The Quatermass Xperiment (1955)

Director:

Val Guest

Writers:

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

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:

First Man Into Space | Night For Night Shot | Based On TV Series | Invisible Life Form | Mutating Human

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)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jane Aird	...	Mrs. Lomax (uncredited)
Margaret Anderson	...	Maggie (uncredited)
Jane Asher	...	Little girl (uncredited)
Harry Brunning	...	Night porter (uncredited)
Eric Corrie	...	Maggie's boyfriend (uncredited)
Edward Dane	...	Station policeman (uncredited)
Gron Davies	...	Charles Green (spaceship crew member) (uncredited)
Basil Dignam	...	Sir Lionel Dean (uncredited)
James Drake	...	Sound engineer (uncredited)
Mollie Glessing	...	Mother at zoo (uncredited)
Michael Godfrey	...	Crash site fireman (uncredited)
Donald Gray	...	TV announcer (uncredited)
Arthur Gross	...	TV floor director (uncredited)
Ernest Hare	...	Crash site fire chief (uncredited)
Betty Impey	...	Central Clinic nurse (uncredited)
Fred Johnson	...	Inspector (uncredited)
Maurice Kaufmann	...	Marsh (Quatermass' assistant) (uncredited)
John Kerr	...	Film lab technician (uncredited)
Henry B. Longhurst	...	George (Maggie's father) (uncredited)
Arthur Lovegrove	...	Sgt. Bromley (uncredited)
Barry Lowe	...	Tucker (night nurse) (uncredited)
Mayne Lynton	...	Zoo superintendent (uncredited)
Bartlett Mullins	...	Zookeeper (uncredited)
Frank Phillips	...	BBC announcer (uncredited)
George Roderick	...	Local policeman (uncredited)
John Stirling	...	Major at crash site (uncredited)
Marianne Stone	...	Central Clinic nurse (uncredited)
Toke Townley	...	The chemist (uncredited)
Stanley Van Beers	...	Dr. Ludwig Reichenheim (spaceship crew member) (uncredited)
John Wynn	...	Det. Sgt. Best (uncredited)

Directed by
Val Guest

Writing credits
Richard H. Landau		(screenplay) (as Richard Landau) &
Val Guest		(screenplay)
Nigel Kneale		(television play)

Produced by
Anthony Hinds	....	producer
Robert L. Lippert	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
James Bernard

Cinematography by
Walter J. Harvey		(director of photography) (as Walter Harvey)

Film Editing by
James Needs

Art Direction by
J. Elder Wills

Makeup Department
Monica Hustler	....	hair stylist
Philip Leakey	....	makeup artist (as Phil Leakey)

Production Management
T.S. Lyndon-Haynes	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Bill Shore	....	assistant director
Aida Young	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Arthur Banks	....	master plasterer (uncredited)
Jim Day	....	props buyer (uncredited)
Tom Money	....	props (uncredited)
Fred Ricketts	....	construction manager (uncredited)

Sound Department
H.C. Pearson	....	sound recordist
Don Alton	....	sound camera operator (uncredited)
Percy Britten	....	boom operator (uncredited)
Ken Cameron	....	dubbing sound (uncredited)
J. Woodiwiss	....	sound recordist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Les Bowie	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Roy Field	....	visual effects assistant camera (uncredited)

Stunts
Nosher Powell	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Len Harris	....	camera operator
Jack Curtis	....	chief electrician (uncredited)
Tom Friswell	....	clapper boy (uncredited)
John Jay	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Harry Oakes	....	focus puller (uncredited)
George Robinson	....	electrician (uncredited)
Charles Stanbridge	....	electrician (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Molly Arbuthnot	....	wardrobe

Editorial Department
Henry Richardson	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
John Hollingsworth	....	conductor

Transportation Department
Len Ingram	....	unit driver (uncredited)

Other crew
Renée Glynne	....	continuity (as Renee Glynne)
Larry Edmonds	....	accountant (uncredited)
Ken Gordon	....	cashier (uncredited)
Pauline Harlow	....	receptionist (uncredited)
Dora Thomas	....	production secretary (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Hammer Film Productions

Distributors

• Exclusive Films (1955) (UK) (theatrical) (present)
• United Artists (1956) (USA) (theatrical) (retitled) (slightly edited)
• United Artists Television (198?) (USA) (TV) (US version)
• Dark Dreams Video (199?) (USA) (VHS) (US version)
• Hollywood's Attic (199?) (USA) (VHS) (US version)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1997) (USA) (VHS) (original version)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1997) (USA) (laserdisc) (original version)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2001) (USA) (VHS) (original version)
• Something Weird Video (SWV) (199?) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• J. Arthur Rank Organisation  Jack Warner by arrangement with
• BBC Television Centre  the producers wish to thank the following for their co-operation (as B.B.C. Television Service)
• Air Ministry, The  the producers wish to thank the following for their co-operation
• Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company  the producers wish to thank the following for their co-operation
• British Interplanetary Society, The  the producers wish to thank the following for their co-operation (as The British Interplanetary Society)
• Port of London Authority  the producers wish to thank the following for their co-operation (as The Port of London Authority)
• General Radiological  the producers wish to thank the following for their co-operation

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:

This film was originally slated to be released in the United States by 20th Century Fox. However, to convince more exhibitors to install Cinemascope equipment, studio chief, Darryl F. Zanuck, pledged that all future 20th Century Fox releases would be in Cinemascope or a compatible anamorphic process. Since this Hammer production was shot in standard academy (1.33:1), it had to be passed over. It was picked up and released through United Artists.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: As Victor stumbles out of bed while his wife sleeps, a crew member is reflected on the glass doors.

Quotes:

Insp. Lomax: Nobody ever wins a cold war.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 100 Greatest Scary Moments (2003) (TV)

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'.