The Quatermass Xperiment

Synopsis: In the countryside of London, a rocket crashes on a farm and Professor Bernard Quatermass and Scotland Yard Inspector Lomax arrive in the spot. The rocket was launched by Prof. Quatermass with the astronauts Victor Carroon, Greene and Reichebheim; however only Carroon is found very sick in the cabin. He is transported to a private clinic to stay under observation despite the protests of his wife Mrs. Judith Carroon. She bribes a nurse to bring Carroon to her and she finds that he is transforming into a monster. Carroon escapes, killing people and animals during his metamorphosis while the Scotland Yard is hunting him down and Dr. Quatermass discovers that his process is an alien invasion.
Genre: Horror, Sci-Fi
Director(s): Val Guest
Production: United Artists
 
IMDB:
6.8
Rotten Tomatoes:
93%
Year:
1955
78 min
538 Views


What's that?

- Sounds like a jet, doesn't it?

- That's not jet.

Maggie! Look!

- What is it?

- Down! Get down.

Maggie!

Get inside, inside!

Inside!

Maggie!

I'm alright, Dad.

We saw it coming out of

the sky, it was brilliant...

You two stay over there, and

keep watch from the windows!

It's probably a meteor, isn't it?

I hope that's what it is.

Dad, don't go out there!

- You stay here, lad.

- Please, dad, don't go out!

Hang on now! Is the

telephone still on! Call the police.

Will you all please

return to your homes.

You're only hampering operations

by crowding the streets.

Please return to your homes.

Please get back out of the road,

on to the pavement please.

Come along now, please.

Please return to your homes.

Get back.

People in here.

Right back please.

Right back.

Keep clear!

Alright.

You'll be alright.

They'll take care of you.

Okay George, let's

have a look at you.

Oh, don't you start fussing too.

I've got singed, that's all.

It's still too hot to put water on.

It could do with another pump.

It should be heavily green now.

What's all this about, chief?

It could be practically anything.

The object was first sighted

at about 9:
15 this evening.

And its approach was widely

observed over the southern counties.

A statement just issued by the home office,

stresses that there

is no general danger.

Members of the public however are

warned to stay away from the area.

I will repeat that.

The Home Office stresses that

there is no immediate danger.

Do you realize what

you'll have to face

if this turns out to be

a disaster, Quatermass.

- How much further?

- 150 miles, sir.

Quatermass, I'm talking to you!

For the last 20 miles I've

been painfully aware of that.

Well that answered that. How did

it happen? What went wrong?

For the first time in

the history of the world,

man has sent a rocket

1500 miles into space.

You can't expect such an

experiment to be perfect.

Well, you must have had some ideas.

I'm a scientist, not a fortune-teller

who predicts what will happen.

- Well you had instrument, radio contact.

- We lost it for over 57 hours, sir.

Poor old Glooseman don't

even know how far it's been.

It had no further contact even

when it return to the orbit.

Yet you brought it down

by your own control.

Well, that's something

to tell your ministry.

Create a mess, set it up

and he brought it back.

Please! Oh, please.

Couldn't you pick some

other time for this.

I'm sorry, Mrs. Carroon.

I happened to be concerned

with the Ministry of Defense.

And I'm not a civil

servant, I'm a doctor.

And I happened to be concerned with 3

men. The 3 men who are in that rocket.

Oakley, Green, this is it?

Certainly no secret.

Sorry, no one's allowed past this point.

Ministry of Defense.

Oh, yes, sir.

Alright there, open up.

Sorry Miss, you will have to keep back.

Hoi, Miss!

Hey, you have to get back, please!

Miss!

Hi Ike, chasing the girls again.

Aye, you'd think it bank holiday

the way they come flocking out.

I'd like to flock home.

You stay put, my lad,

until that thing cools off.

Or blows up.

Now don't start that story going

around. I said it's not a bomb.

- So why can't we put water on it?

- Listen, Charlie. We've had instructions.

Don't ask me why

because I didn't tell us.

Hey, hey. Just a minute!

- Mr Blake, Ministry of Defense!

- I'll get the inspector.

- Try and get through to them Marsh.

- Right, sir.

Get the temperature reading.

Why don't you go and

wait in the car, Judith?

It's funny.

It looks exactly the same.

Yet it's been, who knows how far.

There isn't a word.

Hello Q-1, hello.

Q-1, Q-1, This is Marsh.

Hello Carroon, Green, Reichenheim.

You receive me? Over.

Keep trying.

- Mr. Blake?

- I'm Quatermass.

I'll be in charge

from here on inspector.

Can't say I'm sorry about

that. What's the next move?

We can't do anything right now.

Not until that cools off.

- How long left is that?

- I would say 3 or 4 hours at least.

Q-1, Q-1, this is Marsh.

Can you hear me? Over.

You keeping them there for four hours?

I suppose you'd like me to

open it up right now, huh?

One blast of air in against

that heat will incinerate them.

Sir, reporters have arrived.

They'd like some facts.

- They'll get some later.

- They'll get some now. Bring them on Major.

Don't you think we ought to find

out a few more ourselves first?

Bring them on, Major.

Are you hearing me Q-1?

Are you hearing me?

This is Marsh calling Q-1.

Q-1, over.

You know, if I ever

gave them all the facts,

you'd find one or two

of them difficult to explain.

Don't try and drag me

through the mud, Blake,

you might splash a little bit on

yourself, you and your committee.

You deliberately launched that rocket

without waiting for official sanction.

If the whole world waited

for official sanction,

it would be standing still.

You took too long.

- I made my own decision.

- To gamble with 3 men's lives!

Every experiment is a gamble.

The unknown is always a risk.

- They should know that.

- Did she know that?

That woman over there

waiting, hoping and praying?

It dropped another 100

degrees since we arrived.

We still got a long way to go.

Let's hope that insulation

lining doesn't crack up.

Yes, let's hope it didn't.

Because if it did, Quatermass and

those 3 men in there are dead...

Dead or alive they'll be heroes.

Let me tell you something, Blake.

They'll fire the imagination

so that there'll be a 100 men

begging for the same privilege

when we launch the second rocket.

- You can't stop it now.

- You mean I can't stop you now.

That's right.

This is Marsh calling Q-1.

Do you hear me? Over.

There's nothing, sir.

Nothing Quatermass.

You know what you've done.

I launched it and I brought it back,

that's quite an achievement, I think.

- And those 3 men...

- Quiet!

- What is it, Marsh?

- Something came through.

Pull up. Brian pull up.

The tapping coming from inside.

By the hull, near the transmitter.

Q-1, Q-1.

Green, Reichenheim,

Carroon. This is Quatermass.

We can hear you, can you hear us?

Over.

Q-1, Q-1, can you hear me?

You've landed in England.

We are here not 50 yards from you.

Are you all right? Over.

Tapping has stopped.

We can't wait. We've got to

get them out of there now.

- Bring me the fire chief.

- Right away, sir.

- Set the remote control.

- Are you mad?

Do you know what will happen

if we have no rocket door now?

We've got to take that risk. We

know one of them is alive in there.

In an hour, he may not be.

But you said that would incinerate

them. You can't do a thing like that!

Don't tell me what I

can do, what I can't do.

That shell temperature

is still 300 degrees.

Alright. What would you suggest?

Wait till it's absolutely safe

and then bring him out dead?

- Door control set, sir.

- Hold it.

Where's that fire chief?

Get an ambulance move in.

You want me, sir?

Yes. Round up every man and

piece of machinery you've got.

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Richard H. Landau

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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