Quatermass

BarbelBarbel ScotlandPosts: 36,053Chief of Staff
Further to a chat with Gymkata during a recent podcast, here’s an overview of the Quatermass series. It ran for many years, though suffered from inconsistent casting of the lead actor, and was strongly influential on such things as “Dr Who” and Stephen King (“The Tommyknockers”).



(1) THE QUATERMASS EXPERIMENT (aka The Quatermass Xperiment, The Creeping Unknown)

In 1953 writer Nigel Kneale came up with this for the time very popular BBC series. His main character, Professor Bernard Quatermass, was played by Reginald Tate. Unfortunately, only two episodes survive (thank you, BBC).
The success of this led to a Hammer film adaptation in 1955 called “The Quatermass Xperiment”- title changed to capitalise on the then-new X certificate. As was their custom at the time, Hammer imported an American actor to play the lead- Brian Donlevy. The film was a success, starting Hammer off on their course of sci-fi/horror movies. Kneale was not happy with Donlevy’s performance (and the script) and when Hammer wanted to make a sequel he refused them permission.
In 2005 a remake starring Jason Flemyng was done by the BBC.


(1a) X- THE UNKNOWN

This 1956 Hammer film was their response to Nigel Kneale refusing the use of Quatermass. The main character is called Dr Adam Royston and was played by American actor Dean Jagger. Basically, it’s a Quatermass film in all but name.


(2) QUATERMASS 2 (aka Quatermass II, Enemy From Space)

A second BBC production, again by Nigel Kneale, in 1955. Sadly, the actor Reginald Tate died shortly before production and was replaced by John Robinson who gives a rather stiff performance. This was again a big success and was filmed by Hammer in 1957, once again starring Brian Donlevy.
This is perhaps the first film/TV production to use “2” as a suffix- eg “Jaws 2”- though I may be wrong about that.


(3) QUATERMASS AND THE PIT (aka Five Million Years To Earth)

IMHO the epitome of the series. Again, Kneale wrote the BBC series which was shown in 1958-59. Quatermass was this time played by Andre Morell. It took Hammer till 1967 to film it, starring Andrew Keir. The film has become a cult classic.


(4) QUATERMASS (aka The Quatermass Conclusion)

A 1979 Thames TV production, written by Kneale, starring Sir John Mills as Quatermass. It was filmed in such a way that an edited movie length version could also be released.


(5) THE QUATERMASS MEMOIRS

A 1996 radio production, written by Kneale, with Andrew Keir as Quatermass.
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Comments

  • Charmed & DangerousCharmed & Dangerous Posts: 7,358MI6 Agent
    I'm currently reading "Into the unknown", the biography of Nigel Kneale, a true television pioneer whom I had the honour of meeting briefly at a screening of The Stone Tape (if I recall - may be wrong) at the South Bank a few months before he passed away. It's hard to appreciate now just what an impact Quatermass had. Quatermass and the Pit is probably the strongest of the four series and still had the power to chill today.
    "How was your lamb?" "Skewered. One sympathises."
  • emtiememtiem SurreyPosts: 5,686MI6 Agent
    Sadly I missed the John Mills one which had an airing on Talking Pictures TV just a few weeks ago.
  • CoolHandBondCoolHandBond Mactan IslandPosts: 6,030MI6 Agent
    I love the Hammer Horror franchise! They originated after the end of the Universal Monster franchise of which I am a great fan of also.

    Quartermaster Xperiment is my favourite but the Pit comes a close second. I did read that Brian Donlevy liked a drink and was often on set inebriated. Nigel Kneale was unhappy at this and according to the director Val Guest, Kneale exaggerated the extent of his drunkenness, Guest maintaining that Donlevy always knew his lines.

    I think you’re right Barbel, in that Quatermass II is the first “numbered” sequel movie, (although Shakespeare got there first in the play, Richard II) :v

    As a kid I read magazines like Famous Monsters and yearned for the chance to see a Hammer film but it wasn’t until about 1972, aged 16, that I saw Dracula (1958) and Curse Of Frankenstein (1957) on a double bill at some London fleapit.
    Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
  • BarbelBarbel ScotlandPosts: 36,053Chief of Staff
    I did read that Brian Donlevy liked a drink and was often on set inebriated. Nigel Kneale was unhappy at this and according to the director Val Guest, Kneale exaggerated the extent of his drunkenness, Guest maintaining that Donlevy always knew his lines.

