125 The Creature from the Black Lagoon ( 1954 )

This  is  a  famous  and  influential  film , certainly  on  Jaws  two  decades  later.

A  group  of  scientists, excited  by  the discovery of  an  unidentifiable  fossil , come  to  a  lagoon  to  investigate  and  find  themselves  up  against  a  formidable  amphibious  adversary. Though  it  makes  the  error  of  revealing  too  much  of  the  monster  - which  is  obviously  a  man  in  a  rubber  suit - too  soon, it's  well  worth  watching, not  least  for  the  charms  of  its  leading  lady.

Julie  Adams  ( as  Kay )

Sex : As  well  as  an  extended  swimming  sequence  early  on , there's   some  great  wet  top  shots  at  the  film's  climax,

Death : Survives

Julie  was  originally  called  Betty  and  hailed  from  Iowa. Her  film  career  began  in  1949  and  she  was  a  popular  actress  in  the  fifties,  particularly in  westerns. In  the  sixties  she  moved  into  television  where  her  career  lasted  well  into  the  noughties. She  is  now  90.

124 The Mad Magician ( 1954 )

By  this  point  all  the  old  guard  had  been  eclipsed  by  Vincent  Price  as  the  top  horror  star  and  it's  not  hard  to  see  why  in  films  like  this.

Vince  plays  Don  Gallico  a  technician  who  creates  illusions  for  stage  performers  like  The  Great  Rinaldi ( John  Emery ). When  he  fancies  a  go  at  performing  himself  he  is  stopped  by  an  injunction  from  his  employer  Ormond  ( John  Randolph )  who  is  also  Rinaldi's  business  partner. Ormond  has  already  relieved  Gallico  of  his  wife  and  when  he  taunts  him  about  that  Gallico  snaps  and  decapitates  him. He  is  then  forced  to   kill  again  using  all  his  arts  when  others  get  close  to  the  truth.

This  is  marvellously  entertaining  stuff  with  a  sharp  script  and  great  performances  all  round  although  you  don't  mistake  who  the  star  is.  

Mary  Murphy  ( as  Karen  Lee  )

Sex :  Mary's  first  appearance  in  tight  shorts  and  see-through  blouse  is  gobsmacking.

Death : Survives

Mary  was  a  star  in  the  making  after  her  appearance  as  good  girl  Kathie  in  The  Wild  One  the  year  before. Somehow, the  good  roles  never  came  her  way  and  she  worked  mainly  in  TV  in  the  sixties  and  early  seventies. She  retired  around  1976  and  gave  her  time  to  environmental  causes. She  died  of  heart  disease  in  2011  aged  80.

Eva  Gabor  ( as  Claire  Ormond )

Sex : No

Death : Strangled  by  Gallico

Eva  was  the   younger  sister  of  the  recently  deceased  Zsa  Zsa   and  was  actually  the  first  member  of  the  family  to  emigrate  from  Hungary. Though  overshadowed  by  her  sister's  antics,  Eva  had  the  longer  career - as  an  actress  anyway - and  was  married  five  times  herself. She  died  following  a  bathtub  fall  in  1995  aged  76.

123 The Maze ( 1953 )

This  is  an  atmospheric  take  on  the  old  mad  relative  in  the  tower  story . The  exposition  doesn't  answer  every  question  raised  but  it's  a  good  film  with  a  plucky  heroine  at  the  centre.The  film  was  released  in  3D.

Kitty  Murray  is  due  to  be  married  to  Gerald  MacTeam  ( Richard  Carlson ), heir  to  a  baronetcy. Just  before  the  wedding , Gerald  is  called  to  the  gloomy  family  castle on  his  uncle's  death  and  she  hears  no  more  from  him  until  a  cryptic  letter some  months  later. Kitty  and  her  reluctant  aunt  Edith  ( Katherine  Emery )  come  to  the  castle  and  find  him  prematurely  aged  and  hostile  to  their  presence. Kitty  determines  to  find  out  why.

Kitty  (  Veronica  Hurst )

Sex : No

Death : Survives

Veronica  was  an  English  actress  born  to  Malta. She  was  loaned  out  to  Allied  Artists  for  this  film. For  no  obvious  reason,  stardom  eluded  her and  she  returned  to  Britain  acting  mainly  in  television  including  Coronation  Street  and  Dixon  of  Dock  Green . She  seems  to  have  quit  acting  in  the  mid-seventies. She  is  now  85.

