Customer Reviews

The Quatermass Experiment

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4 star:		(9)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Fans of Doctor Who, Blake 7, and later BBC ventures will love this older U.K. science fiction. Unfortunately the British were not very good about recording their television programs, or keeping the tapes afterwards, and thus we will not be seeing the televised original for this story. The original live six-part 1953 TV production went some 200 minutes. The Quatermass author, Nigel Kneale, was not too happy about the new version's reduction to 82 minutes. Most who saw the TV version thought that it was superior to the movie.

Kneale wrote a number of TV programs that were eventually adapted to film. However, he will always remain famous for Quatermass. The movies would parallel a series of TV productions: Quatermass II (1955) and Quatermass and the Pit (1958-9). Kneale would conclude the series with Quatermass/The Quatermass Conclusion (1979).

The UK theatrical remake of The Quatermass Experiment (1955) was directed by Val Guest and the screenplay was written by Val Guest and Richard Landau. The part of Professor Bernard Quatermass was played by Brian Donlevy. Donlevy was chosen because it was thought an American in the role would give the film more box office appeal in the U.S. However, in hindsight, it was a little like giving the role of Doctor Who to an obvious Texan or person from the Bronx. Sometimes accents are important. Donlevy did a professional job, although a few cast members complained that he had a drinking problem.

The experimental rocket Q1 crashes in England. Quatermass, the somewhat reckless creator of the ship races to the site. Only one of the three astronauts is found alive, Victor Carroon (played by Richard Wordsworth). The other men have vanished.

This mystery drives the first part of the film. Later it becomes clear that Carroon is not only sick but dangerous. Something has come back with him, something that absorbs the flesh of living creatures and appropriates it into itself. The second half of this film is a somewhat typical man turned into monster drama.

It grows and goes on a rampage of destruction. Can it be caught? How will they stop it?

This early Hammer Film, and their first international success, was filmed in black-and-white. While the film has been released as one of MGM's Midnight Movies, it is only available on VHS. This is quite unfortunate given the fact that the later films are available on DVD. However, the transfer to video is excellent.

Would you believe that this film was given a British "X" rating certificate? There are no sexual situations, no romance, and no nudity. The language is fairly tame. Even the supposedly horrific scenes of mayhem from the monster are a mild PG by today's standards.

While it lacks some of the intensity of the later films, it is a good story. I would recommend it for fans of science fiction, British or not.

I saw this movie when it was released and it scared the hell out of me at the age of 10. Richard Wordsworth's silent terror still scares me. The bleak black and white scenes and loud, shrill string music add to the grim story of a returning astronaut slowly being dissolved and transformed into an alien which entered his spaceship. The complete alien at the end is disappointing but up to that point it's a frightening story of a slow, terrible death.

There's simply no equal to the Quatermass films in the effects-driven "science fiction" foisted on today's public. These films, adapted from much longer BBC television "miniseries", rely on intelligent plot development and attention to detail that is notably lacking in anything done in the genre lately.

In this film, the first of the series, Quatermass's experimental rocket crashes to Earth after having been out of contact. Three people went up - but there's only one person aboard now. The others.....? Ah, that would be telling!

Originally titled "The Quatermass Xperiment", the movie played on its "X" rating from the (remarkably timid) British film review board and helped open the door for Hammer Films' later bloody epics. There's nothing here that you couldn't see on television today, but the horrific *implications* of the plot are what give you the shivers. Special effects are crude by today's standards - a remake would surely improve on that aspect of the film, but the writing more than makes up that.

Brian Donlevy really makes a poor Quatermass, but he's all we have. He seems to confuse bullying and shouting with projecting authority and confidence, and you end up somewhat surprised no one decks him. (Andrew Keir's interpretation in "Quatermass and the Pit" is a lot more palatable.)

But that said - see this one. One of the true greats of the genre.

"The Quatermass Xperiment" (1955 - 82 minutes), suspense movie of scientific fiction written by Nigel Kneale, Richard Landau and Val Guest and directed by Val Guest, is derived from the television series "Quatermass Xperiment". With six episodes of 30 minutes, it was broadcasted in 1953 and immediately established. This film, photographed in black & white, preserved the quality of the original series and became the first international success of the Hammer Film, the creative English independent producer. The plot tells the story of professor Bernard Quatermass, the man who sent into space the first manned British rocket, and his investigations about the disappearance of two astronauts in its return. Victor Carroon, the only surviving astronaut, was affected by an enigmatic alien organism that caused mysterious alterations in his body, and was slowly possessed by the powerful extraterrestrial force. Transformed into a gigantic hybrid vegetal/animal monster, Carroon was used as a nasty way of Earth invasion and was finally electrocuted in the Abbey of Westminster during a live television transmission.
It's interesting to note that due to the success of this film and the two subsequent productions ["X-The Unknown" and "Quatermass II - Enemy from Space"], the Hammer received the necessary impulse and subsidies to produce the terror movies that made it world-wide famous. Don't miss the opportunity to watch this amazing movie.

