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X: The Unknown (1956) -- Radioactive mud-like creature terrorizes a Scottish village during the 1950's.

Overview

User Rating:
6.2/10   495 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 3% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Leslie Norman
Writers:
Jimmy Sangster (story)
Jimmy Sangster (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for X: The Unknown on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
May 1957 (USA) more
Genre:
Sci-Fi | Mystery | Horror more
Tagline:
NOTHING CAN STOP IT! (original print ad - all caps) more
Plot:
Radioactive mud-like creature terrorizes a Scottish village during the 1950's. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
User Comments:
Scary As A Kid! more (25 total)

Cast

  (in credits order) (verified as complete)
Dean Jagger ... Dr. Adam Royston
Edward Chapman ... John Elliott
Leo McKern ... Insp. McGill
Anthony Newley ... LCpl. 'Spider' Webb
Jameson Clark ... Jack Harding
William Lucas ... Peter Elliott
Peter Hammond ... Lt. Bannerman
Marianne Brauns ... Zena, the Nurse
Ian MacNaughton ... Haggis
Michael Ripper ... Sgt. Harry Grimsdyke
John Harvey ... Maj. Cartwright
Edwin Richfield ... Soldier Burned on Back
Jane Aird ... Vi Harding
Norman Macowan ... Old Tom
Neil Hallett ... Unwin
Kenneth Cope ... Sapper Lansing
Michael Brooke ... Willie Harding
Frazer Hines ... Ian Osborn
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Max Brimmell ... Hospital Director (uncredited)
Robert Bruce ... Dr. Kelly (uncredited)
Angela Crow ... Bit part (uncredited)
Brown Derby ... Vicar (uncredited)
Raymond Dudley ... Bit part (uncredited)
Archie Duncan ... Sgt. Yeardye (uncredited)
Lawrence James ... Gerard (uncredited)
Edward Judd ... 2nd Soldier (uncredited)
Stella Kemball ... Willie's Room Nurse (uncredited)
Jack Lambert ... (uncredited)
Stevenson Lang ... Reporter (uncredited)
Philip Levene ... Security man (uncredited)
Brian Peck ... 1st Soldier (uncredited)
Anthony Sagar ... Gateman (uncredited)
Barry Steele ... Soldier in trench (uncredited)
John Stirling ... Police Car Driver (uncredited)
John Stone ... Jerry (uncredited)
French Taylor ... PC Williams (uncredited)
Shaw Taylor ... Police Radio Operator (uncredited)
Neil Wilson ... Russell (uncredited)
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Directed by
Leslie Norman 
 
Writing credits
Jimmy Sangster (story)

Jimmy Sangster (screenplay)

Produced by
Michael Carreras .... executive producer
Anthony Hinds .... producer
Mickey Delamar .... associate producer (uncredited)
 
Original Music by
James Bernard 
 
Cinematography by
Gerald Gibbs 
 
Film Editing by
James Needs 
 
Casting by
Joseph Losey (uncredited)
 
Art Direction by
Ted Marshall (uncredited)
 
Makeup Department
Philip Leakey .... makeup artist
Philip Leakey .... special makeup effects
 
Production Management
Jimmy Sangster .... production manager
 
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Christopher Sutton .... assistant director (as Chris Sutton)
Hugh Harlow .... third assistant director (uncredited)
 
Art Department
Don Mingaye .... draughtsman (uncredited)
 
Sound Department
Alfred Cox .... sound editor
Jock May .... sound mixer
Jim Perry .... boom operator (uncredited)
 
Special Effects by
Jack Curtis .... special effects
Les Bowie .... special effects (uncredited)
Vic Margutti .... special effects (uncredited)
 
Camera and Electrical Department
Len Harris .... camera operator
Tom Edwards .... still photographer (uncredited)
Harry Oakes .... focus puller (uncredited)
 
Costume and Wardrobe Department
Molly Arbuthnot .... wardrobe supervisor
 
Music Department
John Hollingsworth .... conductor
 
Other crew
June Randall .... continuity
Bill Batchelor .... publicist (uncredited)
 
Crew believed to be complete


Production CompaniesDistributorsSpecial Effects
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Additional Details

Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parents
Runtime:
81 min
Country:
UK
Language:
English
Color:
Black and White
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA Sound Recording)
Certification:
UK:PG | Finland:K-16 | USA:Unrated
Filming Locations:
Beaconsfield Gravel Pits, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England, UK more
Company:
Hammer Film Productions more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The movie began under the direction of Joseph Losey (working as Joseph Walton), exiled to England because of the Hollywood blacklist. However, when Dean Jagger arrived, he refused to work with a director he thought of as a Communist sympathizer, and Losey was replaced by Leslie Norman before shooting began. Losey's departure was publicly attributed to "illness". more
Goofs:
Continuity: Lansing watches the stick sinking in a pool of liquid, but in a later long shot the stick in seen firmly standing in dry ground. more
Quotes:
Peter Elliott: How do you explain it, sir? All this extraordinary damage just to steal an old sample container? more
Movie Connections:
Featured in Monsterama Sci-Fi Late Night Creature Feature Show Vol. 1 (1996) (V) more

FAQ

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User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
6 out of 7 people found the following comment useful.
Scary As A Kid!, 14 October 2005
9/10
Author: shanfrina from East Aurora, N.Y.

First saw this excellent British Sci-Fi film when I was 10 or 11 at our local neighborhood theater. It seems like yesterday, since the invisible monster scared the Hell out of all of us.

This was the first of many other Brit Sci-Fi movies we would scream our guts out at. They were far ahead of U.S. film makers in suspense and realism. The casts were also superior in their acting skills for this genre.

I hope to locate many more movies like "X The Unknown" to see how I view them now as an adult. The initial impact may be less than it was originally.

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more (25 total)

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