THE QUATERMASS
XPERIMENT (1955, British)
By Ralph Santini -
***½
Before they began developing a series of “classic
monster” pictures such as Dracula (1958), The Mummy (1959) and many others,
Hammer Film Productions was actually producing a series of sci-fi featuring the
character of Bernard Quatermass. This character is a mad scientist who wants to
make new kinds of science possible, even if it means the lives of many
volunteers. The Quatermass Xperiment is the first of these, an adaptation of a
popular BBC serial teleplay in the United Kingdom of the same name written by
Nigel Kneale. The play itself was popular that Hammer wanted to make a film
version of it, and the financial results were a success, greenlighting two more
film sequels in the coming years.
The movie begins with a rocket ship falling down to a
farm in an English countryside and this alarms the public in shock. It’s then
later that we first see Dr. Quatermass (Brian Donlevy) and his staff
accompanied by a desperate Ministry of Defense official (Lionel Jeffries who
was only 29 in this film and he had experienced hair loss since very young) and
the wife of one of the astronauts (the attractive Margian Dean) on their way to
handle the results of the fallen rocket ship. There is only one mysterious
problem during the solution, only one astronaut survived the spaceship and it
looks like the other two have vanished without a trace during the experiment.
The good news is that the sole survivor is Margia Dean’s husband, Victor
Carroon (Richard Woodsworth). The bad news is that Mr. Caroon is developing a
strange space fungus inside his body. This is not making Dr. Quatermass
satisfied with the experiment he conducted and therefore he must try to stop
Mr. Carroon from depredating living things in Great Britain, even if he needs
help from a Soctland Yard official played with dignity by the brilliant Jack
Warner (no, not the production executive at Warner Bros. but a veteran British
character actor whom you British cinema buffs may have seen in the original
version of The Ladykillers).
Now I want to get something straight about this movie, I
think it is worth seeing because of it’s scary and dark-toned nature and it’s
incredible premise about a mad scientist who discovers that his sole-surviving
Astronaut is about to become something sinister after falling down from the rocket.
It really moves me to see an unfortunate human being become something fierce in
the meantime and that’s my favorite thing about this story. Although there is
not one significantly spoken dialogue by Richard Woodsworth in this film, he is
amazing as the unfortunate victim with a deteriorating body that could result
in something hideous. But I can’t tell more because that would be making
spoilers and, frankly, I don’t believe in doing that. Jack Warner is another
asset in “The Quatermass Xperiment” and he really plays it straight as the
brave, no-nonsense Scotland Yard official who is superstitious about space
travel. He doesn’t know a thing about rockets, nor reads sience fiction, nor
anything concerning Dr. Quatermass’s experiment.
Now what about the main title role of the film, well
this will sound a little controversial for my review but I think it’s hard to
tell about Brian Donlevy’s portrayal of Bernard Quatermass. Nigel Kneale who
wrote the original BBC teleplay was not satisfied with the casting of Donelvy
in the role, he said Donelvy was waning too much and cared little for his role.
The film’s director Val Guest, however contradicted Mr. Kneale insinuating that
he was just obsessed with the way he created the Quatermass character for the
BBC Teleplay and Guest thought that casting Donlevy was the more realistic
choice. Frankly I agree with the director, Donelvy did a competent job
portraying Dr. Quatermass because, at least in my opinion, he took the role
rather seriously compared to other hammy performances in many other of his
weaker film roles and I think this is his best since 1953’s “The Woman They
Almost Lynched”. In fact I think ever since then, he seemed to have cared a lot
more of what he has been doing since the beginning of his career decline.
The supporting cast also have their highlights because I
think these British actors working for Hammer have enormous talent. The
characters ranging from a flamboyant male nurse who attempts taking out Mr.
Carroon from Quatermass’s hospital to a more reliable one as demaned by Margia Dean,
to a darkly comic, low class old lady who complains to see something strange in
her neighborhood. There is also a fantastic scene regarding a Zoo in England
where we see many animals scared of something strange they are feeling. And one
more thing about this scary and effective chiller, Walter J. Harvey’s B&W
cinematography is stunning. I looked at the Blu-Ray of this ageless sci-fi yarn
and the image is pristine and crisp. Looking at this film in that format makes
me feel good and excited.
This is one of those sci-fi thrillers that manages to
take its tone very seriously and treat its cast very well and that’s why, I
think, Hammer remains to be one of the top studios in Sci-Fi and Horror. It’s
one of the better sci-fi films of the 1950s with great twists and fresh
dialogue between Brian Donlevy and his British cast of colleagues in this
movie. Val Guest is an underrated director that needs to be reevaluated and
“The Quatermass Xperiment” is a spectacular directorial effort for Guest’s
standards. I suggest picking this up on Blu-Ray and see it. You will be
thrilled by this classic sci-fi gem.
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