Kites rise highest against the wind - not with it.. (Winston Churchill)
Kites rise highest against the wind - not with it.. (Winston Churchill)
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Quatermass and the Pit Directed by Roy Ward Baker Written by Nigel Kneale Certification: Unrated Running time: 97 mins Released 1968 Production Company: Hammer Studios Music composed by: Tristam Cary Cast:: James Donald: Dr Mathew Roney Andrew Keir: Professor Bernard Quatermass Barbara Shelley: Barbara Judd Julian Glover: Colonel Breen
Introduction released by Hammer, better known for its Horror Films, Quatermass and The Pit was based on a popular television series from the 1950s. It is an early British Science Fiction film of alien invasion, the third part of a trilogy, The Quatermass Experiment 1955 and Quatermass2 1957being the other two.
The Setting An urban setting in 1960’s Hobbs End is a rundown town on the outskirts of the city of London, distant enough to be remote but close enough to be a threat to the populace of the city.
The Storyline An Underground Tube Tunnel is being renovated and expanded. Bones are found and the work is stopped. Anthropologists, Dr Mathew Rooney and his assistant Barbara Judd, are called in to excavate and catalogue the remains when a strange object is discovered. This is initially thought to be an unexploded
bomb from WW11. The experts arrive to investigate, the military and none other than the famous Professor Bernard Quatermass. (Though why a physicist and Rocket Scientist would be investigating an unexploded bomb, I don’t know) He is convinced that they have discovered an alien spaceship from Mars but no-one else believes him. Dead aliens are discovered but the dormant Martian energy having been disturbed is stirred into activity. Further information is revealed about strange happenings in the small town including ghost sightings and goblins. Can these be related to the object? You will have to watch to find out.
The aliens From Mars, the original aliens were bug-like creatures resembling giant locusts. These aliens have a telekinetic energy and of course they are evil. Mars was becoming uninhabitable for them and so they sought a new environment. Earth could not sustain them in their present form. The solution - they abducted early ape-men and mutated with them to create a new life form. The aliens in the ship are dead. They have an locus-like body with horns on their foreheads. They are rotting emitting an offensive green slime. The skeletons surrounding the spaceship are humanoid. Is there a connection? The alien’s plan to repopulate the earth with the new species has lain undiscovered until now. When the spaceship is reactivated, a strange effect is observed in the local town residents. Who exactly are the aliens . . .
The Spaceship A sleek, shiny curved hull, black in colour. By today’s standard probably quite tame, but you have to view it in the context of the time ad as such presents as a sinister spectre.
Technology Well it is a science fiction film. So were would we be without it, see how many pieces of 60’s household equipment you can spot, (Remember one of our most famous film spaceships started life as a hairdryer. Do you know which film?) In the Pit the machine is one that can interpret thoughts as images. Barbara Judd is connected to the machine and sees the history of the Martians.
Special Effects The most memorable special effect comes when a live power cable touches the space-ship. The ship slowly changes colour to red as energy flows outwards from the contact point. The ship then turns white and power exudes from it. The streets above crack open, buildings topple, water mains burst open and rocks are blown away by the ensuing wind. The film emits a sense of horror mainly through its claustrophobic effects created by employing close-up shots of the actors in the darkness of the pit. Doctor Breen sacrifices himself for the sake of humanity and disintegrates before our eyes.
The Music The musical score written by Tristam Cary. It consists of incidental music that complements heightens the action and suspense of the film. Tracks are simply titled to reflect their affect and part of the film. These include; Discovery, Martians, Terror and Apocalypse.
The Director This is first Hammer Film directed by Roy Ward Baker. He later went on to direct a number of Horror classics for Hammer Films including Asylum and The monster Club.
The Actors Andrew Keir is a Scottish character actor who featured in a number of Hammer films including Dracula, Prince of darkness. He gives Quatermass a credible personality, arrogant, self-righteos and dramatic. Keir later performed The Quatermass Memoirs for radio in 1996. James Donald is most famous for his role as Ramsey in The Great Escape. His character, Doctor Roney is reliable and unassuming, becoming the real hero of the film. Barbara Shelley plays Barbara Judd, a clever and attractive assistance. She co-starred with Keir in Dracula, The Prince of Darkness in 1965. Julian Breen is probably the best known of the actors in the film. He was to play the part of General Veers in Star Wars and was the voice of Aragog in Harry Potter.
VHS Quatermass and the Pit has been released by Hammer Films, priced at £16.99.
Afterlife Extracts were used later used by the BBC as introductory scenes for the series, “The Changes”. John Carpenter named the town in his film “In the Mouth of Madness” 1995, Hobbs End as a tribute to Quatermass and the Pit. Quatermass lived on in a further Television series in 1978 starring John Mills and in a radio series The Quatermass Memoirs performed by Andrew Keir.
Conclusion A low budget film rescued by a credible storyline and good acting. Andrew Keir plays a good Quatermass, not my favourite (John Mills takes that distinction) but is a close second. A classic sci-fi, that is heralded as a groundbreaking film in the thought-provoking concept that human life has evolved merely as an alien experiment.
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Production Year: 2000 - Horror - Director: Keenen Ivory Wayans - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Carmen Electra, Anna Faris, Kurt Fuller, James Van Der Beek, Keenen Ivory Wayans
Never heard of it, and as a rule not my genre, but sounds like it might be worth a try! Alan
pVcQuEeN666 20.06.2004 14:11
Haven't heard of this before...Useful review! pVcQ xXx
Entwife 09.06.2004 17:42
Gawd! I saw this eons ago when I was very young. So long ago, in fact, that I'd completely forgotten it! I couldn't have pulled this title out of my memory if my life depended on it. Reading your review brought back some really interesting memories though, so Thanks! A double pleasure. :)
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Advantages: Probably the best British TV science-fiction series ever Disadvantages: Poor transfer to DVD in places, although given the equipment in use....
![Quatermass And The Pit [DVD] [1967]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/80553411.jpg "Quatermass And The Pit [DVD] [1967]")
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