The Quatermass Xperiment

"You Can't Escape It!"

1955 1h 22m EN

👍

6.5

SOLID

★6.5TMDB · 239

Science FictionHorror

Synopsis

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The first manned spacecraft, fired from an English launchpad, is lost from radar before roaring back to Earth and crashing in a farmer's field. The rocket is found to contain only one of the three men who took off in it; and he is unable to talk but appears to be undergoing a torturous physical and mental metamorphosis.

“You Can't Escape It!”

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Cast

Brian Donlevy
Prof. Bernard Quatermass
Richard Wordsworth
Victor Carroon
David King-Wood
Dr. Gordon Briscoe
Jack Warner
Inspector Lomax
Margia Dean
Judith Carroon
Maurice Kaufmann
Marsh
John Wynn
Detective Sergeant Best
Harold Lang
Christie

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Val Guest
Writers: Val Guest, Richard H. Landau
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

82 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

71 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Quatermass (Hammer) Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Val Guest, shot by Walter J. Harvey. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by James Bernard. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor James Needs shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Brian Donlevy and Richard Wordsworth and David King-Wood carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "You Can't Escape It!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Val Guest directs. Walter J. Harvey behind the camera. James Bernard scores. James Needs cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

182 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
271 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Part of the "Quatermass (Hammer) Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Directed by Val Guest, shot by Walter J. Harvey. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by James Bernard. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor James Needs shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Brian Donlevy and Richard Wordsworth and David King-Wood carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "You Can't Escape It!".
9IMDB entry: tt0049646 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 21 themes, including "london, england", "transformation", "alien life-form", "rocket".

The technical file

Cinematography: Walter J. Harvey
Original score: James Bernard
Editing: James Needs
Makeup / hair: Philip Leakey
Runtime: 82 min · 1h 22m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: The Quatermass Xperiment (1955)

Part of

Quatermass (Hammer) Collection

A Hammer Film Productions science fiction horror film series based on the BBC television series The Quatermass Experiment.

Also by

Val Guest

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2020-04-24
★ 8/10
In my simple Bible way I did a lot of praying. When an experimental rocket ship crashes back down to Earth, Bernard Quatermass is baffled as to why three astronauts went up, but only one has returned. The returning astronaut is Victor Carroon and he's in a bad way. Unable to speak and going through some sort of metamorphosis, it's not long before he starts to become something that literally threatens all of mankind. Can Quatermass and his team of scientists stop the creeping unknown in its tracks?. The character of Bernard Quatermass was born out of the considerable brain of writer Nigel Kneale. A science boffin and defender of the Earth against other worldly beasties, Quatermass was first seen on the screen in the BBC TV serial in 1953. Here that bastion of British horror, Hammer Film Productions, adapts a story for the screen and produce a gritty science fiction thriller that doesn't resort to the hokey monster schlock conventions so evident in the 1950s. Directed by Val Guest (who co-writes with Richard H. Landau), the Quatermass franchise (sequels, more TV serials and another linked film would follow down the line) always thrived because of the intelligence and willingness to explore the science surrounding the stories within. Here with this one we get an interesting look at the political aspects that surround the space programme, and this in turn dovetails nicely with the police investigation as the "Yard" search for the man, soon to be monster. Effectively using London locations such as Westminster Abbey, Guest's movie also pulses with great characters. Not just those on the trail of the stricken astronaut, but also those that he (it) comes into contact with - such as a Frankenstein like encounter with a young girl (Jane Asher) playing with her doll. It's well thought out stuff, even if budget restrictions and time scale can't quite fully realise Kneale's creation. Of the cast, Brian Donlevy steps into the shoes of brainy Bernard, seen as an odd casting choice by many, it proves to be quite astute. Quatermass is straight laced and a stickler for his science, Donlevy's mannerisms and gruff exterior suit the role very well. Britain's favourite copper Jack Warner of course plays the inspector leading up the investigation, and as usual he's as solid as a rock, while Richard Wordsworth is brilliant as the doomed Victor Carroon. There's also little turns from British treasures like Thora Hird, Lionel Jeffries and Gordon Jackson. With its writing smarts appeasing the adults and having enough of a creature feature vibe to entertain the kids, The Quatermass Experiment is a classy bit of 50s sci-fi that covers most of the bases. 8/10
CinemaSerf2022-11-14
★ 6/10
American scientist Brain Donlevy sends a rocket with three men into space; it comes back with only one and he is very, very sick. What happened to the other two - the ship was hermetically sealed? Well this decent British sci-fi/horror film follows the investigation as together with police officer Jack Warner they try to get to the bottom of things. Meantime, the sole survivor of the exploratory flight goes awol and we discover an alien creature is now on the loose on post war London and it is hungry! It's now race against time to stop it reproducing and taking over the world - and who better than our intrepid team to track it down and destroy it. This has been done on a pretty basic budget; but is well written and directed with a creative approach to the cinematography that rewards the viewer with a much less stilted single-scene style of presentation than many British efforts of the mid 1950s - and it has two strong performances to keep the pot boiling.