The Monster of Piedras Blancas (1959)

The titular monster of the titular, tongue-twisting town of Piedras Blancas is a cave-dwelling sea creature and probably a distant cousin of the Creature from the Black Lagoon. The townsfolk are shocked to find headless (and bloodless) bodies on the shore, for no apparent reason. No one seems to have a clue who could be the killer except for the butcher who believes in the legend of a blood-sucking monster. Another suspect who may be hiding a secret is the creepy lighthouse keeper Sturges (John Harmon). Conveniently, his daughter is a popular, skinny-dipping babe (Jeanne Carmen) and provides a love interest for the monster. I liked the fact that the movie kind of keeps us guessing as to whether or not the shady lighthouse keeper is using the monster as a pet. There's one important clue that almost gives the secret away - the butcher winds up DEAD hours after he refuses to give Sturges any meat scraps.  After more people - including a little girl - wind up dead the same way (heads cut off, blood sucked out) the monster hunt begins. Predictably, but fun nonetheless, the film climaxes in the lighthouse, almost King Kong style. The ending sort of sets things up for a sequel which never came to be. Les Tremayne plays the town's doctor; his presence in the film automatically gives it redeeming quality in my book.