Quatermass and the Pit
Tags: intrigue, insanity, cult, suspenseful

Plot synopsis:
Workmen discover a pre-human skull while building in the fictional Hobbs Lane (formerly Hob's Lane, Hob being an antiquated name for the Devil) in Knightsbridge, London. Dr Matthew Roney, a paleontologist, examines the remains and reconstructs a dwarf-like humanoid with a large brain volume, which he believes to be a primitive man. As further excavation is undertaken, something that looks like a missile is unearthed; further work by Roney's group is halted because the military believe it to be an unexploded Second World War bomb.
Roney calls in his friend Professor Bernard Quatermass of the British Rocket Group to prevent the military from disturbing what he believes to be an archaeological find. Quatermass and Colonel Breen, recently appointed to lead the Rocket Group over Quatermass's objections, become intrigued by the site. As more of the artefact is uncovered additional fossils are found, which Roney dates to five million years, suggesting that the object is at least that old. The interior is empty, and a symbol of five intersecting circles, which Roney identifies as the occult pentacle, is etched on a wall that appears to conceal an inner chamber.
The shell of the object is so hard that even a boron nitride drill makes no impression, and when the attempt is made, vibrations cause severe distress in people around the object. Quatermass interviews local residents and discovers ghosts and poltergeists have been common in the area for decades. A hysterical soldier is carried out of the object, claiming to have seen a dwarf-like apparition walk through the wall of the artefact, a description that matches a 1927 newspaper account of a ghost.
Following the drilling, a hole opens up in the object's interior wall. Inside, Quatermass and the others find the remains of insect-like aliens resembling giant three-legged locusts, with stubby antennae on their heads giving the impression of horns. As Quatermass and Roney examine the remains, they theorise the aliens may have come from a planet habitable five million years ago – Mars.
While clearing his equipment from the craft the drill operator triggers more poltergeist activity, and runs through the streets in a panic until he finds sanctuary in a church. Quatermass and Roney find him there, and he describes visions of the insect aliens killing each other. As Quatermass investigates the history of the area, he finds accounts dating back to medieval times about devils and ghosts, all centred on incidents where the ground was disturbed. He suspects a psychic projection of these beings has remained on the alien ship and is being seen by those who come into contact with it.
Quatermass decides to use Roney's optic-encephalogram, a device that records impressions from the optical centres of the brain, and see the visions for himself. Roney's assistant, Barbara Judd, is most sensitive; placing the device on her, they record a violent purge of the Martian hive to root out unwanted mutations. Quatermass concludes that in its most primitive phase mankind was visited by this race of Martians. Some apes and primitive pre-humans were taken away and genetically altered to give them abilities such as telepathy, telekinesis and other psychic powers. They were then returned to Earth, and the buried artefact is one of the ships that had crashed at the end of its journey. With their home world dying, the aliens had tried to change humanity's ancestors to have minds and abilities similar to their own, but with a bodily form adapted to life on Earth.
But the aliens became extinct before completing their work. As the human race bred and evolved, only a percentage retained their psychic abilities, which surfaced only sporadically. For centuries the buried ship had occasionally triggered those dormant abilities, which explained the reports of poltergeists; people were unknowingly using their own telekinesis to move objects around, and the ghost sightings were traces of a racial memory. The authorities, and Breen in particular, find this explanation preposterous despite being shown the recording of Barbara's vision. They believe that the craft is a Nazi propaganda weapon and the alien bodies fakes designed to create exactly the impressions that Quatermass has succumbed to, and decide to hold a media event to stem the rumours that are already spreading.
Quatermass warns that if implanted psychic powers survive in the human race, there could also still be an ingrained compulsion to enact the "Wild Hunt" of a race purge, but the media event goes ahead regardless. The power cables that string into the craft fully activate it for the first time, and glowing and humming like a living thing it starts to draw upon this energy source and awaken the ancient racial programming. Those Londoners in whom the alien admixture remains strong fall under the ship's influence; they merge into a group mind and begin a telekinetic mass murder of those without the alien genes, an ethnic cleansing of those the alien race mind considers to be impure and weak.
Breen stands transfixed and is eventually consumed by the energies from the craft as it slowly melts away and an image of a Martian "devil" floats in the sky above London. Fires and riots erupt, and after Quatermass succumbs to the mass psychosis he attempts to kill Roney, who does not have the alien gene and is therefore immune to the alien influence. Roney manages to shake Quatermass out of his trance, and remembering the legends of demons and their aversion to iron and water, he proposes that a sufficient mass of iron connected to wet earth may be sufficient to short-circuit the apparition. Quatermass acquires a length of iron chain and tries to reach the "devil" but succumbs to its psychic pressure. Roney manages to walk up to the apparition and hurls the chain at it, resulting in him and the spacecraft being reduced to ashes.
