Ed Wood. Aliens raise zombies in what is seen as the worst film ever. Features a by-then-dead Bela Lugosi using archive footage and a disguised actor filling in the gaps.

Plan 9 from Outer Space, 1959

Charles Laughton. Robert Mitchum plays Harry Powell, a serial killer preacher who tracks down his former cellmate's family in order to find his buried loot. Origin of Love and Hate tattoos.

Night of the Hunter, 1955

Billy Wilder. A hack writer finds himself at the home of a faded filmster, Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson) and tries to help her recapture her glory days.

Sunset Boulevard, 1950

Louis Gasnier. Originally called Tell Your Children, it warned of the dangers of marijuana. It vanished until 1971 when it was found in the Library of Congress and became an ironic favourite.

Reefer Madness, 1936

Preston Sturges. Joel McCrea plays a screenwriter who runs away with Veronica Lake to live as a hobo. Part satire, part critique of class and racial hierarchies.

Sullivan's Travels, 1941

Irvin Yeaworth. The titular monster arrives from space and begins to eat a town. A young Steve McQueen helps save everyone following a showdown at a cinema.

The Blob, 1958

Jacques Tourneur. Noir film starring Robert Mitchum as a gas station owner whose life is blown apart when a man from his past life as a private eye (Kirk Douglas) reenters his life. Remade in 1984 as Against All Odds.

Out of the Past, 1947

Luis Bunuel and Dali. Surrealist film with no real plot and a series of bizarre, unrelated imagery such as anti scurrying out of a wound and an eye-slicing scene.

Un Chien Andalou, 1928

Nicholas Ray. James Dean plays a gang member on the run following the death of its leader, Buzz. Set over 24 hours, it became the blueprint for teenage angst movies.

Rebel Without a Cause, 1955