The Cosmic Man (1959)

Starring John Carradine, Bruce Bennett, Angela Greene, Paul Langton, Scotty Morrow
Directed by Herbert S. Greene
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

The American military track the descent of a UFO and try to seize its secrets, but also bring in a civilian astrophysicist who has a less aggressive and more peaceful approach.

I've seen this film knocked for being a rip-off of The Day The Earth Stood Still, and while thematically it does use similar characters and ideas, I think it stands on its own two feet, and have been charmed by it.  It of course doesn't compare to that classic film, but Arthur C. Pierce's screenplay has something of its own to say about scientists and a more reasoned approach to the unknown.  Carradine is a welcome presence as the film's titular alien, in a nod perhaps to The Invisible Man, appearing as both a shadowy partly transparent figure, and disguised in bulky clothing, allowing his rich voice to tell the background of the aliens who visit Earth.  Bennett, a frequent co-star to Humphrey Bogart in the 1940s, is perfectly cast as the cool-headed and reasoning Professor Sorenson.  The music score by Paul Sawtell & Bert Shefter adds weight to the tale, and there's some clever photography and editing on display that make the film ascend above its budget.

The Snow Creature (1954)

Starring Paul Langton, Leslie Denison, Teru Shimada, Rudolph Anders, Bill Phipps
Directed by W. Lee Wilder
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

A botanist exploring the mountains of Tibet manages to capture the Abominable Snowman, and takes him back to California for study, but the creature escapes and stalks human victims.

Another of director W. Lee Wilder's collaborations with his son, Myles, who wrote the screenplay, the  picture is probably the weakest of their films, despite a promising concept and setup.  The major problem is we never get a good look at the creature, who's only seen in long shots, or a clip of him stepping in and out of the shadows, that's repeated ad infinitum throughout the film.  Odds are this probably masked the inadequacies of the creature costume, but it results in a film without a major payoff for the audience.  The first half of the film in which we follow botanist Langton, whose expedition is taken over by his sherpa Shimada when the man's wife is abducted by the creature, is a bit more interesting than the second half, where authorities search for the creature in the sewers, but both halves suffer from a lack of atmosphere and imagination.  Having said all that, I somehow keep coming back to watch this film, so there must be something about it that intrigues me.

The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)

Starring Grant Williams, Randy Stuart, April Kent, Paul Langton, Raymond Bailey
Directed by Jack Arnold
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

A man finds himself shrinking smaller and smaller after being exposed to a radioactive mist, and his anger and desperation put a strain on his marriage while he waits for scientists to find a cure.

Screenwriter Richard Matheson adapts his own novel, and in the hands of director Jack Arnold and a talented crew, they deliver an intelligent sci-fi drama with some very memorable visual effects.  Some of the shots integrating a tiny Williams into a giant world show their age, but once the story shrinks him down under a foot tall, the combination of rear projection and oversized props is executed very impressively as the film builds to a final climax.  This is probably Williams' best role and he does his part to sell the audience on the fantasy the film presents as if it were a real-life drama.  However I've always been a little disappointed in the film's metaphysical ending which doesn't seem to reward the audience for their investment in these characters.  I understand the reasoning behind it, and wouldn't necessarily have preferred a happy ending, but it just strikes me as a bit insufficient.