At the conclusion of the final episode Quatermass gives a television broadcast, at the end of which he delivers a warning directly to camera: "If we cannot control the inheritance within us, this will be their [the Martians'] second dead planet."

Review: This film is not your usual sci-fi monster from the deep or outer space but a story based on comprehensible logic - the suggestion that the human mind and it's psychic and sixth sense qualities was the result of alien intervention with our ancestral primates millions of years ago.
Andrew Keir plays a fine role as the tweedy dressed sometimes gruff gentleman professor, Bernard Quatermass who teams up with  equally amiable James Donald as Dr.Mathew Roney and his attractive female assistant Barbara Shelley as Barbara Judd to solve the riddle of a strange craft and several ape like skeletons unearthed during the reconstruction of an underground London railway station.
At first thought to be an unexploded second world war missile an Army demolition team is brought in to disarm it, led by the bombastic single minded military thinking Colonel Breen played by Julian Glover who scoffs at the theories of the two scientists that this could be anything more than a German V weapon.
Quatermass & the pit is one of the best movies made by Hammer studios, who are more usually associated with 1960s English horror films.
The screenplay is by Nigel Kneale and is based on his 1950s 6-episode television mini-series of the same name.A mysterious object is unearthed during extension work on a London underground station, and although the authorities try to explain it away as an unexploded German weapon from WWII, the heroes (Professors Quatermass & Rowney) discover it is far more ancient and threatening.A horror/sf film which will appeal to thoughtful viewers.
Strangely, however, when you hear people speak of Hammer horror, this film rarely gets a mention, and that's a great injustice as it easily ranks up there with the best of them.
The reason why Hammer Horror films succeed is that, despite being unpleasant at times, it's obvious that they were made with a lot of heart, and the good nature that went into making them always shines through.
The normal idea behind alien based Sci-Fi is completely turned on it's head, and it makes for both an enjoyable and interesting, not to mention original movie.
Building up perfectly, courtesy of Roy Ward Baker's astutely paced direction, Quatermass And The Pit is a film that just begs you to pay attention to every little detail, each conversation is fully fleshing out this most intriguing story.
Quartermass is a chilling combination of science fiction and Lovecraftian horror, boosted by great performances by Andrew Keir, James Donald, and Julian Glover..
Classic British Sci-Fi movie with an excellent Andrew Keir as Quatermass.
Then arrive Quatermass (Andrew Keir) , an official army (Julian Glover) and two obstinate scientists (James Donald and Barbara Shelley) , all of them discover fantastic events .
Quatermass and the Pit (aka Five Million Years to Earth) shows us that science fiction can be presented as thoughtful and intelligent and not just escapist fare.
Roy Ward Baker directed this belated(10 years later) third entry in the Quatermass saga, this time casting a proper British actor to play British rocket group scientist Bernard Quatermass, called in to investigate a skeleton found near a presumed undetonated German bomb in the London underground being excavated for a new subway line, that turns out to be an alien spacecraft with Martian insect-humanoids aboard.
Breen is accompanied by Professor Quatermass (Andrew Keir) who upon examining and studying the strange object, as well as local folklore, becomes convinced that the bomb is far from what it seems.Quatermass and the Pit' remains one of the most intelligent and detailed films produced by the legendary Hammer Studios.
While the story itself is somewhat fanciful it does manage to raise significant questions about the origins and actions of mankind all the while remaining a compelling sci-fi/horror movie and never resorting to the dubious social commentary that one could anticipate from such a film.
Of course, the scientific discussions would not have been as effective without incredibly strong performances from Andrew Keir, James Donald and Barbara Shelley who display some superlative acting abilities and further the believability and pseudo-realism of this extraordinary film.Nigel Kneale did a remarkable job of penning a story which fully explains itself while retaining a certain degree of uncomfortable peculiarity and unknown.
I know this film under the title "Five million Years To Earth", and have always considered it one of the best of British science fiction.
For like the TV version it remains not only the best of best of the three initial Quatermass stories but also one of the most imaginative and brilliantly crafted pieces of science fiction to ever be put on a screen either big or small.
Playing Professor Bernard Quatermass is Andrew Keir, replacing Brian Donlevy from the first two Hammer Quatermass films (and the fifth actor to play the role if you include the three BBC serials).
Julian Glover is Colonel Breen, a military man forced upon Quatermass' British Rocket Group who takes Quatermass into the pit and, as a man almost primitive in his thinking to the point of ignoring the facts, becomes most responsible for the films ending.
While perhaps too dialogue heavy for some, Quatermass And The Pit is proof that you don't necessarily need a huge budget to create a fine science fiction film.Quatermass couldn't have ended at Hammer any better..
