Some stood modestly behind the scenes, crossing T's, dotting I's and making sure the electric bill got paid. Others made their productions subordinate to their own name recognition (William Castle, for instance). Many scrambled to secure the necessary funds when money ran out halfway through a picture, while others completed a film in under six days without breaking a sweat. The best-known examples are Roger Corman and Ed Wood -- 1950s, poverty-level auteurs who have since been celebrated ad nauseum. Yet there are many ingenious genre producers yet to enjoy their share of the spotlight. Alex Gordon Gave the world: She-Creature, Day the World Ended, Atomic Submarine, Voodoo Woman, Dragstrip Girl, Runaway Daughters The one to watch: She-Creature Why: Veteran cast; snappy direction (Ed Cahn); Paul Blaisdell's unforgettably loony monster; and of course, Marla English (hubba hubba). Gene Corman Gave the world: Attack of the Giant Leeches, Beast From Haunted Cave, Tower of London The one to watch: Beast From Haunted Cave Why: Offbeat setting playing up the sense of isolation; solid cast; truly bizarro monster; creepy shock shot of victim enmeshed in spider's web. Jules Levy, Arthur Gardner, Arnold Laven Gave the world: Return of Dracula, The Vampire, Monster That Challenged the World, The Flame Barrier The one to watch: Return of Dracula Why: Cloistered, small-town setting; creepy abandoned mine where the vampire abides (Bronson Canyon, of course); and Francis Lederer as one of the screen's most believable and unsettling Draculas. Aubrey Schenck, Howard W. Koch Gave the world: The Black Sleep, Frankenstein 1970, Pharoah's Curse, Voodoo Island The one to watch: The Black Sleep Why: Outlandish gore for its day; well-realized Victorian feel; dig this cast: Lugosi, Chaney, Carradine, Akim Tamiroff, Tor Johnson and the delectably haughty Basil Rathbone. Robert Lippert Gave the world: Rocketship X-M, Lost Continent, Alligator People, Kronos, Back From the Dead, Return of the Fly, Hand of Death The one to watch: Rocketship X-M Why: An extremely likable cast of scenery-chewers (Lloyd Bridges, John Emery, Noah Beery, Morris Ankrum); ambitions beyond the shoestring budget; and the fact that Lippert hustled it through production in order to beat George Pal's Destination Moon to the punch. Jacques Marquette Gave the world: Brain From Planet Arous, Teenage Monster, Attack of the 50-ft. Woman, Teenage Thunder The one to watch: Attack of the 50-ft. Woman Why: I've always been partial to Brain From Planet Arous, what with its sun-baked, Bronson Canyon setting, a crazed Agar performance and its bobbing, brain balloon -- but who can resist 50 feet of Allison Hayes? Herman Cohen Gave the world: I Was a Teenage Werewolf, Teenage Frankenstein, How to Make a Monster, Target Earth, Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla The one to watch: Target Earth Why: Credible depiction of a deserted city under siege; quintessential 1950s robots; Whit Bissell and his government scientists to the rescue; and who DOESN'T like Richard Denning? Jack Pollexfen, Aubrey Wisberg Gave the world: Man From Planet X, Captive Women, Neanderthal Man, Port Sinister The one to watch: Man From Planet X Why: One of the most atmospheric Bs ever produced; believable cast led by Robert Clarke and Margaret Field; claustrophobic, shadowy sets; director Edgar Ulmer's art deco spaceship. Sam Katzman Gave the world: The Giant Claw, The Man Who Turned to Stone, Earth vs. the Flying Saucers, Creature With the Atom Brain, Zombies of Mora Tau, It Came From Beneath the Sea, Night the World Exploded and of course, Cha-Cha-Cha Boom The one to watch: Earth vs. the Flying Saucers Why: Resist the temptation to gawk once more at the goofy grandeur of The Giant Claw. Earth vs. the Flying Saucers has a whole lot going for it: Morris Ankrum (who appears in roughly half the films on this list) as the general; the unnerving voice talents of Paul Frees; Ray Harryhausen's monument-crushing saucers. Ivan Tors Gave the world: Magnetic Monster, Gog, Riders to the Stars The one to watch: Magnetic Monster Why: Crackerjack, semi-documentary storytelling (Editor Herb Strock assumed directing chores after Curt Siodmak's departure); nifty incorporation of stock footage of German film Das Gelde; Producer Tors' enthusiasm for the marvels of science is on display in every scene.