiar 1950s actors in the cast.

Zombies Of Mora Tau (1957)

Starring Gregg Palmer, Allison Hayes, Autumn Russell, Joel Ashley, Morris Ankrum
Directed by Edward L. Cahn
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

An expedition arrives at an African island to dive for a legendary cache of diamonds, only to find the stones protected by zombies, who are frighteningly real.

Although modern audiences might find the zombies here a little tame, as there's no blood or gore on screen, I've always enjoyed this film, and the expressionless zombies are effective enough.  Cahn's direction keeps them menacing, particularly during close-up attacks.  Unfortunately, the underwater sequences are clearly filmed dry for wet and don't come off as well.  Hayes, playing the bold wife with a yen for her abrasive husband's diver, is fun to watch, particularly after she becomes a zombie victim, and Majorie Eaton is enjoyable as the aged widow of one of the zombies, sternly warning the rest of the cast about the danger they're in.  Palmer, playing the noble diver, is an acceptable lead, Russell makes a beautiful love interest, and dependable character actors like Ankrum and Gene Roth  are appreciated.  I wouldn't place this among the great zombie pictures, but it delivers some worthwhile 1950s fun.    

The Four Skulls Of Jonathan Drake (1959)

Starring Eduard Franz, Valerie French, Grant Richards, Henry Daniell, Lumsden Hare
Directed by Edward L. Cahn
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

A university professor fears a family curse has finally caught up with him and his brother, a curse that  left their ancestors with headless corpses.

A low budget but very efficient horror film, with producer Robert E. Kent and director Edward L. Cahn reuniting after collaborating on It! The Terror From Beyond Space, Invisible Invaders, and other genre fare, the picture still stands up well with plenty of unsettling material.  A very creepy atmosphere is maintained throughout, aided by Paul Dunlap's music score, which although it borrows liberally from his past work, features some key eerie organ notes at appropriate times.  Daniell, a familiar face from mysteries of the 1940s, makes a great 1950s villain, scoffing at his adversaries and forgoing any effort to be charming to his guests, delivering a flat "What a pleasure," when they arrive.  We never see any really big shocks on camera, but tight editing by the filmmakers, and progressively staged revelations in the screenplay add chills at the right moments.

Creature With The Atom Brain (1955)

Starring Richard Denning, Angela Stevens, S. John Launer, Michael Granger, Gregory Gaye
Directed by Edward L. Cahn
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

A gangster plots revenge on those that put him in exile with the aid of a scientist who can reanimate the dead, but the local head of the police lab is soon on to them.

We have here a fun sci-fi thriller from Columbia, one of their very first in this era, with some notable personalities in the cast and Cahn staging things entertainingly on what had to be a low budget.  Denning, carrying a pipe in his mouth to crime scenes, is charming and a noble protagonist.  His scenes with Launer, playing his captain and superior, are wonderful as the two actors have a great rapport with each other and have a convincing on-screen friendship, making the tragic climax to come for one of them even more heartfelt.  Stevens unfortunately doesn't have much to do except play the neglected but devoted wife to Denning, and you have to cringe a bit when the men "dismiss" her, although she picks up enough to unknowingly expose their schemes to gangster Granger later on.  Although the zombies in the film don't have distinctive makeups, Cahn does a fine job of staging their attacks, intercutting long shots of the men involved with creepy closeups of the creatures' faces.  Cahn should also be credited with integrating the large amount of stock footage in the film so it feels brief and doesn't take you out of the story.

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.

Curse Of The Faceless Man (1958)

Starring Richard Anderson, Elaine Edwards, Adele Mara, Luis Van Rooten, Gar Moore
Directed by Edward L. Cahn
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

The body of a giant Etruscan gladiator is found in the ruins of Pompeii, and a specialist brought in to examine the body is shocked to discover it's still alive, and has a connection to his beautiful fiancee.

A fun horror film from producer Robert E. Kent, it's unusual in its Italian setting and the presence of a narrator, but basically follows the standard formula for monster fare, although the "faceless man" would probably have made more impact if we could see his eyes or features beneath the volcanic crust he's encased in.  Nonetheless, it's an efficient little thriller, augmented by Gerald Fried's creepy music score and a colorful cast, who while none of them were major stars, play their parts well.

Voodoo Woman (1957)

Starring Marla English, Tom Conway, Touch Connors, Lance Fuller, Mary Ellen Kay
Directed by Edward L. Cahn
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

A greedy woman in search of a fortune in the African jungle stops at nothing, while a mad scientist schemes to create a powerful monster.

Perhaps most notable for actor Russ Bender's work on the screenplay, he doesn't exactly distinguish himself in this rather preposterous jungle thriller, although it's bizarreness helps it to qualify as a guilty pleasure.  A definite low point in refined actor Conway's career, which has him don a ludicrous native headress in order to collaborate with the voodoo practicing natives, but English gets the most attention as a tough talking murderous femme whose character development doesn't get beyond a line revealing she grew up in the slums of Pittsburgh.  The production would make an interesting double-bill with English's previous feature, The She-Creature, which also featured a female monster.

Invasion Of The Saucer Men (1957)

Starring Steve Terrell, Gloria Castillo, Frank Gorshin, Raymond Hatton, Lyn Osborn
Directed by Edward L. Cahn
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

After an alien spaceship lands near a small town, a pair of eloping teenagers hit one of the little green men with their car, and the others make trouble for the couple.

A unique sci-fi comedy from American International Pictures that hits upon the same themes of teenagers not being trusted by adults revisited a year later in The Blob, this is a fun picture, highlighted by Paul Blaisdell's iconic designs for the alien creatures.  With round craniums, bulging eyes, and needles protruding from their fingers when they attack, the aliens are both fearsome and comical, well-echoed by Ronald Stein's mirthful musical theme for them.  Actor Frank Gorshin would go on to greater fame playing the Riddler on the 1960s Batman TV series.

Invisible Invaders (1959)

Starring John Agar, Jean Byron, Philip Tonge, Robert Hutton, John Carradine
Directed by Edward L. Cahn
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

Invisible aliens from the moon with the power to possess the bodies of the dead launch an invasion of Earth, while a nuclear scientist labors to find a defense against their attacks.

Although the story borders on the ludicrous, and the alien attacks are primarily composed of a generous sampling of stock footage, this film has been a long-time favorite of mine, with distinguished actors Tonge and Carradine lending it a certain sense of credibility despite the low-budget trappings.  Although the special effects are low budget as well, they're unique and have a certain charm, as when the invisible creatures are represented by mounds of earth moving on their own accompanied by fearsome growls on the soundtrack.  As long as you don't take the film too seriously, you'll have a good time.