More Sci-Fi than horror, Hammer studios comes through with one of its best directed and acted films.
In the Science Fiction genre Quatermass and the Pit ranks along with The Day the Earth Caught Fire as the most intelligent and thought provoking film to come out of the British Film Industry in the last 60 years.
(The original Quatermass story was set in a vacant block where foundations were being dug but I like the film version better).If I watch this a thousand times I'll want to see it just once more..
And no, I'm not a Quatermass Fan.Even today, despite the film's fair degree of dating, I am impressed and staggered by the conceptual genius of Nigel Kneale's script, and Roy Ward Baker's ability to mesh sci-fi and "Spiritual Evil" (as a disturbed Parson notes) in a product that is well removed from the standard Hammer fare.
On some level, it's hard not to be awed by the film's ambitions..(****SOME PLOT SPOILERS BELOW****) The plot: progress on The Hobb's End Underground Transport comes to a halt when the subway workers unearth what appear to be primitive apelike skeletons and a mysterious "craft" which is initially believed to be an unexploded bomb left over from The War. Professor Bernard Quatermass (Andrew Keir), at odds with the government over the planned military use of his "rocket group" investigates, with the assistance of two paleontologists, Dr. Mathew Roney (James Donald), and Dr. Barbara Judd (Barbara Shelley).
Even when the "Pit's" alien ghosts are defeated, the victory seems pretty hollow.Keir, whom I remember from such films as "Fall of The Roman Empire," and "Dracula Has Risen From The Grave", plays his role with gruff conviction ("I never had a career, I just had work!" He grouses to his unwanted colleague Colonel Breen), and I have always liked the amiable Donald, who was terrific as the most sane character in one of my favorite movies, "Bridge on The River Kwai.".
The movie does have its share of gaffes: the "alien locust" carcasses should have been seen as little as possible, and a scene where a soldier goes bonkers after seeing an "apparition of a small, hideous dwarf" inside the ship, lacks the timing to pull it off.Still, given its execution and drive, the movie's coda of Keir and Shelley leaning wearily against the rubble of London as the city burns in the background, nicely sums up what horror films should be about: Things Are Not Okay, and may never be Okay anytime in the near future..
I saw Five Million Years to Earth (US title) back when it was only a dozen years old and stories like this scared the paper mache out of me.Needless to say, there's bad stuff going on down there in the London subway, with construction workers levitating and scientists getting to see grainy, video images in their brains from the bugs who landed on Earth.
I recently watched it again for the first time in years, and while I no longer found it all that frightening it was still enjoyable and surprisingly well made (apart from the pretty awful special effects - the movies one real weak spot).
The images purport to be from our primevial mind and our devils with horns may have been insects with antennae.The story line has some frightening implications and could be remade with today's digital effects into something more frightening, scientifically plausible and intellectual enough to give religious philosophers and anthropologists some second thoughts about man's evolution.Alas we haven't developed any screen writers or film producers with the ability to tell a truly good science fiction and philosophical story since "Space Odysessy" and our best, George Lucas, would rather bring comic book characters to life..
This is thought-provoking Sci-Fi, with the amazing Nigel Kneale even suggesting that we humans owe our entire existence to the colonization-attempts of icky Martians (that look like giant grasshoppers!) The story is far too complex to summarize in only a couple of lines (and it would be a real shame to spoil anything), so I can only insist that you check it out for yourself as soon as you can.
Quatermass and Roney find a plan from the Martians to invade Earth affecting the earthlings but the skeptical Colonel Breen does not accept their theory."Quatermass and the Pit" is a reasonable production by Hammer Film in the sci-fi genre.
Hammer Films have a lot to thank writer Nigel Kneale and his most popular character Bernard Quatermass for.
When the BBC originally broadcast The Quatermass Experiment to a terrified audience, Hammer producer Anthony Hinds saw the potential for a movie adaptation and quickly snapped up the rights.
As the mystery unfolds, the discovery may lead to shocking revelations regarding man's evolution, and one that we are not ready to face.Quatermass and the Pit may feature some incredibly dated effects, but this is sci-fi as complex and intellectual as 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968); a film it is often compared to.
Like all the best science fiction Quatermass and the Pit begins with a meaningful idea, not just an excuse for special effects and spectacle.
Engrossing Nigel Kneale screenplay, adapted from his original story (which had already been a popular serial for BBC television entitled "Quatermass and the Pit"), concerns modern-day London beset with an alien spacecraft, unearthed in excavation, which exerts destructive supernatural powers once assorted scientists and military personnel attempt to crack it open.
A mysterious artifact is unearthed in London, and famous scientist Bernard Quatermass (Andrew Keir) is called in to divine its origins and explain its strange effects on people.This is the film that inspired John Carpenter.
