Quatermass and the Pit (1967)

A mysterious artifact is unearthed in London, and famous scientist Bernard Quatermass is called into to divine its origins and explain its strange effects on people.

Director:

Roy Ward Baker

Writers:

Nigel Kneale (original story), Nigel Kneale (screenplay)

Stars:

James Donald, Andrew Keir, Barbara Shelley

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James Donald	...	Doctor Roney
Andrew Keir	...	Quatermass
Barbara Shelley	...	Barbara Judd
Julian Glover	...	Colonel Breen
Duncan Lamont	...	Sladden
Bryan Marshall	...	Captain Potter
Peter Copley	...	Howell
Edwin Richfield	...	Minister
Grant Taylor	...	Police Sergeant Ellis
Maurice Good	...	Sergeant Cleghorn
Robert Morris	...	Watson
Sheila Steafel	...	Journalist
Hugh Futcher	...	Sapper West
Hugh Morton	...	Elderly Journalist
Thomas Heathcote	...	Vicar

Storyline

While digging a new subway line in London, a construction crew discovers first: a skeleton, then what they think is an old World War II German missile. Upon closer examination the "missile" appears to be not of this earth! This movie examines the age old question of how we came to be on this planet. It is surprisingly scary.

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Plot Keywords:

dream recorder | dream recording | psychotronic film | spacecraft | london underground | 

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Taglines:

Force more powerful than 1,000 H-Bombs unleashed to devastate Earth! World in panic! Cities in flames!

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Official Sites:

Hammer [UK]

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 February 1968 (USA)

Also Known As:

Five Million Years to Earth

Filming Locations:

St Nicholas Church, Chiswick, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

GBP275,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hammer Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the late 1990s, it was announced that The Crow (1994) director Alex Proyas was to do a remake, but it failed to materialise.

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Goofs

At the end of the film as buildings start falling down, the debris from the buildings bounce as though they're made from Styrofoam.

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Quotes

Sladden: [Preparing his drill] I did steel armour plating within six inches thick. Swish - just like that. Oh, it was legal. A bloke got shut in a strong room. But I got him out. It was a secret job like this one.
Col. Breen: Then I'm glad you don't talk about it.

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Alternate Versions

The 2011 UK DVD and Blu-ray release has some of the credits in the opening titles reworked to remove the "Associated Britsh-Pathe Limited presents" credit and accordingly the titles appearing from "A Hammer Film Production" to the title of the film appear in a different synchronized order and accordingly have been extended to appear longer on the print by a few seconds so that the title of the film still appears at the same music clash points as intended.

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Connections

Referenced in Ghosts of Mars (2001)

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Soundtracks

Rejoice in the Lord Always
(uncredited)
Written by Joan Redford

User Reviews

A British Quatermass!

Roy Ward Baker directed this belated(10 years later) third entry in the Quatermass saga, this time casting a proper British actor to play British rocket group scientist Bernard Quatermass, called in to investigate a skeleton found near a presumed undetonated German bomb in the London underground being excavated for a new subway line, that turns out to be an alien spacecraft with Martian insect-humanoids aboard. James Donald plays Professor Roney, in charge of the dig, and one of the few unaffected by the Martian attempt to use their human descendants to purge all those not part of the hive... Intelligent, ambitious, and audacious science fiction story may have some off-putting elements, and primitive model F/X, but remains a prime example of how to do this kind of story right. Based on the Nigel Kneale miniseries, this is by far the best of the trilogy.