The Quatermass Xperiment (1955)

 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.