The Quatermass Xperiment (1955)

Professor Bernard Quatermass' manned rocket ship returns to Earth, but two of the astronauts are missing and the survivor seems ill and unable to communicate.

Director:

Val Guest

Writers:

Richard H. Landau (screenplay) (as Richard Landau), Val Guest (screenplay)

Stars:

Brian Donlevy, Jack Warner, Margia Dean

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Brian Donlevy	...	Prof. Bernard Quatermass
Jack Warner	...	Inspector Lomax
Margia Dean	...	Mrs. Judith Carroon
Thora Hird	...	Rosemary 'Rosie' Elizabeth Wrigley
Gordon Jackson	...	BBC TV producer
David King-Wood	...	Dr. Gordon Briscoe
Harold Lang	...	Christie
Lionel Jeffries	...	Blake
Sam Kydd	...	Police Sergeant Questioning Rosie
Richard Wordsworth	...	Victor Carroon

Storyline

In the countryside of London, a rocket crashes on a farm and Professor Bernard Quatermass and Scotland Yard Inspector Lomax arrive in the spot. The rocket was launched by Prof. Quatermass with the astronauts Victor Carroon, Greene and Reichebheim; however only Carroon is found very sick in the cabin. He is transported to a private clinic to stay under observation despite the protests of his wife Mrs. Judith Carroon. She bribes a nurse to bring Carroon to her and she finds that he is transforming into a monster. Carroon escapes, killing people and animals during his metamorphosis while the Scotland Yard is hunting him down and Dr. Quatermass discovers that his process is an alien invasion.

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Plot Keywords:

inspector | assistant | scotland yard | fingerprint | chemist | 

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Taglines:

It's coming for YOU from Space to wipe all living things from the face of the Earth! CAN IT BE STOPPED?

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The original onscreen title of this film was The Quatermass Experiment, as it should have been, of course. Only contemporary posters advertising the film gave it as .....Xperiment, undoubtedly only to emphasise the fact that it had been granted an X certificate by the BBFC. The BBFC's website confirms this fact. The onscreen title was probably changed for the film's reissue or its issue on VHS and DVD, for some obscure reason.

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Goofs

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

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Quotes

Prof. Bernard Quatermass: There's no room for personal feelings in science, Judith!

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Alternate Versions

The original 1955 "Quatermass Xperiment" print has the closing caption "The End"; the reissued version (with a still bearing the new title "The Quatermass Experiment" inserted into the opening credits) replaces this with "A Hammer Production Produced at Bray Studios".

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Connections

Referenced in Crash and Burn! Jack Hill on the Making of 'Pit Stop' (2014)

User Reviews

Richard Wordsworth is extraordinary

Horror/science fiction films have rarely been singled out for the quality of the acting in them. Over the decades, a couple of "monsters" have been tapped for praise: Fredric March won an Oscar for his turn at Jekyll and Hyde, & Jeff Goldblum was rightly seen as an example of "inspired casting" in David Cronenberg's remake of _The Fly_.

But I think Richard Wordsworth has them both beat.

I enjoy _The Creeping Unknown_ overall, but it is Wordsworth's performance as Victor Caroon that lifts it into the stratosphere for me. I mean, sheesh, _look_ at him! This is an incredibly painful and, yes, passionate portrait of a man whose _body_ is being taken over and is changing into something else, even as he fights to retain possession of it. What might such a battle _feel_ like? Wordsworth lets you know, and in doing so anchors an almost cliché science-fiction "what if ...?" in raw human nerve endings. Watch him battle the frightening desires that overcome him; watch him try to stay ... human. He's first class, and why his career never really took off ...

I am probably all alone on a windswept plain in this, but I think Wordsworth's acting here is as frenzied and solid as that of Klaus Kinski in any of the great movies he did with Werner Herzog. So shoot me! :)

Details

Country:

UK Japan

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 April 1956 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Quatermass Xperiment

Filming Locations:

Bray Studios, Down Place, Oakley Green, Berkshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

GBP45,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hammer Films, Toho Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1