Hillary  Brooke  ( as  Peggy  Bond )

Sex : No

Death : Survives

Hillary  was  originally  Beatrce  Pearson  from  New  York  although  she  specialised  in  playing  Englishwomen,  She  was  a  supporting  player  in  films  in  the  forties  but  a  successful  TV  actress  in  the  fifties  with  regular  roles  in  The  Abbott  and  Costello  Show  and  My  Little  Margie . She  retired  in  the  early  sixties  and  died  from  a  blood  clot  in  1999  aged  85.   

122 The Black Castle ( 1952 )

This  Universal  picture  is  less  a  horror  film  than  a  Prisoner  of  Zenda-style  adventure  thriller  with  dark  undertones. Though  not  entirely  satisfactory,  it's  a  well-made  picture   with  bags  of  atmosphere  and  a  well-matched  alpha  male  duel  at  its  centre.

Future  Robin  Hood  Richard  Greene  plays  Ronald  Burton  an  English  aristocrat  who  assumes  a  false  identity  to  find  two  friends  who  have  gone  missing  at  the  court  of  the  Austrian  count   Bruno  ( Stephen  McNally ). This  relates  to  some  previous  adventure  in  Africa  which  the  film  doesn' t  explain  very  well. Though  revenge  is  Burton's  main  priority  complications  develop  when  he  falls  for  the  count's  neglected  wife  Elga.

Boris  Karloff  and  Lon  Chaney  Jr  ( the  latter  in  a  non-speaking  brute  role )  appear  as  member's  of  the  count's  sinister  entourage.

Rita  Corday  (  as  Elga  )

Sex : It's  suggested  that  the  Count's  marriage  is  unconsummated  . There's  also  a  suggestion  of  rape  by  Chaney's  character

Death  :  Survives

Rita  was  originally  Jeane  Croset  from  Tahiti  where  her  parents  were  Swiss  diplomats. Her  film  career  began  in  1942  but  she  never  progressed  to  major  roles. She  had  a  first  career  break  after  getting  married  in  1947  but  resumed, with  better  roles  in  the  early  fifties. This  was  her  penultimate  role; she  permanently  retired when  her  son  was  born  in  1957. She  died  of  diabetic  complications in  1992  aged  77.

Nancy  Valentine  ( as  Thereze )

Sex :  She  appears  to be  the  Count's  mistress  but  we  only  see  a  bit  of  flirting

Death :  Survives

Nancy  did  far  more  TV  than  film  where  she  was  only  a  bit  part  player. Her  career  petered  out  in  the  early  seventies. She  is  still  alive  aged  89.

121 The Son of Dr Jekyll ( 1951 )

This  is  an  over-long  and  rather  dull  continuation  of  the  Jekyll  story.

His  baby  son  Edward , the  product  of  a  marriage  not  in  any of  the  previous  versions  is  adopted  by  his  father's  friend  Sir  John Utterson  ( Lester  Matthews )  while  the  estate  is  managed  by  Dr  Lanyon  ( Alexander  Knox ). He  grows  up  to  be  a  hot  headed  young  man  ( Louis  Hayward )  intent  on  furthering  his  father's  work. However  the  press  and  public  view  him  as  potentially  dangerous  and  their  fears  seem  to  be  confirmed  by  various  incidents.

Jody  Lawrance  (  as  Lynn )

Sex : No

Death : Survives

Jody  was  originally  Nona  Goddard  and  became  foster  sister to  the  future  Marilyn  Monroe.  This  is  one  of  her  earliest  films. She  had  an  up  and  down  career  blighted  by  her  reputation  as  a  trouble  maker  and  a  stormy  personal  life. She  died  in  1986  aged  55.

Claire  Carleton  ( as  Hazel )

Sex : No

Death  : Killed  by  Lanyon ( off  screen )

Claire  was  a  very  busy  actress  who  worked  on  stage  in  the  thirties, film  in  the  forties  and  fifties  and  TV  in  the  sixties  though  she  never  became  a  star. She  died  in  1979  aged  66.

120 Bride of the Gorilla ( 1951 )

There  weren't  many  horror  films  made  in  the  late  forties; the  public  were  ingesting  enough  real-life  horror  from  Auschwitz  to  Hiroshima   and  didn't  need  Bela  Lugosi  to  scare  them. Things  started  picking  up  again  in  the  early  fifties  with  films  that  pushed  against  the  constraints  of  the  Production  Code   like  this  one.

