"Quatermass and the Pit" (1958)TV series

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

22 December 1958 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Sci-Fi | Horror | Thriller

Plot:

A team of scientists search for the origin and purpose of a mysterious capsule found on a building site.

Plot Keywords:

Ancient Astronaut | Telekinesis | Press Conference | Alien Technology | Bomb Disposal

Cast

André Morell	...	Professor Bernard Quatermass (6 episodes, 1958-1959)
Cec Linder	...	Dr. Matthew Roney (6 episodes, 1958-1959)
Anthony Bushell	...	Colonel James Breen (6 episodes, 1958-1959)
John Stratton	...	Captain Potter (6 episodes, 1958-1959)
Christine Finn	...	Barbara Judd (6 episodes, 1958-1959)
Michael Ripper	...	Sergeant (5 episodes, 1958-1959)
Harold Goodwin	...	Corporal Gibson (5 episodes, 1958-1959)
Clifford Cox	...	First Private / ... (5 episodes, 1958-1959)
Brian Gilmar	...	Second Private / ... (5 episodes, 1958-1959)
Alexander Moyes	...	Narrator (5 episodes, 1958-1959)
Brian Worth	...	James Fullalove (4 episodes, 1959)
Richard Shaw	...	Sladden (4 episodes, 1959)
Richard Dare	...	Private Secretary / ... (4 episodes, 1958-1959)
Kenneth Seeger	...	Sightseer / ... (4 episodes, 1958-1959)
Sheldon Allan	...	Sightseer / ... (4 episodes, 1958-1959)
Mary Henderson	...	Sightseer / ... (4 episodes, 1958-1959)
John Mahoney	...	Sightseer / ... (4 episodes, 1958-1959)
Monica Rey	...	Sightseer / ... (4 episodes, 1958-1959)
Anthony Roye	...	Journalist / ... (4 episodes, 1958-1959)
John Wilding	...	Sightseer / ... (4 episodes, 1958-1959)
Carlos Williams	...	Journalist / ... (4 episodes, 1958-1959)
Tony Quinn	...	News Editor (3 episodes, 1959)
John Walker	...	Private West (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Robert Perceval	...	Minister / ... (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Ian Ainsley	...	Police Inspector (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Noel Howlett	...	Vicar Gilpin (3 episodes, 1959)
Ruby Archer	...	Sightseer / ... (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Richard Bidlake	...	Sightseer / ... (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Norman Chappell	...	Man in Crowd / ... (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Henry Drew	...	Journalist / ... (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Nelson Evans	...	Journalist / ... (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Audrey Foat	...	Sightseer / ... (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Roderick Griffith	...	Journalist / ... (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Michael Guest	...	Policeman / ... (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Diana Halewood	...	Sightseer / ... (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Raf Jover	...	Electrician's Mate / ... (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Patricia Kerry	...	Sightseer / ... (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Ann Kirk	...	Sightseer / ... (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Raymond Mansell	...	Dead Electrician / ... (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Bill Matthews	...	Sightseer / ... (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Desmond Newling	...	Sightseer / ... (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Alan Page	...	Sightseer / ... (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Walter Randall	...	Sightseer / ... (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Rex Rashley	...	Sightseer / ... (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Roger Rowland	...	Dead Journalist / ... (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Karen Shaw	...	Sightseer / ... (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Rosamond Tattersall	...	Sightseer / ... (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Rowena Torrance	...	Sightseer / ... (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Elaine Williams	...	Sightseer / ... (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Harry Wright	...	Sightseer / ... (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Hilary Bays	...	Journalist / ... (3 episodes, 1959)
Patrick Milner	...	Journalist / ... (3 episodes, 1959)
Edward Burnham	...	Official (2 episodes, 1959)
Allan McClelland	...	1st Journalist / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Bill Shine	...	2nd Journalist / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Harold Siddons	...	Electrician (2 episodes, 1959)
Bernard Spear	...	First Customer / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Patrick Connor	...	Policeman (2 episodes, 1959)
Hilda Barry	...	Mrs. Anne Chilcot (2 episodes, 1958)
Victor Platt	...	P.C. Ellis (2 episodes, 1958)
Howell Davies	...	Mr. Chilcot (2 episodes, 1958)
Basil Beale	...	Policeman (2 episodes, 1958-1959)
Tom Cubitt	...	Man in Crowd / ... (2 episodes, 1958-1959)
Terence Greenidge	...	Journalist / ... (2 episodes, 1958-1959)
Norman Miller	...	Man in Crowd / ... (2 episodes, 1958-1959)
Frank Mills	...	Journalist / ... (2 episodes, 1958-1959)
Priscilla Ogier	...	Journalist / ... (2 episodes, 1958-1959)
June Vivian	...	Sightseer (2 episodes, 1958-1959)
Nancy Adams	...	Sightseer / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Bryn Bartlett	...	Man in Crowd / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Paul Bogdan	...	Man in Crowd / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
William Lyon Brown	...	Journalist / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Rodney Burke	...	Man in Crowd / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Kathleen Cattermole	...	Sightseer / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Richard Coe	...	Man in Crowd / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
John Dawson	...	Man in Crowd / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
James Duggan	...	Journalist / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Edward Ellis	...	Man in Crowd / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Diana French	...	Sightseer / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Bob Grant	...	Man in Crowd / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Dorothy Grumbar	...	Sightseer / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
June Hayhurst	...	Sightseer / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Brian Jackson	...	Man in Crowd / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Joseph Levine	...	Man in Crowd / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Kathleen MacAulisse	...	Sightseer / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Margery Mason	...	Crowd at Museum / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Ronald Masters	...	Coffee Stall Customer / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Ronald Mayer	...	Dead Photographer / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Edwin Morton	...	Man in Crowd / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Beatrice Ormonde	...	Sightseer / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Roger Ostime	...	Journalist (2 episodes, 1959)
Joan Price	...	Sightseer / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Dorothy Robson	...	Sightseer / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Frank Seton	...	Man in Crowd / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Cara Stevens	...	Sightseer / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Joan Weatherley	...	Coffee Stall Customer / ... (2 episodes, 1959)
Michael Wyatt	...	Man in Crowd / ... (2 episodes, 1959)

