"Quatermass II" (1955) TV series

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

22 October 1955 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Sci-Fi | Horror | Thriller

Plot:

Several years after the previous serial took place, Professor Quatermass is trying to perfect a dangerously unstable nuclear-powered rocket engine...

Plot Keywords:

Meteorite | Professor | Rocket | Synthetic Food | Security Guard

Cast

John Robinson	...	Professor Bernard Quatermass (6 episodes, 1955)
Monica Grey	...	Paula Quatermass (6 episodes, 1955)
Hugh Griffith	...	Dr. Leo Pugh (6 episodes, 1955)
Nigel Kneale	...	Narrator / ... (5 episodes, 1955)
John Stone	...	Captain John Dillon (4 episodes, 1955)
Charles Price	...	2nd Guard / ... (4 episodes, 1955)
Dermot MacMahon	...	3rd Guard / ... (4 episodes, 1955)
Stephen Scott	...	Guard / ... (4 episodes, 1955)
Manny Michael	...	Guard / ... (4 episodes, 1955)
Harry Brooks Jr.	...	Paratrooper Sergeant / ... (4 episodes, 1955)
Austin Trevor	...	Fowler (3 episodes, 1955)
Edwin Brown	...	Paratrooper / ... (3 episodes, 1955)
Peter Roy Taylor	...	Paratrooper / ... (3 episodes, 1955)
Edward Higgins	...	Paratrooper / ... (3 episodes, 1955)
Rupert Davies	...	Vincent Broadhead (2 episodes, 1955)
Michael Golden	...	Paddy (2 episodes, 1955)
John Miller	...	Stenning (2 episodes, 1955)
John Rae	...	E.G. McLeod (2 episodes, 1955)
Denton De Gray	...	Technician (2 episodes, 1955)
Ian Wilson	...	Ernie (2 episodes, 1955)
Desmond Jordan	...	Young Workman (2 episodes, 1955)
Peter Carver	...	Australian Commentator / ... (2 episodes, 1955)
Martin Lane	...	Technician (2 episodes, 1955)
O'Donovan Shiell	...	Head of Commission (2 episodes, 1955)
Scott Harrold	...	Man in Pub / ... (2 episodes, 1955)
Bryan Kendrick	...	2nd Technician (2 episodes, 1955)
Malcolm Watson	...	Member of Commission (2 episodes, 1955)
Carl Lacey	...	Member of Commission (2 episodes, 1955)
Robert S. Young	...	Member of Commission (2 episodes, 1955)
Bernard Dudley	...	Member of Commission (2 episodes, 1955)
Stephen Dunne	...	Member of Commission (2 episodes, 1955)
Reginald Jessup	...	Extra in Riot Sequence / ... (2 episodes, 1955)
Brian Moorehead	...	1st Guard / ... (2 episodes, 1955)
Keith Banks	...	Extra / ... (2 episodes, 1955)
Lee Crawford	...	Worker with Bazooka (2 episodes, 1955)
John Dunbar	...	Worker (2 episodes, 1955)
Peter Exposite	...	Worker with Bazooka (2 episodes, 1955)
Peter Grisewood	...	Worker with Bazooka (2 episodes, 1955)
Dennis Handby	...	Worker (2 episodes, 1955)
Arthur Hosking	...	Worker (2 episodes, 1955)
Aubrey Lewin	...	Extra in Riot Sequence / ... (2 episodes, 1955)
John Lynn	...	Worker (2 episodes, 1955)
Derek Mayhew	...	Extra / ... (2 episodes, 1955)
Hugh Morrison	...	Extra / ... (2 episodes, 1955)
Kevin Peters	...	Worker (2 episodes, 1955)
Michael Rathborne	...	Extra / ... (2 episodes, 1955)
Cyril Renison	...	Worker (2 episodes, 1955)
Roy Siddons	...	Worker (2 episodes, 1955)
Norman Taylor	...	Lieutenant Carter (2 episodes, 1955)
George Tovey	...	2nd Worker (2 episodes, 1955)
Fraser White	...	Worker (2 episodes, 1955)

Runtime:

30 min (6 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Lime Grove Studios, Lime Grove, Shepherd's Bush, London, England, UK

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

Several episodes were preceded by a warning that the BBC considered it "unsuitable for children, or people with a nervous disposition."

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: At the start of the scene in the camp committee's office, the first part of Dawson's dialog is all but inaudible due to the wrong microphone having been faded up.

Quotes:

Sgt. Grice: I'm going to make ruddy BBC announcers out of you lot if I have to soften up your gullets with my bare hands!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "On the Buses: Brew It Yourself (#3.4)" (1970)

Soundtrack:

Inhumanity

QUATERMASS II {Episodes 1-6} (Rudolph Cartier, 1955; TV) ***

The 1957 film version of "Quatertmass II" was superior to its predecessor, and one can only assume that the serial was too; again, it obviously goes deeper into the various themes than the film does, but it's interesting to see how Kneale was able to compress his own work without losing the essential quality and potency of his concept (we've seen several films which have had large chunks removed from them with the result that one would hardly recognize the original - but it's certainly not the case with the Quatermass series!).

All things considered, I guess I prefer the films to the serials for two reasons: one, the fact that the former - even if still done on a low budget - were invariably more polished (given their crisp photography as opposed to the fuzziness of a TV program); the other reason is the essential tautness of the films - the serials don't necessarily feel draggy and are certainly never boring but, watched in one sitting (which, I guess, was never the intention to begin with!), Kneale's gripping and thought-provoking plots could make for a tiresome overall experience!!

John Robinson replaced Reginald Tate (who had died in the meantime) as Professor Quatermass; he does a good job at it but, from the three actors who performed the character on TV (I haven't watched John Mills in the final serial, named simply QUATERMASS, from 1979), he's the one who comes closest to Brian Donlevy's interpretation in the first two films and which so dissatisfied Kneale! The cast also features Hugh Griffith as Quatermass' assistant and future stalwart of British horror cinema Rupert Davies as a government official.

The fact of these being live broadcasts was betrayed more than anything else during this particular serial by the surprising number of lines flubbed by the actors throughout - chief among them Robinson himself! Besides, even if scenes that were made memorable by the films (which I obviously watched prior to the serials) generate their own tension and excitement on the small screen, the film's ending is preferable to the one presented here - in which Robinson and Griffith are flown into outer space in order to destroy the planet which was attempting to colonize Earth.