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constantly to the forefront. Laboratory experiments in an atomic research station have an impressive, but familiar appeal, though ultimately they play a key role in the plot. War Office cooperated in the production, and its seal on a story of this kind should have some value. ... The scenes on the desolate moor, the sight of the grim atomic mass moving relentlessly towards its main target, the closeups of the radio-active victims, and the ultimate efficacy of the neutralizer combine in achieving a tense, almost horrific atmosphere. The acting, though mainly stereotype in style, is in the same vein, with Jagger, Edward
Chapman and Leo McKern leading a vigorous cast. Marianne Brauns does a standout bit as the nurse, revealing a warm pert personality."
261:. Then, there is an explosion. One soldier dies of radiation exposure while another is badly burned. At the site, there is a Y-shaped crack in the ground with no apparent bottom. Dr. Royston of the Atomic Energy Laboratory, is called in to investigate. He is later joined by "Mac" McGill, who runs security at the UK Atomic Energy Commission. That night, a local boy witnesses an horrific off-camera sight. He dies the next day of radiation burns. Royston investigates and comes upon a tower occupied by an old man in possession of a canister left over from previous radiation experiments. Later, in a local hospital, a young doctor collapses and melts after witnessing the same off-screen horror as the boy.
265:
of time. The army uses flamethrowers to try to kill the unseen creature but to no avail. Royston hypothesizes an explanation for the phenomenon. His theory involves a form of life that existed in distant prehistory when the Earth's surface was largely molten. This entity had been trapped by the crust of the Earth as it cooled. But every 50 years there is a tidal surge that these creatures feel, causing them to reach the surface and find "food" in the form of radioactive sources.
491:
unhorrific in content and appearance. Scientific explanations for the object's arrival are disconcertingly vague; one is left with the impression that the "Unknown" has been created with the sole purpose of manoeuvring its elaborate destruction, and the script sometimes suggests this in a number of unintentionally comic lines. It seems likely, therefore, that enthusiasts may find the present adventure rather tame when compared with the more grisly experiments of
510:
is a highly imaginative and fanciful meller, with tense dramatic overtones which will help it along at the boxoffice. ... Made with creditable slickness, it tells a story which is completely absorbing, though totally unbelievable. There's little let-up in the action, and suspense angles are kept
515:
The next reviewer, "Whit", said the following year: "Poor and complicated science-fictioner not for discriminating audiences. ... This picture carries a complicated structure difficult to follow. The 'unknown' that serves as the menace in science-fiction yarn is so vague that audiences may be
264:
The same evening, when two soldiers mysteriously die while guarding the Y-shaped crack, Royston's colleague Peter
Elliott volunteers to be lowered into the pit to investigate. Before long, he encounters the same off-screen horror as witnessed before. However, he is pulled out of the pit in the nick
490:
intriguingly suggests a new addition to the science fiction repertoire of Things, but after a series of prolonged climaxes, with its potential victims staring directly into the camera and shaking with fright, the "Unknown" finally emerges as a type of rolling rubber mattress, disappointingly
272:
being used there. Royston and McGill accurately predict its movement. They proceed to a location where they set up two large "scanners" on lorries and a canister of cobalt as bait. Peter drives the bait by jeep, drawing the blob's deadly attention. Eventually, the creature is neutralized and
273:
explodes. But as the team approaches the crack from which the monster had emerged, a second, more powerful explosion occurs, knocking several off their feet. Puzzled, the team continues approaching the crack, presumably to make further tests, as the film comes to an end.
31:
470:. This amount, $ 30,000, went towards the salary for Dean Jagger. Nonetheless, the American distribution deal between Hammer and RKO fell through due to the latter company's pending demise, and the film was distributed in the U.S. by
249:(1957), completes "an important trilogy containing relevant allegorical threads revealing Cold War anxieties and a diminishing national identity resulting from Britain's decrease in status as a world power".
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overmystified. ...Roles are strictly static and Leslie Norman's direction isn't able to rise above what was handed him."
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438:. Although Losey did begin shooting the film and some of his footage is included in the final cut, he was replaced by
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The film opens in rural
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due to illness. An alternative version is that Jagger refused to work with him because of his blacklisting.
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The thing is finally revealed – an ever-growing blob, now crawling its way toward the
Laboratory to feed on
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The film was originally intended by Hammer to be a sequel to the previous year's successful
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451:(1955). He later said "I hated working at Hammer ... because I never got on with
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Norman was borrowed from Ealing. He had just made his directorial debut with
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reviewed the film twice. The first reviewer, "Myro", wrote in 1956:
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called the film "a welcomed change from interplanetary yarns."
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780:
The Hammer Story: The
Authorised History of Hammer Films
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Hammer
Complete: The Films, the Personnel, the Company
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in
Berkshire. Half the film's budget was provided by
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671:The Quatermass Collection – Viewing Notes
582:British Cult Cinema: Hammer Fantasy and Sci-Fi
1517:English-language science fiction horror films
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829:(6): 7. 10 October 1956 – via ProQuest.
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621:Hammer, House of Horror: Behind the Screams
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853:(5): 6. 3 July 1957 – via ProQuest.
599:British Film Institute Collections Search
1497:Films with screenplays by Jimmy Sangster
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423:refused permission for the character of
689:"R U Sitting Comfortably - Dean Jagger"
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805:(264): 128. 1956 – via ProQuest.
430:The original director of the film was
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1492:Hammer Film Productions horror films
1462:British science fiction horror films
1017:The Long and the Short and the Tall
1452:1950s science fiction horror films
752:Howard Maxford (8 November 2019).
