The Quatermass Xperiment (1955)

Director:

Val Guest

Writers:

Richard H. Landau (screenplay) &
Val Guest (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

June 1956 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

It's coming for YOU from Space to wipe all living things from the face of the Earth! CAN IT BE STOPPED?

Plot:

A missile, launched by the team led by Prof. Quatermass, lands in the English countryside. Of the three members of the crew...

Plot Keywords:

Alien Invasion | Monkey | London | Based On TV Series | First Man Into Space

Cast

Brian Donlevy	...	Prof. Bernard Quatermass
Jack Warner	...	Insp. Lomax
Margia Dean	...	Mrs. Judith Carroon
Thora Hird	...	Rosemary 'Rosie' Elizabeth Rigly
Gordon Jackson	...	BBC TV producer
David King-Wood	...	Dr. Gordon Briscoe (Quatermass' associate)
Harold Lang	...	Christie (man who helps Victor escape)
Lionel Jeffries	...	Blake
Sam Kydd	...	Police sergeant questioning Rosie
Richard Wordsworth	...	Victor Carroon (spaceship crew member)

Also Known As:

Shock
The Creeping Unknown (USA)
The Quatermass Experiment (USA)
X the Experiment (UK) (informal alternative title)

Runtime:

82 min | USA:78 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Italy:T | UK:PG | USA:Unrated | West Germany:12 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Bray Studios, Down Place, Oakley Green, Berkshire, England, UK

Company:

Hammer Film Productions

Trivia:

The original British release billed Brian Donlevy and Jack Warner before the main title (The Quatermass Xperiment), with Margia Dean heading the supporting cast after the title. For the US release, Donlevy, then Ms. Dean, and then Warner were billed before the main title (The Creeping Unknown), moving Thora Hird up to the top of the supporting cast, the remaining order of which was not changed. Also, Val Guest did not receive co-screenplay credit on the US credits, Nigel Kneale's credit was altered to simply "Based on the play by", and the Acknowledgments credits were omitted altogether.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Victor Caroon's wife tries to get him out of the hospital, she and her friend Christie are standing outside in the rain, and you can clearly see that Christie's lab coat is getting wet. When he walks in the hospital, it is dry. He walks in and out a couple of times, but inside the hospital his lab coat is always dry.

Quotes:

Insp. Lomax: Nobody ever wins a cold war.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Bring Something Back: The Making of 'The Quatermass Experiment' (2005) (V)

Classic sci fi chiller!

'The Quatermass Xperiment' was the first Hammer horror/SF movie and despite being close to fifty years old is still very creepy and entertaining. Oldies who saw the original British TV version (now lost, I believe) claim that it was superior, and as I have compared the TV and Hammer movie versions of 'Quatermass And The Pit', I tend to believe them. Anyway, the movie version is still very, very good. Brian Donlevy's Quatermass is much gruffer, more take charge and less likeable than Andre Morell's or Andrew Keir's Quatermass, but once you get used to his approach it works well with the material. Richard Wordsworth is surprisingly good as the astronaut who returns from space with, well, a little extra, and Jack Warner is fine as Inspector Lomax. The special effects for the most part are very effective, and I think the movie has really stood the test of time. The basic concept may have been used before in SF literature, but the movie undoubtedly had a strong influence on subsequent similar movies. Quatermass creator Nigel Kneale is one of the most important science fiction popularizers of the post-WW2 period, and his TV shows and movies have had a huge impact on the genre, most notably on 'The X-Files'. Many people think Chris Carter owes Kneale some acknowledgement, and I agree with them. 'The Quatermass Xperiment' is an excellent sci fi chiller in its own right, but I also highly recommend the other movies in the series, and also Kneale's underrated ghost story 'The Stone Tape'.