#38 - The Quatermass Xperiment (1955)
(dir. Val Guest)
In a daring experiment, the first ever manned rocket ship is launched into space. Something goes wrong, and contact with it is lost for nearly three days before it crash lands in a field in England. Of the three crew members, only one has survived, and he is... changed. Professor Bernard Quatermass, the scientific mastermind behind the mission, must figure out what happened and fix it before it is too late.
This was the first Quatermass film produced by Hammer, and in fact was the studio’s foray into the horror genre. Based on a popular BBC serial of the same name, this feels a lot like a proto-Doctor Who, on which it was highly influential. It is basically a scientific procedural, and despite some dubious science the story is relatively intelligent. Quatermass himself is maybe the least interesting part of the movie - he is a brilliant and arrogant scientist, which could’ve been fun (like Peter Cushing’s Baron Frankenstein), but the actor who plays him has very little charisma. Aside from the occasional snarky quip, I found him boring. Supposedly the creator of the serials was not happy with the portrayal, which I can definitely understand.
As far as '50s sci-fi films go, this is a pretty good one. It has some goofy moments, but overall it is smarter than the average movie about aliens from this era, even if it isn't an essential classic. Recommended.
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