    The version I heard or read was that Donlevy would be sitting on the set, quite drunk and barely able to walk or talk, but when Guest yelled "Action!" he would leap up and say his lines flawlessly, hitting his marks and giving a professional performance.... until Guest yelled "Cut!" when Donlevy would again collapse into his chair. Don't know how true that is, but all sources agree that Nigel Kneale totally disapproved of him as Quatermass. (My favourites would be Morell and Keir)

    Bond connections- Cec Linder (Felix in GF) is in the BBC version of "Pit", while Julian Glover is in the Hammer version of it (as is Bryan Marshall from TSWLM). Plus Val Guest was one of the many directors of CR67.
  • emtiememtiem SurreyPosts: 5,686MI6 Agent
    The Hammer version of ...And The Pit has just started on Talking Pictures TV.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    I only recently watched X- THE UNKNOWN, it's available on Amazon prime
    if you can find it, I think Amazon Prime has a terrible lay out and finding
    stuff can be a nightmare.
    Sure by today's standards it slow moving, but I enjoyed it. The final
    creature attack has some great miniature work.

    I think Jaws 2 was the first movie sequel not to use Roman Numerals but a
    standard 2 ?
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • BarbelBarbel ScotlandPosts: 36,053Chief of Staff
    You could be right!

    Glad you enjoyed "X- The Unknown". I feel a watching of that coming on soon....
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    Quatermass also got a nod from Dr Who
    As during the first season of Jon Pertwee's
    Doctor, the producers actually acknowledged
    That they were adopting the Quatetmass
    Format, and several stories from that era
    Are very much in that vein
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • BarbelBarbel ScotlandPosts: 36,053Chief of Staff
    There was a Pertwee one set in a church that was very Quatermass-like. Quite spooky, too. (For the time, anyway)
    I watched all the early ones (Hartnell, Troughton, Pertwee) then began to watch less not cos of the series but because of that terrible thing called real life. By the 80s I wasn't watching at all, and never got into the revival.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    The Dæmons.
    Back in the 70s we kids could watch
    The Master perform a satanic black
    Mass to raise the Devil, ..... at tea time
    Of a Saturday evening . ;)
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • BarbelBarbel ScotlandPosts: 36,053Chief of Staff
    Yes, that was it, thanks!
    :)
  • Charmed & DangerousCharmed & Dangerous Posts: 7,358MI6 Agent
    I remember that too. Scared TLD out of me as a kid. Very easy to see Quatermass and The Pit's influence on those episodes too:

    "The Doctor becomes alarmed on seeing television coverage of an archaeological dig by a Professor Horner into an ancient barrow near the village of Devil's End. He hurries to the scene with Jo....

    The Doctor and Jo arrive at the site of the dig at the stroke of midnight, just as Professor Horner breaks through a stone wall that he has uncovered. A freezing wind blasts through the hole, apparently killing both Horner and the Doctor.

    The Doctor and Jo enter the barrow to investigate further. They find what looks like a model spaceship but the Doctor explains that it is a real ship that has been miniaturised. ...The materialises and grows to giant size before her eyes..."
    "How was your lamb?" "Skewered. One sympathises."
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    There was also a short lived series Eleventh Hour
    with Patrick Stewart as Ian Hood a modern Quatermass type character
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleventh_Hour_(British_TV_series)
    sadly this never seems to get a repeat showing. It was later made
    in to an American series but I enjoyed the British one better.
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • emtiememtiem SurreyPosts: 5,686MI6 Agent
    Barbel wrote:
    There was a Pertwee one set in a church that was very Quatermass-like. Quite spooky, too. (For the time, anyway)
    I watched all the early ones (Hartnell, Troughton, Pertwee) then began to watch less not cos of the series but because of that terrible thing called real life. By the 80s I wasn't watching at all, and never got into the revival.

