I could never get totally comfortable with a Quatermass who looks like and spoke like an American gangster. In spite of Brian Donlevy's fine acting skills, I thought he was totally mis-cast in this early sci-fi techno thriller. His gruffness, rudeness, and curtness, especially to women, especially date this story and get downright annoying at times. And his diction hardly creates the illusion of a top level scientist. He says things like "What's dat?" and "Both aya" (for "Both of you").
It's the story that carries the movie, and a great story it is. "Meteorites" that are actually carriers of alien germination cells rain down on earth. Once a human gets too close, a meteor bursts open with a jet of ammonia gas and shoots a tiny stinger or spore into the intended carrier. Thus, humans are taken over as hosts to these aliens. Quatermass is pulled into the government conspiracy to hide the beach head "factory" of the alien invasion force when his subordinates spot the unusual series of meteor showers and his own assistant is spirited away by guards of the mysterious plant.
Less is definitely more in this story. Granted, the scene where a man, coated with the pitch- like "food" manufactured at the forbidden factory, dies in agony in front of Quatermass is horrifying, even now. Otherwise, the suggestion is more powerful than the special effects. As people are taken over, and Quatermass's search for his missing assistant is thwarted again and again, the tension builds. The "tour" of the plant builds to near terror. But after that, as the viewer actually sees what Quatermass is talking about, the story becomes a lot less powerful. BBC special effects diminished the impact. As any Doctor Who fan can tell you, what the story places in your mind is far superior to what it actually depicted.
The enemy forces blocking the pipe with "human pulp" struck me as absurd. And an untested atomic rocket in the backyard of the research HQ was another impossible device in the plot. Ultimately, the story reached for one horror too many, and was further undercut by the especially poor special effects at the end.
That being said, it was terrific Sci-Fi for 1955, imaginative, technological, and filmed locally to enhance a "this is now" feel to the horror.
For Doctor Who fans, the similarities to SPEAHEAD FROM SPACE and INFERNO are unmistakable. Some of the long shots of the plant look like shots from INFERNO (and, much later, from THE HAND OF FEAR). Another Doctor Who tie-in is the presence of Roger Delgado (the Master, from Doctor Who) as Conrad, though I never was able to spot Conrad in the film. (However, Delgado shows up in the credits, so he's got to be in there somewhere.)
It's apparent that the first season of the Third Doctor era borrowed heavily from Quatermass. I'd recommend that hard-core Whovians drop the pence to buy this two-DVD set. You'll enjoy the stories and will be entertained by trying to tie in the plot lines to Third Doc/Liz Shaw era stories. The DVD Double Feature (Quatermass and the Pit and Quatermass 2) are sold by Anchor Bay.
It's the story that carries the movie, and a great story it is. "Meteorites" that are actually carriers of alien germination cells rain down on earth. Once a human gets too close, a meteor bursts open with a jet of ammonia gas and shoots a tiny stinger or spore into the intended carrier. Thus, humans are taken over as hosts to these aliens. Quatermass is pulled into the government conspiracy to hide the beach head "factory" of the alien invasion force when his subordinates spot the unusual series of meteor showers and his own assistant is spirited away by guards of the mysterious plant.
Less is definitely more in this story. Granted, the scene where a man, coated with the pitch- like "food" manufactured at the forbidden factory, dies in agony in front of Quatermass is horrifying, even now. Otherwise, the suggestion is more powerful than the special effects. As people are taken over, and Quatermass's search for his missing assistant is thwarted again and again, the tension builds. The "tour" of the plant builds to near terror. But after that, as the viewer actually sees what Quatermass is talking about, the story becomes a lot less powerful. BBC special effects diminished the impact. As any Doctor Who fan can tell you, what the story places in your mind is far superior to what it actually depicted.
The enemy forces blocking the pipe with "human pulp" struck me as absurd. And an untested atomic rocket in the backyard of the research HQ was another impossible device in the plot. Ultimately, the story reached for one horror too many, and was further undercut by the especially poor special effects at the end.
That being said, it was terrific Sci-Fi for 1955, imaginative, technological, and filmed locally to enhance a "this is now" feel to the horror.
For Doctor Who fans, the similarities to SPEAHEAD FROM SPACE and INFERNO are unmistakable. Some of the long shots of the plant look like shots from INFERNO (and, much later, from THE HAND OF FEAR). Another Doctor Who tie-in is the presence of Roger Delgado (the Master, from Doctor Who) as Conrad, though I never was able to spot Conrad in the film. (However, Delgado shows up in the credits, so he's got to be in there somewhere.)
It's apparent that the first season of the Third Doctor era borrowed heavily from Quatermass. I'd recommend that hard-core Whovians drop the pence to buy this two-DVD set. You'll enjoy the stories and will be entertained by trying to tie in the plot lines to Third Doc/Liz Shaw era stories. The DVD Double Feature (Quatermass and the Pit and Quatermass 2) are sold by Anchor Bay.