The Alligator People

_**Deep in the Louisiana bog is a cryptic estate with reptilian secrets**_ A woman (Beverly Garland) seeks her missing husband (Richard Crane) deep in the bayous of Cajun Country. She ends up at a mysterious plantation with an unfriendly host, a questionable doctor (Bruce Bennett) and a crazy man with a hook-hand living in the swamp (Lon Chaney Jr.). "The Alligator People" (1959) is a B&W horror/tragedy that starts with Southern Gothic meshed with the set-up of Dracula (a stranger stays overnight at an ominous secluded abode) and builds on that with elements of Frankenstein and The Island of Dr. Moreau. While this was shot in Los Angeles, the filmmakers do a good job of making it seem like the swampy backwoods of Louisiana with the B&W photography helping in the illusion. Lon Chaney Jr.’s cracked character is a highlight, an accident waiting to happen. Sure, the special effects leave something to be desired, but you know that going in. It helps that the cast take the proceedings seriously and the live alligators are a plus. The film runs 1 hour, 14 minutes, and was shot at 20th Century Fox Studios, Century City, California. GRADE: B-