The Alligator People (1959)

A young bride (Beverly Garland) is abandoned by her husband (Richard Crane) on their wedding night. She manages to trace him back to his ancestral home in the Louisiana bayous where she discovers a terrible secret. Directed by Roy Del Ruth, this is an enjoyable if not particularly original low budget programmer. It's a pity that the alligator "people" look wasn't perfected because all we get is a man in what is essentially an alligator mask that looks like a Halloween costume. Fortunately he isn't revealed until the very end but until then, Del Ruth provides a nice atmosphere that keeps us in anticipation. Beverly Garland wasn't called the original Scream Queen for nothing and she puts her lungs to good use here several times. With George Macready, Bruce Bennett, Douglas Kennedy, Frieda Inescort and Lon Chaney Jr. as a lecherous thug who's more frightening than any alligator or alligator people.