The  titular  bride  is  Gina, living  on   a  rubber  plantation  in  the  jungle  owned  by  her  older  husband  Claus. She  is  desired  by  both  his  foreman  Barney  Chavez  ( Raymond  Burr )  and  friend  Dr  Viet  ( Tom  Conway  playing  the  same  part  as  in  The  Seventh  Victim ) .  Barney  kills  Claus  but  the  only  witness, a  native  servant  chooses  to  turn  him  into  a  gorilla  with  a  curse  rather  than  hand  him  over  to  the  authorities. A  visibly  deteriorating  Lon  Chaney  Junior  plays  the  police  commissioner.

Despite  the  silly  premise,  this  is  actually  a  decent  film  with   three  dimensional  characters  played  by  a  good  cast.


Barbara  Payton  ( as  Gina )

Sex :  The  busty  blonde  has  longer  clinches  with  Burr  than  would  have  been  permitted  in  the  forties.

Death : Gina  is  mauled  by  the  transformed  Barney  but  the  film  leaves  it  ambiguous  whether  or  not  she's  been  killed.

Barbara, was  a  former  model  whose  career  began  in  the  late  forties. At  the  turn  of  the  decade  she  was  being  considered  for  major  roles   but  her  promiscuous  private  life  eventually  undid  her  and  her  career  unwound  in  the  mid-fifties. She  became  an  alcoholic  and  eventually  a  prostitute. She  returned  to  her  parents'  home  to  die  of  heart  and  liver  failure  aged  39  in  1967.

Carol  Varga  ( as  Larina  )

Sex :  Wears  a  revealing  two-piece  outfit  throughout. An  early  scene  suggests  she  is  having  an  affair  with   Chavez  but  this  is  never  really  followed  up  suggesting  some  of  her  scenes  were  cut.

Death :  Presumably  survives  having  deserted  the  plantation

Carol  made  over  a  hundred  films  between  1949  and  1970  , split  between  Hollywood  and  The  Phillipines. She  died  in  2008  aged  77.

Felippa  Rock ( as  Stella )

Sex :  No

Death :  Survives

This  tiny  role  was  Felippa's  only  credited  film  part  but  she  later  became  a  respected  casting  director. She's  still  alive  aged  92.

119 The Creeper ( 1948 )

Rondo  Hatton's  demise  didn't  stop  director  Jean  Yarbrough  re-cycling  the  Creeper  bname  for  a  completely  unrelated  film  about  scary  cats  a  couple  of  years  later.

Nora  Cavigny  is  part  of  a  team  working  on  experiments  with  cats  although  due  to  a  death  on  a  field  expedition  in  the  West  Indies  her  father  wants  to  discontinue the  work  and  Nora  herself  is  traumatised  at  the  sight  of  a  cat. Nevertheless  she  is  courted  by  the  young  doctor  in  the  lab  next  door  ( John  Baragrey  )  who  wants  to  save  her  when  people  start  dying  around  her.

The  story  has  potential  but  the  film  is  badly  paced , badly  lit  and  badly  acted. There  are  too  many  red  herrings  for  a  sub-hour  film  and  the  special  effects  are  risible.

Julie  Vincent  ( as  Gwen )   

Sex : No

Death :  Clawed  to  death  by  the  killer  ( offscreen )

June  was  originally  Dorothy  Smith , a  minister's  daughter  from  Ohio. She  had  a  film  and  then  TV  career  that  lasted  into  the  mid-seventies  often  playing  villainous  roles. She  died  in  2008  aged  88.

Janis  Wilson  ( as  Nora )

Sex  :  No

Death : Survives

Janis  was  from  Santa  Barbara. She  was  only 18  but  this  was  the  last  of  her  seven  films  ( and  to  be  honest  her  inexperience  shows ). She  later  worked  as  a  pianist  and  choirmaster. She  died  in  2004  after  a  stroke  aged  77.

118 She-Wolf of London ( 1946 )

This  is  another  that  barely  passes  as  a  horror  film. This  one  uses  the  old  "drive  the  heiress  insane  "  plot  line  as  a  young  woman  Phyllis  Allenby  is  led  to  believe  she  is  a  nocturnal  lycanthrope  due  to  a  family  curse. The  film  is   very  dull  and  relies  on  a  particularly  silly  Talking  Killer  scene  for  its  exposition.

