the giant of marathon (1959)

aka La battaglia di Maratona.
"You are as beautiful as a statue of a god."
Phillipides (Steve Reeves) is having a good time winning Olympic wreathes and being a hero. But he has to battle politicial intrige whilst falling for Andromeda (Mylène Demongeot), and then Darius invades with his mighty Persian army.
Above average Peplum, that plays fast and loose with the legend.

city under the sea (1965)

aka City In The Sea. War Gods Of The Deep.
A small Cornish Coastal village in 1903 is plagued by some mysterious events and when Jill Tregillis (Susan Hart) goes missing, mining engineer Ben Harris (Tab Hunter) goes on the hunt for her. His search leads to the discovery of an underwater society, that never ages, led by Sir Huge (Vincent Price).
A boys own adventure with David Tomlinson along for comic relief, though an underwhelming one from the once master of the b movie horror.

the leopard man (1943)

"This is a bad town for blondes."
A publicity stunt goes wrong when nightclub performer Kiki Walker (Jean Brooks) takes a leopard into a nightclub; a rival scares the animal and it bolts. Over the next few days the leopard is blamed for a number of killings, but Kiki comes to believe that it's not the leopard that is perpetrating the maulings...
Tourneur turns in a dark thriller bringing some of his Cat People style to another feline story.

comedy of terrors (1963)

"I'm afraid, madam, he has made his final journey, across the stygian shore."
Trumbull (Vincent Price) has many problems to attend to as he runs a funeral parlour. From a senile father in law (Boris Karloff) to incompetent employees (Peter Lorre), but his biggest problem is his lack of customers. A problem that jumps to the top of the list when he is sent a demand for his back rent. Trumbull has to find some customers to pay his bills and quick. Then he hits on the perfect way...why wait till they die of old age, when he can help them get there quicker!
Tourneur visits the Poe genre that Corman and AIP had been plundering, this time to ham it up and parody them. A job well done by the wonderful cast.

build my gallows high (1947)

AKA Out Of The Past.
"All women are wonders, because they reduce all men to the obvious."
Small town California, and the garage owner Jeff Bailey (Robert Mitchem) bumps into an old aquaintance, who orders him to meet with the powerful gangster Whit Sterling (Kirk Douglas). En route he then spills all about his old life to his new girlfriend (Virginia Huston) and in flashback we learn about how Jeff had crossed Whit by taking off with Whit's girlfriend Kathie (Jane Greer). When he arrives Jeff is surprised to find Kathie by Whit's side, and Whit offers him a way to clear his debt, but it's obviously a trap.
A wonderful film noir, with a plot that draws you in and actors up to the task of keeping your attention.

i walked with a zombie (1943)

Betsy (Frances Dee) takes up a job nursing the wife of sugar plantation owner Paul Holland (Tom Conway). Betsy is told that Mrs Holland is a victim of incurable tropical fever which has mentally impaired her, where she can obey simple commands, but is otherwise in a coma type state. Betsy quickly comes to learn that there is trouble in the family, with the brother blaming Paul for the wife's condition. Further trouble comes when Betsy starts falling for Paul and decides the only way to cure Mrs Holland is to use voodoo and takes her to a hounfour, but this only stirs up the locals. A re-working of Jane Eyre under a wonderful exploitation title. The film builds an oppressive atmosphere, you can almost feel the heat of the plantation nights. We watch as the two brothers gradually open up and the mystery of Mrs Holland's illness is revealed to Betsy. A wonderful example of a suggestive horror thriller.

cat people (1942)

Irena Dubrovna (Simone Simon), is a Serbian fashion artist living in New York. She meets and marries Oliver Reed (Kent Smith). But from the off their marriage suffers as she believes she is a victim of an ancient curse that will cause her to turn into a big cat if she has any great emotions like love or jealousy. The couple try to work it out and she even goes to a psychiatrist, but Irena becomes jealous when Oliver is drawn to a female work colleague Alice (Jane Randolph) and confides in her. Alice then starts to notice she is being followed, and finds her clothes shreded, as if by a cat!
A fine example of an intelligent, psycholgical and suspenceful horror, where less is more, and shadows provide our only glimpses of the creature.

night of the demon (1957)

aka Curse Of The Demon
Dana Andrews is a skeptical American professor, who gets caught up in the world of witchcraft and demons, in this fantastic suspense filled horror.
Revealing the demon adds a kitch element that I quite like, but reputedly the director argued against seeing the demon and these scenes were shot without him.