The Quatermass Xperiment
It was an act of bold defiance and perhaps some impatience, Bernard Quatermass of the British-American Rocket Group having proceeded with the launch of the Q-1 without formal government approval from the Ministry, aboard it Charles Greene, Ludwig Reichenheim and Victor Caroon with whom contact was lost for reasons unknown before it crashed down fifty-seven hours later in Southern England.
The ship intact and still sealed, Quatermass and physician Doctor Briscoe are able to gain access but only a single occupant is found, Caroon distressed, exhausted and unable to speak, the empty pressure suits all that remains of his companions; taken to hospital, attempts to debrief the delirious man are futile, and as the record of the flight is examined it becomes apparent the flight encountered a strange force in orbit.
Written by Nigel Kneale and directed by Rudolph Cartier, The Quatermass Experiment had been broadcast over six evenings in the summer of 1953, its unprecedented success as the first major drama broadcast on British television to blend science fiction and horror told in a style of realism meaning there would be a demand for similar material to follow; on television, Quatermass II followed in autumn 1955 while only weeks before The Quatermass Xperiment was unleashed in the cinema.
The three hours of material condensed to around half of that by screenwriter Richard Landau, with a diverse background in comedy, musical and adventure Val Guest was brought in to direct by the small British studio Hammer Films, their first venture into the growing genre of horror with which their name is now synonymous, the film released in the United States under an international distribution deal as The Creeping Unknown.
Produced with an eye on that market, compromises were necessary beyond the streamlining of the plot, the film opening without preamble of the scientific background as Q-1 crashes down in a field where only moments before a carefree couple had been enjoying a sunset walk, the roof of the farmhouse where they took shelter collapsing on them, with American actor Brian Donlevy cast as the lead role of Quatermass.
Reconceived from the diligent, thoughtful, calm scientist depicted by Reginald Tate who had died suddenly only weeks before he was due to resume the role in Quatermass II, Donlevy gives a very different Quatermass in very different circumstances, offering no explanations or expansions on his directives, any moments which might leaven the character wasted on him, particularly in his interactions with Mrs Judith Carroon (Margia Dean).
Concerned for her husband Victor (Richard Wordsworth) whom she sees wasting away before her, mutating, Quatermass is snappy and intolerant, even petty, humanity an obstacle to the answers he needs, barrelling through his dialogue with little sense that he understands the meaning of the words, the sympathetic and Gordon Briscoe and investigative Inspector Lomax (David King-Wood and Jack Warner) more interesting characters than the ostensible lead.
Judith reduced to almost a footnote, blind to the consequences of her actions when she breaks quarantine to remove her husband from the hospital, Caroon is a tragic figure, in pain, suffering as he changes and unable to understand or express what is happening but driven to run, to hide, to kill if he is discovered, and like Frankenstein on his perambulations the film flounders at the hour mark before moving to the dramatic conclusion at Westminster Abbey.
Regrettably, the original television production of The Quatermass Experiment having been broadcast live, only the opening two episodes, Contact Has Been Established and Persons Reported Missing were recorded and remain in the archives, included in the prestigious new box set of The Quatermass Xperiment and a reminder of what has been lost, described as “a ghost of television” by expert Toby Hadoke in his new two-part documentary on the life and work of Nigel Kneale.
Restored in 4K and presented in UHD and on Blu-ray, the five-disc set includes three versions of the feature film in 1.66:1 widescreen, 1:37 fullscreen and as the alternative US version in 1:85 widescreen, new and archive commentaries with Hadoke, biographer Andy Murray, film historian Stephen R Bissette, director Val Guest and many others, and new and archive features covering the production, many imported from previous editions, as well as ephemera, trailers, and reproduction posters, lobby cards and a comic adaptation.
The Quatermass Xperiment is available on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray from Hammer now