June  Lockhart  ( as  Phyllis )  

Sex :  No

Death : Survives

The   daughter  of  renowned  character  actor  Gene  Lockhart , June  paid  her  dues  as  a  B-movie  actress  in  the  forties  before  a  storming  Broadway  debut  in  For  Love  Or  Money  in  1947  raised  her  stature. She  switched  to  television  with  great  success,  most  notably  in  Lassie  and  Lost  in  Space  and  is  still  working  today  at  the  age  of  91.

Jan  Wiley  (  as  Carol  Winthrop )   

Sex : No

Death : Survives

Jan  has  a  larger  part  in  this  one  but  it's  a  fairly  humdrum  and  thankless  role.

117 The Brute Man ( 1946 )

This  was  the  second  and  final  film  to  star  Rondo  Hatton  as  The  Creeper. The  actor  died  before  its  release  and  the  film  was  heavily  criticised  for  exploiting  his  misfortune. His  limited  acting  skills  gave  further  strength  to  the  accusation.

The  film  is  actually  a prequel  to  House  of  Horrors,  giving  The  Creeper  a  name, back  story  and  some  motives  for  his  killings. Then, while  on  the  run  he  is  unwittingly  harboured  by  a  blind  pianist  Helen  who  doesn't  judge  him  on  his  looks. The  Creeper  then  sets  out  to  raise  money  for  an  operation  to  restore  her  sight  taking  us  into  Jimmy  Saville  territory.

It's  not  a  great  film  but  I've  seen  much  worse.

Jan  Wiley  ( as  Virginia )

Sex : No

Death : Survives

Jan  was  a  workaday  actress  from  Indiana  active  since  1937. This  was  her  last  credited  film  role  and  she  died  in  1993 aged  77  from  cancer.

Jane  Adams  ( as  Helen )  

Sex : No

Death : Survives

Jane  again  plays  a  disabled  character  and  is  a  touch  too  saccharin.

Janelle  Johnson  ( as  Joan  Bemis )

Sex : No

Death : Has  her  spine  snapped  by  the Creeper  although  that  may  not  have  been  his  original  intention  before  she  started  screaming.

This  is  Janelle's  only  credited  film  role  as  she  disappeared  into  family  life. She's  much  more  famous  as  the  mother  of  Monkee  Micky  Dolenz  who  invested  his  earnings  wisely. She  died  of  cancer  in  1995  aged  72.

116 Scared To Death ( 1947 )

This  was  actually  filmed  some  years  earlier but  only  released  in  1947. The  mystery  is  why  anyone  thought  it  merited  releasing  at  all  though  it  has  some  posthumous  significance  as  Bela  Lugosi's  only  colour  film.

Lugosi  plays  a  stage  magician Professor Leonid, one of  many  unexpected  visitors  at  a  private  sanatorium  run  by  Dr  Van  Ee  ( George  Zucco ) . Van  Ee's  daughter-in-law Laura is experiencing  some  mental  trauma  and  in  fact  we  know  she  has  died  and  is  recounting  the  story  from  beyond  the  grave. Unfortunately  she  can't  tell  it  coherently  and  her  interjections  often  seem  to  be  placed  at  random amid  a  deluge of  red  herrings. Add  to  that  mix  some  terrible  acting  and  a  pain  in  the  arse  "comic"  turn  from  Nat  Pendleton  as  some  sort  of  private  bodyguard  and  you  have  a  real  stinker.

Molly  Lamont  ( as  Laura )

Sex : No

Death : Frightened  to  death  by  her  first  husband

Molly  does  her  best  in  a  completely  unsympathetic  role.

Joyce  Compton  ( as  Jane  Cornell )

Sex : No

Death : Survives

By  the  time  the  film  was  released  Joyce  was  coming  towards  the  end  of  a   very  prolific career  playing  dumb  blonde  roles  in  comedy  films. She  died  in  1997  aged  90.

Gladys  Blake  ( as  LiliBeth )

Sex : No

Death : Survives

Gladys  was  another  very  busy  supporting  actress  in  the  thirties  and  forties. She  died  in  1983  aged  73.

115 Valley of the Zombies ( 1946 )

This  is  another  film  that's  more  detective  yarn  than  supernatural  chiller  and  the  title  is  seriously  misleading. The  valley  is  only  mentioned  in  passing ; none  of  the  action  takes  place  there  and  the  single  villain  is  more  of  a  vampire  than  a  zombie. Having  said  that it  is  entertaining  enough  with  a  smart  script  and  a  splendid  villain  in  murderous  undertaker  Osmund  Monks ( Ian  Keith ).