    And Nigel Kneale often said he hated Dr Who, I think!

    There's a Sylvester McCoy episode set in the early 60s where it is mentioned by some of the characters that perhaps it would be a good idea to give Bernard a call, although he's busy with the British Rocket Group...
  • CoolHandBondCoolHandBond Mactan IslandPosts: 6,030MI6 Agent
    Sorry for deviating a bit in this thread, Barbel, but I watched The Abominable Snowman recently and this film came out in the early Quatermass era in 1957, also written by Nigel Kneale.

    It’s a studio bound effort but very atmospheric as in the Quatermass films and Peter Cushing is in it as well :)

    I saw it on Amazon so it’s easily available to watch.
    Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
  • BarbelBarbel ScotlandPosts: 36,053Chief of Staff
    No apology necessary. It's a good early Hammer film, based on a TV version (also starring Peter Cushing I think) which I've never seen (don't know if it survived).
    Kneale was a very interesting and individual writer whose work is well worthy of discussion!
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    If anyone is interested Quatermass and the Pitt is now on Britbox, and it'a a very good copy.
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • emtiememtiem SurreyPosts: 5,686MI6 Agent
    Yes, it's the movie version isn't it?

    I just picked up the Blu Ray of the original serial from Amazon a couple of weeks ago: it's only £7.99 and the HD transfer of the film materials is stunning: it's like it was made yesterday.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    It looked great, the two 60s Dr who films are on it now as well.
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • emtiememtiem SurreyPosts: 5,686MI6 Agent
    I haven't checked them out on it yet: they're HD aren't they? I must admit I seem to have embarked on a watch of Blakes 7!
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    Yes another great old series. Last year I
    Re-watched many Blake's seven
    Episodes on YouTube , but I'm expecting
    Better quality. A couple of others I'm
    Reliving. UFO, Space 1999 and The Avengers
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • Westward_DriftWestward_Drift Posts: 3,085MI6 Agent
    If anyone is interested Quatermass and the Pitt is now on Britbox

    Brad or Ingrid? :)) :)) :))
  • emtiememtiem SurreyPosts: 5,686MI6 Agent
    Yes another great old series. Last year I
    Re-watched many Blake's seven
    Episodes on YouTube , but I'm expecting
    Better quality. A couple of others I'm
    Reliving. UFO, Space 1999 and The Avengers

    Yes, B7 isn't (and can't be) HD but The Avengers is and looks superb.

    Space 1999 looks great too, and even weirder it's in widescreen but doesn't feel cropped..?
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    Westward_drift wrote
    Brad or Ingrid ? :)) :)) :))

    I must have been thinking of
    Ingrid, hence the two big Ts :D
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • Number24Number24 NorwayPosts: 21,701MI6 Agent
    Westward_drift wrote
    Brad or Ingrid ? :)) :)) :))

    I must have been thinking of
    Ingrid, hence the two big Ts :D

    This may be the ultimate test of sexual orientation :)) :))
  • CoolHandBondCoolHandBond Mactan IslandPosts: 6,030MI6 Agent

    For those who haven’t seen it this is the comic strip from House Of Hammer magazine of The Quatermass Xperiment…



    Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
  • chrisno1chrisno1 LondonPosts: 3,177MI6 Agent
    edited November 2023

    Gosh. Nicely scanned. That is a severely condensed narrative - yet captures the essence of the story really well. Some excellent art work and I loved the more organic floral look of the creature. Also Quatermass himself looks intense and authoritative; I like the pirate beard! Not read this thread before, a good read on the train home.

  • BarbelBarbel ScotlandPosts: 36,053Chief of Staff

    Yes, I agree. Thanks @CoolHandBond!

  • CoolHandBondCoolHandBond Mactan IslandPosts: 6,030MI6 Agent

    And the sequel - from the retitled Hammer’s Halls Of Horror magazine…


    Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
  • BarbelBarbel ScotlandPosts: 36,053Chief of Staff

    Loved reading that, many thanks CHB. Both of those adaptations would have been very welcome back when people couldn't watch a particular film at will.

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