Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers (1956)

Starring Hugh Marlowe, Joan Taylor, Donald Curtis, Morris Ankrum, John Zaremba
Directed by Fred F. Sears
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

A rocket scientist and his new wife are contacted by aliens in a flying saucer, who are ready to conquer the Earth with their fleet of ships.

This is a bit of a rarity in Ray Harryhausen films in that no actual living creatures are animated by the special effects titan, but the flying saucers and their targets of destruction alone.  Nevertheless, it's quite a piece of work for Harryhausen, as the film contains some truly iconic scenes of the saucers destroying Washington D.C.'s national monuments, something that had never been done on screen before.  The cast is fine too- Marlowe is believable as focused scientist Russell Marvin, and veteran actor Ankrum brings intelligence and gravitas to his role as General John Hanley, who is cruelly used by the aliens.  Although uncredited, voice actor extraordinaire Paul Frees provides the clear but somewhat distorted voice of the aliens which is crucial to the unfolding of the story.  It's a shame with the creative gifts of Harryhausen that so much military stock footage had to be used in the picture although it's understandable.  It still remains a Harryhausen classic, and well worth revisiting often.

It Came From Beneath The Sea (1955)

Starring Kenneth Tobey, Faith Domergue, Donald Curtis, Ian Keith, Dean Maddox Jr.
Directed by Robert Gordon
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

After an atomic submarine encounters an underwater creature that nearly cripples the ship, its commander teams up with a pair of scientists who discover the creature is a giant octopus.

Stop-motion effects wizard Ray Harryhausen begins a long partnership with Columbia Pictures and producer Charles H. Schneer with this film, in which Harryhausen convincingly animates the giant creature, bringing real menace to its tremendously long tentacles, and making it seem real with its fluid movements.  The monster's attack on San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge is a definite highlight and impressive movie moment.  Kenneth Tobey, already familiar to fans of science fiction pictures for his roles in The Thing From Another World and The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms, makes a fine lead as the sub commander with a friendly demeanor, although George Worthing Yates' story and screenplay shows his character has a lot to learn about contemporary women.  This development and Faith Domergue's importance to the storyline is refreshing in the light of sexism in the other films of the day, although clearly there was still a long way to go.  It's a fun picture, and Harryhausen's work is really first-rate, although he would admit his octopus only had six legs to animate, unlike the real sea creature.  Although Harryhausen would later dazzle us with multiple and varied creations in films to come, I think this movie is still a key component of his filmography.

The Amazing Mr. X (1948)

Starring Turhan Bey, Lynn Bari, Cathy O'Donnell, Richard Carlson, Donald Curtis
Directed by Bernard Vorhaus
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

A grieving widow thinks she is ready to move on two years after her husband's death, but then meets a spiritualist who promises to put her in contact with his spirit.

This independent film, also known as The Spiritualist, which has elements of mystery, suspense, and horror, features many familiar faces in the cast, and I found it to be an effective small scale chiller with many memorable atmospheric moments.  Bey, better known for his parts for Universal in the early 1940s, is charming and mysterious as the film's spiritualist, whose act is revealed to us fairly early, before we discover there's more to the story than we expected.  Bari is fine as the young widow ready to give up on her new beau for a chance to reconnect with the old one, and has an independent spirit to her character rare in films of this period.  O'Donnell is a hoot as her younger sister, who tries initially to protect Bari from Bey but quickly falls for the dashing young man.  John Alton's photography is dark and moody, making fine use of shadow, and Alexander Laszlo's score smartly showcases Chopin's Prelude No. 4, providing an eerie complement to the visuals.  The film has fallen into the public domain and I've only seen it in scratchy prints, but believe there's a Columbia MOD disc out there that should be far sharper, and definitely worth checking out.