740:An Autobiography of British Cinema
384:Marianne Brauns as Zena, the nurse
14:
778:Marcus Hearn & Alan Barnes,
335:Michael Brooke as Willie Harding
1472:Films directed by Leslie Norman
648:Wilson, Brian (22 March 2007).
320:as Lance Corporal "Spider" Webb
1009:Summer of the Seventeenth Doll
1:
1512:British black-and-white films
1477:Films scored by James Bernard
1216:The Man Who Could Cheat Death
758:. McFarland. pp. 70–71.
1502:1950s English-language films
919:AFI Catalog of Feature Films
396:as security man (uncredited)
1336:Dracula: Prince of Darkness
1168:The Revenge of Frankenstein
977:The Night My Number Came Up
448:The Night My Number Came Up
332:as Sergeant Harry Grimsdyke
1533:
1487:Films shot at Bray Studios
1280:The Pirates of Blood River
1248:The Siege of Sidney Street
1101:The Horror of Frankenstein
584:, Hemlock Books 2011 p. 78
1152:The Curse of Frankenstein
963:
782:, Titan Books, 2007 p. 18
677:. p. 18. BBCDVD1478.
563:"X the Unknown" (article)
360:as soldier burned on back
348:Norman Macowan as Old Tom
163:5 November 1956
35:Theatrical release poster
28:
1424:The Devil and Max Devlin
1384:Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?
619:Maxford, Howard (1996).
416:The Quatermass Xperiment
240:The Quatermass Xperiment
1408:Ebony, Ivory & Jade
1264:The Terror of the Tongs
669:Pixley, Andrew (2005).
363:Jane Aird as Vi Harding
314:as Lieutenant Bannerman
233:company and written by
231:Hammer Film Productions
132:Hammer Film Productions
1467:British monster movies
1344:Deadlier Than the Male
1312:The Devil-Ship Pirates
1200:The Trollenberg Terror
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458:Filming took place at
1482:Films set in Scotland
1232:The Brides of Dracula
969:Too Dangerous to Live
798:Monthly Film Bulletin
580:Bruce G. Hallenbeck,
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483:Monthly Film Bulletin
229:. It was made by the
1457:1950s monster movies
1392:Scream, Pretty Peggy
1192:Blood of the Vampire
493:Professor Quatermass
1507:1950s British films
742:, Metheun 1997 p441
436:Hollywood blacklist
354:as Major Cartwright
290:as Dr. Adam Royston
1136:A Man on the Beach
1109:Lust for a Vampire
955:Films directed by
907:TCM Movie Database
477:Critical reception
425:Bernard Quatermass
375:as Private Lansing
210:is a 1956 British
117:John Hollingsworth
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1256:The Hellfire Club
1117:Fear in the Night
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432:Joseph Losey
429:
427:to be used.
421:Nigel Kneale
414:
412:
399:
390:as the vicar
373:Kenneth Cope
367:Neil Hallett
339:Frazer Hines
267:
263:
256:
246:Quatermass 2
244:
238:
217:directed by
206:
205:
204:
179:Running time
156:Release date
148:Warner Bros.
93:Gerald Gibbs
49:Joseph Losey
18:
1184:The Snorkel
1093:As director
388:Brown Derby
352:John Harvey
288:Dean Jagger
243:(1955) and
223:Dean Jagger
215:horror film
103:James Needs
79:Dean Jagger
65:Produced by
41:Directed by
1447:1956 films
1441:Categories
1400:The Legacy
655:CineAction
604:3 December
542:References
464:Sol Lesser
409:Production
294:Leo McKern
183:81 minutes
167:1956-11-05
124:Production
55:Written by
1368:Crescendo
1328:The Nanny
1304:Nightmare
1288:Paranoiac
1224:The Mummy
1128:As writer
1084:Films by
326:as Haggis
99:Edited by
1320:Hysteria
896:AllMovie
693:RUSC.com
535:The Blob
528:See also
486:wrote: "
369:as Unwin
188:Language
109:Music by
75:Starring
1160:Dracula
1001:Dunkirk
916:at the
905:at the
846:Variety
822:Variety
567:TCM.com
500:Variety
191:English
165: (
126:company
1427:(1981)
1419:(1981)
1411:(1979)
1403:(1978)
1395:(1973)
1387:(1972)
1379:(1971)
1371:(1970)
1363:(1970)
1355:(1968)
1347:(1967)
1339:(1966)
1331:(1965)
1323:(1965)
1315:(1964)
1307:(1964)
1299:(1963)
1296:Maniac
1291:(1963)
1283:(1962)
1275:(1961)
1267:(1961)
1259:(1961)
1251:(1960)
1243:(1960)
1235:(1960)
1227:(1959)
1219:(1959)
1211:(1959)
1203:(1958)
1195:(1958)
1187:(1958)
1179:(1958)
1171:(1958)
1163:(1958)
1155:(1957)
1147:(1956)
1139:(1955)
1120:(1972)
1112:(1971)
1104:(1970)
1044:(1975)
1036:(1962)
1028:(1961)
1020:(1961)
1012:(1959)
1004:(1958)
996:(1957)
988:(1956)
980:(1955)
972:(1939)
762:
631:
400:
270:cobalt
196:Budget
724:2 May
698:2 May
874:IMDb
760:ISBN
726:2016
700:2016
629:ISBN
606:2023
277:Cast
253:Plot
225:and
150:(US)
145:(UK)
894:at
883:at
872:at
851:207
827:204
565:on
495:."
455:."
1443::
849:.
843:.
825:.
819:.
803:23
801:.
795:.
717:.
691:.
673:.
652:.
597:.
573:^
550:^
1077:e
1070:t
1063:v
948:e
941:t
934:v
768:.
728:.
702:.
658:.
637:.
608:.
169:)
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