I keep thinking this thread is going to be about cheesy BLT’s and horror movies.
Sorry to confuse. Maybe my terminology error.
In my recollection of the old TV Tropes website (that’s since been bought out, reworked to unrecognizability, etc.) a Nell is the trope-name for the paragon of virtuous womanhood who serves mostly as a damsel in distress and unrequited (at least on camera) love interest for one of the main male characters. According to that pattern, the woman on Fiends without a Face serves as the Nell regardless of her name.
The origin of the trope-name is the woman character on the old Dudley Do-Right cartoons. This is Dudley’s page of the new-and-I-dont’-think-improved tv tropes. Which at least shows a picture of the eponymous Nell.
But now they don’t have a trope named Nell. So I may have screwed that all up and invented that trope name myself. No wonder you’re confused. Now we can be confused together.
Those were the days…
The Monster and the Girl (1941) – Bizarre tale of framed dude executed for murder having his brain transplanted into a gorilla! Notwithstanding the fine supporting cast of henchmen and a white slavery angle, Skipper the Dog steals the show.
The Man from Planet X (1951) – I think this was the first U.S. film to feature an ET. Very low-budget, set mostly on the “Scottish moors” (a.k.a. a studio stage filled with smoke), yet not without quality and charm.
Mesa of Lost Women (1953) – Dr. Arana (Uncle Fester!) wants to create a master race of superwomen with spider venom. He is assisted by John George (4’2”) and Angelo Rossitto (2”11”).
Devil Girl from Mars (1954) – Talky Brit sci-fi with great title and robot.
The Mole People (1956) – Classic “dudes find lost Sumerian civilization and manage to destroy it before escaping” flick.
Invasion of the Saucer Men (1957) – Teens vs. aliens. With Frank Gorshin!
Monster on the Campus (1958) – A college prof. accidentally smokes coelacanth and regresses in this precursor to Alerted States.
She Demons (1958) – Gorgeous Irish McCalla and others are shipwrecked on an island where a Nazi doctor - with one of the worst fake-German accents ever - makes title creatures (who have a dance number!)
The Monster of Piedras Blancas (1959) – Surprisingly violent story of monster going on a decapitation spree in seaside town.
I regret the OP’s stipulation of b&w as it rules out Creation of the Humanoids and Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism (among others), two staples of my late-night TV movie viewing days.
There is no credible argument against this assertion.
When I was a wee lad, The Tingler really scared the poop out of me. One reason, the scariest scene takes place in a movie theater, and you’re sitting in a theater watching it!!!
Not a stickler of a stipulation, just a recognition that the B+W was most common.
That one scared me quite a bit as a kid, mainly because the silent alien was so creepy looking.. I rewatched it recently, and agree that despite being cheepo it isn’t half bad.
I grew up watching cheesy monster flicks on the New York stations – Creature Feature on WNEW 5, Chiller Theater on WPIX 11, Supernatural Theater and Million Dollar Movie on WOR 9. I saw all the ones listed (and I’m amazed that people remember the more obscure ones) Some of these aren’t really awful, though – I think It! The Terror from Beyond Space is a low-budget high point ion 1950s SF film. And, yes, I have no doubt that they ripped off the plot for Alien.
The only one I’ve seen recently is Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. I re-watched it this past week.
A few recommendations
Plan Nine from Outer Space
Robot Monster
(These two are the archetypes of BAD movies)
The Prehistoric Sound (AKA Sound of Horror) – people in a cave are attacked by an invisible dinosaur! A cost-cutting measure of the most ridiculous kind. This film features the worst “invisibility” effects you will ever see. Starring scream Queen Ingrid Pitt
The Wasp Woman
The She Creature
The Flesh Eaters
King Dinosaur
Terror from the Year 5000
The Astounding She Monster
Giant from the Unknown
The Killer Shrews – You’ve probably seen the MST3K version. But did you know that star James Best made a sequel in 2012? Return of the Killer Shrews