IMDb > The Quatermass Xperiment (1955)
The Quatermass Xperiment
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The Quatermass Xperiment (1955) More at IMDbPro »


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Overview

User Rating:
6.7/10   1,235 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?

Down 3% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.

Director:

Val Guest

Writers:

Richard H. Landau (screenplay) &
Val Guest (screenplay) ...
more

Contact:

View company contact information for The Creeping Unknown on IMDbPro.

Release Date:

June 1956 (USA) more

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller more

Tagline:

Beware of "THE CREEPING UNKNOWN!" more

Plot:

A missile, launched by the team led by Prof. Quatermass, lands in the English countryside. Of the three members of the crew... more | full synopsis

Plot Keywords:

more

NewsDesk:

Sci-Fi Guru Val Guest Dead at 94
 (From WENN. 23 May 2006)

User Comments:

"An important film in the development of British horror cinema." more (59 total)


Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Brian Donlevy ... Prof. Bernard Quatermass
Jack Warner ... Insp. Lomax

Margia Dean ... Mrs. Judith Carroon
Thora Hird ... Rosemary 'Rosie' Elizabeth Rigly
Gordon Jackson ... BBC TV producer
David King-Wood ... Dr. Gordon Briscoe (Quatermass' associate)
Harold Lang ... Christie (man who helps Victor escape)
Lionel Jeffries ... Blake
Sam Kydd ... Police sergeant questioning Rosie
Richard Wordsworth ... Victor Carroon (spaceship crew member)
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Additional Details

Also Known As:

Shock
The Creeping Unknown (USA)
The Quatermass Experiment (USA)
X the Experiment (UK) (informal alternative title)
more

Runtime:

82 min | USA:78 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1 more

Sound Mix:

Mono


Fun Stuff

Trivia:

This film was originally slated to be released in the United States by 20th Century Fox. However, to convince more exhibitors to install Cinemascope equipment, studio chief, Darryl F. Zanuck, pledged that all future 20th Century Fox releases would be in Cinemascope or a compatible anamorphic process. Since this Hammer production was shot in "flat" widescreen, it had to be passed over. It was picked up and released through United Artists. more

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In some shots at Westminster Abbey, the wires guiding the creature's tentacles are intermittently visible. more

Quotes:

Insp. Lomax: Nobody ever wins a cold war. more

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The 100 Greatest Scary Moments (2003) (TV) more


FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
6 out of 6 people found the following comment useful.
"An important film in the development of British horror cinema.", 23 December 2004
9/10
Author: jamesraeburn2003 from Poole, Dorset

POSSIBLE SPOILERS Government scientist Professor Bernard Quatermass (BRIAN DONLEVY) sends a rocket into space containing three astronauts. Radio contact is lost and later it crash lands in the English countryside. Two of the crew members are missing, but the survivor, Victor Carroon (RICHARD WORDSWORTH) is slowly being taken over by an alien fungus that feeds on the blood of animals and human-beings.

In a bid to win audiences away from their TV sets (something that was a real threat to cinemas at the time), Hammer elected to film the popular BBC serial THE QUATERMASS EXPERIMENT (the E was replaced with X in order to emphasise it's X certificate), which was the creation of writer Nigel Kneale. The gamble payed off and Hammer had a box office hit on their hands in 1955.

Seen today, THE QUATERMASS XPERIMENT is obviously very tame in comparison to modern day sci-fi and horror films, most of it's shock sequences occur off screen with the camera cutting away and harping back on reaction shots. Yet it is a milestone in the development of British horror cinema and along with the company's THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN, it spawned this country's horror boom of the 1950's and 60's. Richard Wordsworth's Carroon is one of the most sympathetic monsters in British horror and there is a classic scene at the London docks where the former is hiding out in an abandoned boat and is awakened by a little girl who is having a pretend picnic with her dolly. Unaware of the true horror that's going on, the little girl naively asks Carroon if he wants to join them. One can see that Carroon is fully aware of what would happen if the girl touches him and runs away accidentally breaking her dolly.

Wordsworth is brilliant as Carroon and so is Brian Donlevy as Quatermass while director Val Guest's documentary approach gives the picture a sense of conviction.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Quatermass Xperiment (1955)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
How times have changed - is it a good thing? nigel-235
Milli Vanilli,Ashlee Simpson...Margia Dean? Little Minx
How come Quartermass has no British accent? will7370
John Carpenter definitely influenced by this movie shatnershairpiece
Upside-down hatch on Rocket will7370
Deptford Creek carlin4737
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