Only true fans of science fiction will appreciate the creeping unknown
a.k.a.The Quatermass Xperiment. I happen to be one of them. I remember
watching this fim at the age of eight and it scared me silly. Later on
I understood better and it didn't bother me.
Basicly I like the film. When you consider that this is mid 50's London
when true special effects weren't even around yet,I think the film super-
cedes itself into a wonderful smooth-flowing movie even if the plot is
somewhat typical of Sci-fi movies of the 50's. For what it's worth,even
the United States did't have the best sci-fi special effects like the
ones we see today with comperization. It actually took real crews of men
and women to produce those effects.
Brian Donlevy in his performance as the arrogant Professor Quatermass
is so hateful you have to love him. Another memorable one is Richard
Wordsworth who play Carroon. Absolutely brilliant. I also found amusing
the overly dramatic expresssion of the BBC announcer in the trailor who
witnesses this unknown thing with his own eyes. Only the TV announcer
in Gorgo did better. The only notables are King-Wood who play the good
doctor's assistant and Jack Warner who played Lomax. I liked his sarcasm
when talking to Quatermass. Actually brought Quatermass to his knees if
only in a figurative sense. Otherwise everyone else just essentially
played their parts. Still it is good science fiction fun.

This is a well written story about a space flight gone wrong. It is well acted, the special effects are excellent for their day, and the main character in the story (Quartermass)is a strong and almost hartless man who is driven to achieve his goals no matter what the cost.

The supporting characters are good as well, but the mainstay of the movie is the strong story line which flows from event to event almost flawlessly.

An excellent effort for all science fiction fans - especially those who enjoy the older B&W versions of the future of science and space travel.

The Quatermass Xperiment as it was titled for its cinema release, is very simply on of the British Film Industry's classic films. It was a trail blazer for the then fledgling Hammer Films, and because of its success, Hammer were able to go forward and make the incredible catalogue of films that they would eventually end up with.
Director Val Guest condenses the much longer TV series down into a 80 minute film. The result is a gem of a film that has stood the test of time, and is still a compelling watch.

Basically the plot sees the headstrong Professor Quatermass send a rocket into space without official clearance. The rocket subsequently returns to Earth but of the three crew, there is only one astronaut remaining on board.
This sole survivor is played by Richard Wordsworth (a descendant of the poet - William Wordsworth). He gives a compelling and unsettling performance as Victor Kerroon, a man who is metamorphosising into something monstrous. His scene with the small girl on the London Docks is a powerful example of this, and the viewer can see many similarities with the famous scene from the original Frankenstein, where Boris Karloff's monster has a similar, almost surreal encounter with a small child.
Helping Quatermass is Jack Warner's Police inspector, a typically solid performance from Warner in a role which plays to his strengths.
Quatermass and the Police and Army face a race against time to track down this ever changing monstrousity before it is too late.
SFX are good for the time and can still stand muster with some of today's.
The atmosphere and sets are truly unique, and the viewer is treated to a chase amidst smoggy and still bomb damaged 1950s London. A particular setting which is both atmospheric and unsettling in its own right.

I originally did not like Brian Donlevy in the role but have softened towards his performance on repeat viewings. Director Val Guest also makes it quite clear that he chose Donlevy because he was readly identifiable as a man of the people, instead of someone aloof, and that rings true. There was also the consideration of at that time, to get a US distributor, you needed an American actor in the role, therefore, Guest makes it quite clear in the commentary, that he was doubly glad to land Donlevy.
Additionally, in all fairness to the actor, Donlevy's final words also are chilling in this film, and it is hard to imagine a more refined Quatermass saying them with the same chilling intensity and conviction.

The film is available on Region 2 DVD and it is a brilliant transfer. Picture is superb and is one of the best black and white pictures that I have seen on DVD. Sound is obviously Mono but is still nonetheless impressive.
The Quatermass Xperiment can be obtained as a single DVD or as part of a double disc box set, along with Quatermass 2.
The latter is my preferred option, the box set is high quality and each film has its own booklet full of background details such as interviews with the Director and cast, original reviews, pictures etc.
This is a Region 2 DVD, so anyone living in the USA will need a Multi Region player to play it back on. However, another example of a film well worth upgrading to Multi Region play for.
Both the single DVD and the two disc/two film Box Set are available from Amazon.co.uk.

