Quatermass
The name might mean little to nothing to most Americans, but those who are fans of science fiction, and have studied its history on television and film, might recognize the name of one of its most famous and influential characters developed for television. Back in the 1950s, Nigel Kneale created the character of Professor Bernard Quatermass for the 1953 serial, The Quatermass Experiment. He was the head of a British “rocket group,” who sent a manned rocket into space, but everything which could go wrong did go wrong: the rocket crash lands in London, and only one of its crew, Victor Carroon, lived through the experience. Throughout the story it slowly becomes evident that Victor has been taken over by an aggressive alien entity which requires Quatermass to destroy it and his old friend before it does too much harm on earth.
Thus began the Quatermass adventures; they were quite popular in their time, so much so, that movie renditions of the first two televised serials were quickly made after the serials were shown, giving the stories a budget television did not have. Sometimes the movies were superior to the serials, sometimes the serials, despite the lack of funding, were able to explore the story in more depth with more time devoted to it, and so end up beating their cinematic rival. My favorite story of the series was released as a movie by Hammer Studies as Quatermass II.
Despite the failure of his rocket experiment, Quatermass still wants to explore space, and has developed the idea of establishing a moonbase, making a sophisticated model of it to show the British government. The government, however, would have nothing to do with it; they turned him away.
But weird things are afoot. Many meteorites are crash landing on the earth, all around one specific area (Winnerden Flats), and people who happen to find themselves near the meteorites are mysteriously being taken by away by security guards patrolling the area. Quatermass (played by Brian Donlevy in this film) is recruited to investigate, leading him to a newly created “synthetic food” plant, which, strangely enough, looks like a working rendition of his moonbase. What, exactly, is happening in that plant, and why are several prominent members of the government, with a mysterious mark on their skin, trying to hamper his investigation?
Many critics have panned Quatermass IIas the least successful story of the series; certainly the televised serial’s initial buildup does not sustain itself into is last episode, but the faults of the serial are kept in mind and cut out of the Hammer film. Moreover, the movie clearly serves as the foundation, more than any other Quatermass story or film, for later science fiction stories: Quatermass here is an educated scientist whose investigation leads him to develop a conspiracy theory similar to and not unlike what is later seen in shows like the X-Files (when it was shown, some people have suggested the evolution and development of the plot in the X-Files could be understood only if one watched the Quatermass serials).
There is a lot of “cheese” in the movie; its acting is what one would expect from a typical 1950s B-Movie. The pre-credit sequence of the film always makes me cringe; but when Quatermass himself appears, things improve drastically, and indeed, at times the acting draws you in to the story, making Quatermass’s paranoia believable. The story, which is at both incredible and difficult to believe, works very hard to convince the audience, and slow it does convince that the events unfolding are indeed plausible, and the horror of the situation, Lovecraftian in execution, becomes very real and leaves the viewer, once the movie is over, concerned that our progression out into space could one day cause something like this to happen.
The story at once glorifies science and yet shows the moral weakness of many of its practitioners: Quatermass, the hero, is very egotistical and prideful; despite all his failures in the past, he still is a true believer in his work. Like a good consequentialist, he thinks the risks and even deaths associated with his experiments are worth going through because of the good he believes he will bring to humanity. Slowly through the serials, this perspective is challenged, and finally by the last Quatermass story, The Quatermass Conclusion, it is clear Quatermass has been broken and has seen through and beyond all he has done, and the error of his ways. He no longer wants anything to do with scientific progress, and instead he wants to take care of his family and live a simple life while society breaks down all around him. And while we do not see this side of Quatermass here, we can see, slowly, the kinds of experiences he has which will eventually lead him to it.
The movie is not for everyone; and once again, I must give it two ratings. The first is for science fiction fans who do not mind “B movies” (which I think Quatermass moves beyond, but only barely), I would give it 3.5 /4 stars (and I know that is higher than most fans of the Quatermass series will give it). For anyone else, I would give it 2/4 stars.
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