roltzero Review of Quatermass and the Pit

Quatermass and the Pit (1958–1959)

This will be their second dead planet

[10/10 · 27 June 2006]

Andre Morell gets the well deserved leading role in this first rate original sci-fi/horror story. He is definitely the greatest Quatermass of all, in the best of all the stories. He portrays the Prof. in a suave and sophisticated way but still makes him a caring human with a sense of humour. It's just a shame that the BBC as usual, didn't appreciate what it had, otherwise we might have seen the Prof. battling evil from beyond and within earth during the sixties as well. Only the prophet Kneale seems to be able to weave sci-fi, horror, history, religion and paranoia into rattling good yarns which stand the test of time. Don't look for top notch special effects or macho posturing, just marvel at the clever story, the wonderful dialogue (eat your heart out Russel T Davies) and the marvellous way it is portrayed. There are some superb bits of acting, particularly by the brilliant and much underrated Morell. Great support from Anthony Bushell, Cec Linder and Christine Finn (the voice of Tin-Tin in Thunderbirds). And look out for the harrowing moments, of which there are many, but particularly when the drill operator Sladden, is 'taken over'. Morell handles the speeches with consummate ease particularly at the beginning, where he lectures the 'big brass' about not dragging our human vices into outer space and the final 'We are the Martians now' speech-imagine an American actor trying to tackle that dialogue!