I first saw the movie in broad daylight on an Admiral portable 19 inch B+W TV -with commercials- and, indeed, as a kid of ten I was troubled. DO N O T let little kids watch this! This one and the sequel, QUATERMAS II a.k.a. ENEMY FROM SPACE are the epitome of the genres (1) Man Transformed... [others in the category z.b. THE FLY (58) and THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN]; (2) Alien Takeover...[others in the category z.b. INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS or VILLAGE of the DAMNED] I wholeheartedly agree with the first reviewer that the transformation of the poor astro'naught' is tragic to behold, even if the final, tentacled incarnation {the thing absorbs a ZOO! }leaves something to the imagination...

Before a little British company called Hammer became famous for Dracula and Frankenstein, there were the adventures of Professor Bernard Quatermass. Based on the live BBC serial from 1953, The Quatermass Xperiment put Hammer on the film world map. How that happened it obvious from this tense, realistic, and gritty science fiction classic.

The film is immensely helped by an excellent cast. Brian Donlevy's Quatermass is the archetype science fiction film scientist: a scientist obsessed with their quest for science before turning having to deal with the consequences of that quest. Donlevy plays Quatermass to perfection as a scientist who is both horrified and fascinated by the events he has set in motion. It's a strong performance filled with realism. fascination and horror. The cast also includes terrific performances from Jack Warner as Scotland Yard's Inspector Lomax, Margia Dean who takes the potentially clichéd Judith Carroon and puts flesh and blood on the character, and David King-Wood as Quatermass's fellow scientist Doctor Briscoe. The best performance of the film may well be from the character who never speaks: Richard Wordsworth as Victor Carroon. Wordsworth perfectly plays both the horror of the lone surviving astronaut and also sympathy as the worst off victim of the Quatermass experiment. This is especially true in a scene where Caroon finds himself at a dock where a little girl approaches him with her doll. It reminds one of the scene from the Universal Frankenstein where the seemingly innocent takes on a darker meaning. Overall, the film has a terrific cast of actors bringing it to life.

At a time when science fiction films were defined by the clichéd and outrageous monster and alien invasion films, this film (and its TV counterpart) went in the exact opposite direction. Director Val Guest choose to do the film not in the style of the time but in a near documentary style. That's why the film work's fifty years later: it seems real in that it is a product of its time and place. If Britain had started the space race in the mid-1950's, one feels this is how it would have been.

The film is also helped by two very strong elements: the black and white cinematography and the music score. Doing the film in black and white adds atmosphere to a film that is part alien invasion and part manhunt. It helps especially in the film's fiery finale. The music score by James Bernard is terrific in adding to the atmosphere of the film and it never intrudes, but just helps to bring one a little bit closer to the edge of one's seat. The film wouldn't be the same without either one of these two elements.

Yet as much as I would like to call this film perfect, it isn't. There is one thing that the film hits and misses on: special effects. The downside of the film being so much a product of its time is that when the special effects are looked back at from a distance, they look primitive. That's not to say that the special effects are bad. The prosthetics work in particular looks good even by today's standards as far as I'm concerned. The finale of the film is the most obvious spot where the special effects are a bit of a let down by modern standards. Then again, it is hard to compare special effects from one era to another so this is an issue for the viewer to decide on.

While the special effects may hamper the film for some, one must admit that The Quatermass Xperiment is a classic of the genre. From the terrific performance (especially of Donlevy and Wordsworth), to the realistic style and tone, to the excellent cinematography, to the dark score by James Bernard, The Quatermass Xperiment is a tour de force for the more intelligent and less action based science fiction films. If you can put aside the mid-1950's special effects, you're going to find a tense, realistic, and gritty science fiction classic.

In this early black and white effort from Hammer, we see a spaceship on its return to Earth. Three men had left on the voyage, but only one is inside when the rocket lands. One man, and a strange, fungus-like residue that may be the remains of the other astronauts.
As the poor survivor starts to mutate, we watch lead scientist Brian Donleavy coldly and remorselessly attempt to solve the problem. Perhaps, considering it was the Cold War, we expected characters to be as hard hearted as Quatermass. On watching the movie now, however, you'll find yourself asking the question "Who was really the monster?". Was it the poor mutating astronaut, or Quatermass?
Donleavy's last line can still send a chill down your back.