IMDb RATING
6.6/10
7.2K
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Professor Bernard Quatermass' manned rocket ship returns to Earth, but two of the astronauts are missing and the survivor seems ill and unable to communicate.Professor Bernard Quatermass' manned rocket ship returns to Earth, but two of the astronauts are missing and the survivor seems ill and unable to communicate.Professor Bernard Quatermass' manned rocket ship returns to Earth, but two of the astronauts are missing and the survivor seems ill and unable to communicate.
Jane Aird
- Mrs. Lomax
- (uncredited)
Margaret Anderson
- Maggie
- (uncredited)
Jane Asher
- Little Girl
- (uncredited)
Harry Brunning
- Night Porter
- (uncredited)
Ken Buckle
- Police Driver
- (uncredited)
Eric Corrie
- Maggie's Boyfriend
- (uncredited)
Edward Dane
- Station Policeman
- (uncredited)
Gron Davies
- Charles Green
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- GoofsVolkswagen Bus en route to the crash site is not the same Volkswagen Bus that arrives through the gate at the crash site. VW badge is larger, chrome trim is missing and license plate is different.
- Quotes
Prof. Bernard Quatermass: There's no room for personal feelings in science, Judith!
- Alternate versionsThe original 1955 "Quatermass Xperiment" print has the closing caption "The End"; the reissued version (with a still bearing the new title "The Quatermass Experiment" inserted into the opening credits) replaces this with "A Hammer Production Produced at Bray Studios".
- ConnectionsFeatured in Frances Farmer Presents: The Creeping Unknown (1959)
Featured review
Among the Late (Late) Night Gems
And an excellent example of film noir for a genre that doesn't lend itself to the treatment.
I especially recommend this if you don't know Professor Bernard Quatermass or don't think you can sit through a BBC serial abridged for the silver screen. It also has no place in the bargain bin among the B- or Z-movie horror shows or direct-to-video-or-Web travesties. For starters Acting happens here...
Many would dismiss Brian Donlevy's performance, but few users appear to take issue with the distinctly (and lone) American accent if they don't mind the truly odd dubbing for the female lead. Fewer know Donlevy hailed from County Armagh. But this actor had chops, if the character was supposed to be a driven intellectual bully I could think of few better to portray same, and if his performance gradually sets your teeth on edge the best send-up is by Donlevy himself in Preston Sturges's The Great McGinty.
The ensemble cast is balanced and complementary. Spot a fairly young Dame Thora Hird and Lionel Jeffries and a far younger Gordon Jackson. Val Guest's direction is positively spot on and at times channels Val Lewton, tense, taut and inexorable in its leaving just enough for your imagination (unlike his Quatermass 2 aka Enemy From Space but very much like The Day the Earth Caught Fire). And you will not take your eyes off Richard Wordsworth, who communicates his character's increasingly possessed soul without a single word spoken.
I've seen nearly all the other Quatermasses, including Andre Morell in the broadcast "Pit" and Dean Jagger's Quatermass Who Wasn't. This was the first I'd seen so many years ago. It remains the best. Savor it.
I especially recommend this if you don't know Professor Bernard Quatermass or don't think you can sit through a BBC serial abridged for the silver screen. It also has no place in the bargain bin among the B- or Z-movie horror shows or direct-to-video-or-Web travesties. For starters Acting happens here...
Many would dismiss Brian Donlevy's performance, but few users appear to take issue with the distinctly (and lone) American accent if they don't mind the truly odd dubbing for the female lead. Fewer know Donlevy hailed from County Armagh. But this actor had chops, if the character was supposed to be a driven intellectual bully I could think of few better to portray same, and if his performance gradually sets your teeth on edge the best send-up is by Donlevy himself in Preston Sturges's The Great McGinty.
The ensemble cast is balanced and complementary. Spot a fairly young Dame Thora Hird and Lionel Jeffries and a far younger Gordon Jackson. Val Guest's direction is positively spot on and at times channels Val Lewton, tense, taut and inexorable in its leaving just enough for your imagination (unlike his Quatermass 2 aka Enemy From Space but very much like The Day the Earth Caught Fire). And you will not take your eyes off Richard Wordsworth, who communicates his character's increasingly possessed soul without a single word spoken.
I've seen nearly all the other Quatermasses, including Andre Morell in the broadcast "Pit" and Dean Jagger's Quatermass Who Wasn't. This was the first I'd seen so many years ago. It remains the best. Savor it.
helpful•40
- johcafra
- May 10, 2009
- How long is The Quatermass Xperiment?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- The Creeping Unknown
- Filming locations
- East India Docks, London, Greater London, England, UK(derelict boat scene with little girl)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- £45,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 18 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1(original/negative aspect ratio, alternative theatrical ratio)
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Top Gap
By what name was The Quatermass Xperiment (1955) officially released in India in English?
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