The Flesh Eaters (1964)

Starring Martin Kosleck, Byron Sanders, Barbara Wilkin, Rita Morley, Ray Tudor
Directed by Jack Curtis
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

An alcoholic actress, her assistant, and their pilot find themselves stranded on an island where a scientist is performing secret experiments on flesh eating bugs that soon threaten them all.

Curtis delivers an impressively mounted independent horror film, notable for some gory special effects, some of which hold up better than others.  However, the anchor of the film is Kosleck, the familiar 1940s Universal contract player, who makes a marvelous villain, even when pretending to be benevolent, delivering his lines in his sinister European accent.  The rest of the cast aren't in Kosleck's class, but Sanders, Wilkin, and Morley fill their roles relatively well.  The film's creature design is also unique, and Julian Stein's music is memorable, adding to the creepy atmosphere.  I wouldn't say the story is the strongest, incorporating a lot of character stereotypes pulled from other films, but Curtis' direction is more than capable, balancing the shocks with some human drama.  It's a film to be appreciated even with some drawbacks.

House Of Horrors (1946)

Starring Robert Lowery, Virginia Grey, Bill Goodwin, Martin Kosleck, Rondo Hatton
Directed by Jean Yarbrough
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

After a maddened sculptor saves the life of a brutish killer, he's able to convince him to reward him by disposing of the critics of his art.

One of Universal's last horror films in their classic period, and I've always been rather fond of it, with a delightfully wicked performance from Kosleck, and acromegaly victim Rondo Hatton used rather well.  Hatton was limited as an actor, and he doesn't have to do much besides stalking his victims, but the exaggerated bust built of him within the film is an inspired work and a memorable image.  At times the comic relief in the movie is almost a little too breezy, but I enjoyed the supporting cast, with Virginia Grey coming off very appealing with His Girl Friday-like patter, and Alan Napier excelling in a choice role as a detested art critic.  Goodwin, whom I know best for pitching Maxwell House coffee on the Burns and Allen radio series, is entertaining as a homicide detective, alternating between gruffly making accusations against suspects and shifting to a smooth operator when plying a beautiful model with a glib smile on his face.  The film's definitely a minor horror, when compared to the studio's greats, but is fun along the same lines as many of their 1940s efforts.

The Frozen Ghost (1945)

Starring Lon Chaney, Jr., Evelyn Ankers, Milburn Stone, Douglass Dumbrille, Martin Kosleck
Directed by Harold Young
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

A mentalist abandons his career and fiancee, blaming himself for a man's death during his act, but death follows him when he seeks refuge at a wax museum.

An entertaining entry in Chaney's "Inner Sanctum" series of mysteries based on the popular radio series, the film features a number of Universal's familiar contract players, including Ankers, Stone, and Kosleck.  The screenplay doesn't sustain the mystery quite long enough, revealing the murderer long before the main characters discover him, and rather puzzlingly has Kosleck throwing knives at people for little reason.  Nonetheless, I found it to be a fun enough thriller with an engaging cast.