Michael O'Keefe The first time I saw this was as a kid on a Saturday morning triple feature at the theater; recently was able to watch this again and it makes more sense. Wonder why? Professor Bernard Quatermass (Brian Donlevy) puts a manned rocket into space and makes big news all over Europe, when it crashes into a countryside outside of London. The news cameras are rolling and Quatermass is concerned about the three astronauts that left on the journey. As the door is opened, only one traveler is found inside. Astronaut Victor Carroon (Richard Wordsworth) seems senseless and unable to communicate. After being taken to a private clinic, his wife (Margia Dean), manages to have him smuggled out. Scotland Yard and Quatermass start a manhunt to find they are now hunting a monster that is killing animals and people. Still, what happened to the other two astronauts?Uncanny and tense early Sci-Fi. At the movies all those years ago, I couldn't hit pause in order to get another root beer and popcorn. If you get a chance: don't pass this one up.Also starring are: David King-Wood, Jack Warner, Lionel Jeffries, Gordon Jackson and Harold Lang.

cstotlar-1 I saw this as a child and it scared the living daylights out of me. This is an excellent example where less is more. The less we see the more we are left to imagine. Much of this was budget-oriented, agreed, but the audience filling in the missing blanks ix excruciating. Donlevy is out of place here, unfortunately, but the "silent" character is absolutely phenomenal. The music works quite well for me and I'm a professional musician. The pacing is spot on. It's the first of the Val Guest movies for me and I'll keep my eyes peeled for others. What good horror movies they made in the fifties and early sixties! Curtis Stotlar

Prismark10 Hammer films started out making feature film versions of BBC TV sci- fi serials. These harder edged films although rather tame by today's standards were popular with audiences leading to Hammer specialising in the horror genre.Professor Bernard Quatermass (Brian Donlevy) sends a rocket into space containing three astronauts and when it crash lands two of the astronauts are missing but the survivor, Victor Carroon has been taken over by an alien fungus and is slowly mutating.There are shades of Frankenstein in Carroon as he realises that he is becoming a monster and the film has nods to the James Whale Universal classic.The big problem is and a reason why creator Nigel Kneale was unhappy with this version is the characterisation of Quatermass. Donlevy was Irish born but resided in America and here he is portrayed as a ruthless little gangster than a scientist with no time or empathy for anyone. The direct approach is a world away from other portrayals of Quatermass.

Tweekums This classic British science fiction film opens with the first manned rocket returning to Earth and crash landing in the English countryside. Once opened there is a surprise in store for the authorities; only one of the three-man crew is there, the others have disappeared. The survivor, Carroon, is taken to hospital but leaves with the assistance of a man hired by his wife; Carroon kills this man in a strange way; his body looks as if it has literally been drained. Quatermass, the scientist in charge of the rocket programme, is investigating what has happened and when he realises the danger posed by Carroon he and the police must find him before he can mutate into a strange alien creature and possibly destroy all life it comes into contact with.For such an old film this was still fairly gripping; the special effects might have been weak by today's standards but the producers knew these limitations so kept scenes featuring effects to a minimum; even when we did see Carroon in his mutated form we only saw him in extreme close up or on a television monitor. As there was little gore and no swearing or innuendo it is probably suitable for all but younger children even though it had an X certificate on its original release. The acting was pretty good, especially from Brian Donlevy who played Quatermass and Richard Wordsworth who played Carroon. Quatermass is very different from how one would expect the hero to be today; very restrained and working to defeat the creature with scientific methods rather than with explosions and brute force.