Lorna  Gray  ( as  Susan  Drake )

Sex : No

Death : Survives

With  her  smart  one  liners  Lorna  is  more  comic  relief  than  damsel  in  distress  in  this  one.

114 Devil Bat's Daughter ( 1946 )

This  is  a  low-budget  follow-up  to  The  Devil  Bat   of  six  years  earlier. Bela  Lugosi  does  not  reappear  and  the  script   flatly  contradicts  the  events  of  the  previous  film.

Nina  is  the  not  previously  mentioned  daughter  of  Dr  Carruthers  ( Lugosi's  character  in  the  original )  who  seeks  out  a  psychiatrist  Dr  Morris  ( Michael  Hale )  to  sort  out  her  nightmares. He  decides  to  use  her  as  a  patsy  in  a  plot  to  dispose  of  his  wife  by  persuading  her  that  she  is  a  nocturnal  killer.

This  is  less  a  horror  film  than  a  third  rate  sub-Hitchcock  thriller  with  the  last  20  minutes  no  more  than  an  uninteresting  detective  yarn.

Rosemary  La  Planche  ( as  Nina  Carruthers )

Sex : Looks  good  in  her  nightwear.

Death : Survives

Rosemary  is  once  again  the  best  thing  in  the  film  though  she's  hardly  in  the  last  third  of  it.

Molly  Lamont  ( as  Ellen  Morrs )

Sex : No

Death :  Stabbed  with  a  pair  of  scissors  ( offscreen )

Molly  was  born  in  South  Africa  and  appeared  in  British  films  during  the  thirties  and  US  films  during  the  forties. She  had  regular  work  but  never  became  a  leading  lady. She  retired  in  1951  and  died  fifty  years  later  aged  91.

Monica  Mars  ( as  Myra )

Sex :  She's  Morris's  mistress  but  there's  nothing  on  screen.

Death : Survives

This  was  Monica's  only  film  and  I  can  tell  you  nothing  more  about  her.

113 Strangler of the Swamp ( 1946 )

The  heroine  is  so  much  the  best  reason  for  watching  this  B-movie  that  it  seems  superfluous  to  talk  about  anything  else.

Maria  Hart  takes  over  the  task  of  running  a  hand-pulled  ferry  through  a  swamp  after  the  mysterious  death  of  her  grandfather, unaware  that  the  ghost  of  his  wrongly  hanged  predecessor  is  coming  after  those  responsible. That's  about  it  really. Future  film  director  Blake  Edwards  plays  Maria's  love  interest.

Rosemary LaPlanche  ( as  Maria ) 

Sex : Rosemary  plays  most  of  her  scenes  in  a  loose  white  blouse without  a  bra. She's  also  rescued  from  an  attempted  rape  at  one  point.

Death : Survives

Rosemary  won  Miss  America  in  1941  although  she  had  made  some  uncredited  film appearances  before  that. Her  film  career  was  brief  before  she  started  a  family  with  producer Harry  Kaplan  and  took  up  oil  painting. She  died  of cancer  in  1979  aged  55.

112 The Mask of Diijon ( 1946 )

This  is  as  much  of  a  noir  thriller  as  horror  and  not  much  cop  either  way.

Erich  von  Stroheim  is  magician  Diijon  who  has  got  bored  of  his  act  and  wants  the  space  to  study  hypnotism in  the  delusion  he  can  achieve  great  fame  in  the  field. That  leaves  young  wife  Vickie  to   struggle  with  life's  practicalities. She  leaves  him  just  as  he's  beginning  to  master  hypnotism  which  leads  him  to  use  his  power  negatively.

The  film  has  a mechanical  plot, terrible  acting  ( especially  von  Stroheim ) and  a  ridiculously  contrived  shock  ending.

Jeanne  Bates  ( as  Victoria )

Sex : No

Death : Survives

Jeanne  has  a  much  larger  role  in  this  one  but  she's  not  very  good.

Denise  Vernac  ( as  Denise )

Sex : No

Death : Survives

Denise  was  born  in  France  and  appeared  in  both  French  and  American  films  between  1939  and  1966. More  to  the  point  she  was  Mrs  Von  Stroheim. She  died  in  1984 aged  68.