"Quatermass and the Pit" (1958) TV series

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

22 December 1958 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Sci-Fi | Horror | Thriller

Plot:

A team of scientists search for the origin and purpose of a mysterious capsule found on a building site.

Plot Keywords:

Martian | Professor | Colonel | Live Television | Sequel

Cast

André Morell	...	Professor Bernard Quatermass (6 episodes, 1958-1959)
Cec Linder	...	Dr. Matthew Roney (6 episodes, 1958-1959)
Anthony Bushell	...	Colonel James Breen (6 episodes, 1958-1959)
John Stratton	...	Captain Potter (6 episodes, 1958-1959)
Christine Finn	...	Barbara Judd (6 episodes, 1958-1959)
Michael Ripper	...	Sergeant (5 episodes, 1958-1959)
Harold Goodwin	...	Corporal Gibson (5 episodes, 1958-1959)
Clifford Cox	...	First Private / ... (5 episodes, 1958-1959)
Brian Gilmar	...	Second Private / ... (5 episodes, 1958-1959)
Alexander Moyes	...	Narrator (5 episodes, 1958-1959)
Brian Worth	...	James Fullalove (4 episodes, 1959)
Richard Shaw	...	Sladden (4 episodes, 1959)
Richard Dare	...	Private Secretary / ... (4 episodes, 1958-1959)
Kenneth Seeger	...	Sightseer / ... (4 episodes, 1958-1959)
Sheldon Allan	...	Sightseer / ... (4 episodes, 1958-1959)
Mary Henderson	...	Sightseer / ... (4 episodes, 1958-1959)
John Mahoney	...	Sightseer / ... (4 episodes, 1958-1959)
Monica Rey	...	Sightseer / ... (4 episodes, 1958-1959)
Anthony Roye	...	Journalist / ... (4 episodes, 1958-1959)
John Wilding	...	Sightseer / ... (4 episodes, 1958-1959)
Carlos Williams	...	Journalist / ... (4 episodes, 1958-1959)
Tony Quinn	...	News Editor (3 episodes, 1959)
John Walker	...	Private West (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Robert Perceval	...	Minister / ... (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Ian Ainsley	...	Police Inspector (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Noel Howlett	...	Vicar Gilpin (3 episodes, 1959)
Ruby Archer	...	Sightseer / ... (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Richard Bidlake	...	Sightseer / ... (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Norman Chappell	...	Man in Crowd / ... (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Henry Drew	...	Journalist / ... (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Nelson Evans	...	Journalist / ... (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Audrey Foat	...	Sightseer / ... (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Roderick Griffith	...	Journalist / ... (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Michael Guest	...	Policeman / ... (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Diana Halewood	...	Sightseer / ... (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Raf Jover	...	Electrician's Mate / ... (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Patricia Kerry	...	Sightseer / ... (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Ann Kirk	...	Sightseer / ... (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Raymond Mansell	...	Dead Electrician / ... (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Bill Matthews	...	Sightseer / ... (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Desmond Newling	...	Sightseer / ... (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Alan Page	...	Sightseer / ... (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Walter Randall	...	Sightseer / ... (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Rex Rashley	...	Sightseer / ... (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Roger Rowland	...	Dead Journalist / ... (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Karen Shaw	...	Sightseer / ... (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Rosamond Tattersall	...	Sightseer / ... (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Rowena Torrance	...	Sightseer / ... (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Elaine Williams	...	Sightseer / ... (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Harry Wright	...	Sightseer / ... (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Hilary Bays	...	Journalist / ... (3 episodes, 1959)
Patrick Milner	...	Journalist / ... (3 episodes, 1959)
Edward Burnham	...	Official (2 episodes, 1959)
Allan McClelland	...	1st Journalist / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Bill Shine	...	2nd Journalist / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Harold Siddons	...	Electrician (2 episodes, 1959)
Bernard Spear	...	First Customer / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Patrick Connor	...	Policeman (2 episodes, 1959)
Hilda Barry	...	Mrs. Anne Chilcot (2 episodes, 1958)
Victor Platt	...	P.C. Ellis (2 episodes, 1958)
Howell Davies	...	Mr. Chilcot (2 episodes, 1958)
Basil Beale	...	Policeman (2 episodes, 1958-1959)
Tom Cubitt	...	Man in Crowd / ... (2 episodes, 1958-1959)
Terence Greenidge	...	Journalist / ... (2 episodes, 1958-1959)
Norman Miller	...	Man in Crowd / ... (2 episodes, 1958-1959)
Frank Mills	...	Journalist / ... (2 episodes, 1958-1959)
Priscilla Ogier	...	Journalist / ... (2 episodes, 1958-1959)
June Vivian	...	Sightseer (2 episodes, 1958-1959)
Nancy Adams	...	Sightseer / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Bryn Bartlett	...	Man in Crowd / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Paul Bogdan	...	Man in Crowd / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
William Lyon Brown	...	Journalist / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Rodney Burke	...	Man in Crowd / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Kathleen Cattermole	...	Sightseer / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Richard Coe	...	Man in Crowd / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
John Dawson	...	Man in Crowd / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
James Duggan	...	Journalist / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Edward Ellis	...	Man in Crowd / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Diana French	...	Sightseer / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Bob Grant	...	Man in Crowd / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Dorothy Grumbar	...	Sightseer / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
June Hayhurst	...	Sightseer / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Brian Jackson	...	Man in Crowd / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Joseph Levine	...	Man in Crowd / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Kathleen MacAulisse	...	Sightseer / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Margery Mason	...	Crowd at Museum / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Ronald Masters	...	Coffee Stall Customer / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Ronald Mayer	...	Dead Photographer / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Edwin Morton	...	Man in Crowd / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Beatrice Ormonde	...	Sightseer / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Roger Ostime	...	Journalist (2 episodes, 1959)
Joan Price	...	Sightseer / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Dorothy Robson	...	Sightseer / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Frank Seton	...	Man in Crowd / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Cara Stevens	...	Sightseer / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Joan Weatherley	...	Coffee Stall Customer / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Michael Wyatt	...	Man in Crowd / ... (2 episodes, 1959)

Also Known As:

The Pit (UK) (working title)

Runtime:

30 min (6 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

BBC Ealing Studios, Ealing, London, England, UK

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

Captain Potter was originally named Captain Archer.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the cliffhanger of Episode Two ("The Ghosts") the interior of the capsule is still streaked with dirt and clay. When this scene is reprised at the start of Episode Three ("Imps and Demons") the capsule is completely clean, even though no time is supposed to have elapsed.

Quotes:

Dr Matthew Roney: It's a funny word... worn out before anything turned up to claim it: Martian.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Alchemists of Sound (2003) (TV)

Soundtrack:

The Con Man

Memories !

Oh boy, do I remember this one ! I can only agree with all the reviewers' comments so far. I was 10 at the time, and our TV had broken down, so I went to watch it a couple of streets away. This was the episode that ended with Sladdon running to the churchyard and the gravel path starts rippling . . . . I have never run so fast as I ran home that evening ! Wonderful plot - it can still make the hairs on my neck stand up just recalling it all.