Also Known As:

The Pit (UK) (working title)

Runtime:

30 min (6 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

BBC Ealing Studios, Ealing, London, England, UK

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

The special effects explosive charge used for the final explosion was so powerful that Cec Linder had to stand between it and the camera, otherwise the camera might have been damaged. Linder also had to be wet down and don fire-resistant clothing and eye-pads to prevent being burnt by fire or blinded by the flash. As a result, he had to reach his mark without being able to see it!

Goofs:

During the cliffhanger of Episode Two ("The Ghosts") the interior of the capsule is still streaked with dirt and clay. When this scene is reprised at the start of Episode Three ("Imps and Demons") the capsule is completely clean, even though no time is supposed to have elapsed.

Quotes:

Sladden: What's in behind here? Anything dangerous?
Prof. Quatermass: Probably not.
Sladden: Ah, it's all right, I'm insured.
[to Breen]
Sladden: Are you insured sir? It's a good thing to be insured, at least it cheers you up.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Alchemists of Sound (2003) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Paroxyms

Childhood terrors!

I've only found this site today, and it's tremendous to know that so many commentators felt about the BBC 1958 original in exactly the same way that I did. (I was far too young to watch it - only ten! - and spent most of the episodes peering out from behind the armchair...) I read recently that the classic scary moment when one of the disinterred Martians suddenly falls through its supports was actually a repeat of an accident that took place in rehearsal, and which the special effects people kept in the final version. I would personally highlight the title and incidental music, by Trevor Duncan (who was also the composer of the "Dr Finlay" theme music), which seems to me to be the final vital ingredient in creating the chilling atmosphere we all experienced. It's marvellous news that BBC Worldwide are going to release a DVD set of all the surviving episodes of all three BBC Quatermass serials in April 2005. If I can only dare to watch them!