Hammer should have signed Keir and director Roy Ward Baker to a long-term deal re-making "Quatermass" films.
Scripting this from his own teleplays, Mr. Kneale is the most valuable player.******** Quatermass and the Pit (11/9/67) Roy Ward Baker ~ Andrew Keir, James Donald, Barbara Shelley, Julian Glover.
This is the third in the series of films made by Hammer Studios based on the ground-breaking 1950s "Quatermass" TV serials.Workmen excavating an extension for the London Underground system come upon a series of humanoid skulls and bone fragments in clay which is estimated to be five million years old, much earlier than the earliest humanoids were thought to have developed.
Professor Bernard Quatermass (Andrew Kier) of the British Rocket Group investigates and quickly comes to believe that the object is far more sinister than an unexploded bomb and, as he begins to learn about the local areas extensive history of bizarre paranormal phenomenon quickly concludes that the object is not nearly as dormant as it appears.This is one of the best of Hammer's 1960s output.
The idea of apparently supernatural phenomenon given a science-fiction "rationale" was a recurring theme in Kneale's work and the premise, while irrational, is certainly fascinating and makes for some great entertainment.The film looks good and has a lively colour palette.
They are unlike what Hammer used to produce normally and they are unlike any other science-fiction and horror productions from that period in general as well.The movies always had a more realistic approach to them, in which everything tends to get scientifically explained till an extend that it gets somewhat plausible as well in terms of something that could really happen one day.
I remember TV-movie critic Judith Crist, reviewing it in TV Guide for its first network showing, declared that she was "mystified" by the storyline.Some observations about the DVD: The DVD has an excellent commentary by Roy Ward Baker and Nigel Kneale.There is a "World of Hammer" featurette that didn't particularly impress me.One of the best things about this DVD release is the excellent quality of the transfer.
I never fully appreciated until now the incredible sound effects that this movie used.PS> Despite what Baker and Kneale say in the soundtrack commentary, I do think "Five Million Years to Earth" is a better title than "Quatermass and the Pit"..
I'd go as far to say that it's one of Hammer's better films as well.Personally, Quartermass and the Pit's only fault are the rather anti-climactic and too hastily-paced ending and the on-the-cheap-side special effects especially at the end with those fake-looking aliens, the rest of the film's production values are very well-done so not sure why the quality dips at this point.
Tristam Carey's music score has the right amount of eerie intensity and rousing ambiance, while Roy Ward Baker's direction is wisely careful but still very strong and Nigel Kneale's script is very true in style to his writing for the series, retaining the intelligent handling of complex and daring themes, the ability to provoke thought while not trying to do too much or undermining the mystery.The story is engrossing and continues to fascinate and resonate emotionally translated to screen, again while not making the mistake of covering too many ideas.
"Quatermass and the Pit" is a 1967 Hammer production and was released in the USA as "Five Million Years to Earth," which is a better title in my opinion.THE STORY (!Basic Plot Spoiler!): Construction workers in London unearth Neanderthal-like skeletons and a large object initially thought to be a WWII missile.
Quatermass (Andrew Keir) are put in charge of the operation and draw completely different conclusions about the discovery: Breen ludicrously believes it's a German propaganda weapon from WWII, whereas Quartermass concludes that it's a martian spacecraft that incredibly explains the origins of the human species (!), not to mention so-called myths about the devil, demons, gargoyles and various other occultic items.
Unearthing the object turns out to be a big mistake because it lets loose a malevolent supernatural force that starts to possess the populace (!End Spoiler!).I remember seeing "Five Million Years to Earth" a handful of times growing up and I never failed to be enthralled by the creepy and thought-provoking events of the story.
(Although Keir gives a good performance as Quatermass, fans of the two earlier movies may miss Brian Donlevy's gruffer, more bellicose version of the character.)Flaws aside, however, the movie has intelligence and imagination-- and enough intriguing notions for three or four sci-fi flicks.
QUATERMASS AND THE PIT was made towards the end of the '60s and it is not only one of the best movies Hammer made, but it is also one the best and most intelligent sci-fi movies ever made.Skeletal remains are found during the construction of an extension to the London Underground.
Despite being made in the '60s this movie will make you think and will linger in the mind long after it is finished.The cast led by Andrew Keir, James Donald, Julian Glover and Barbara Shelley are all good.
He wrote all the Quatermass stories, and this is easily the best one of all.The special effects may have dated a bit since it's original release, but don't let that put you off.
Using the then very real threat of UXBs, and the imaginary threat of invasion from space, Nigel Kneale's ingenious story of alien colonisation took a new and terrifying path.The image of Martians taking the appearance of Satan gives the tale a supernatural twist, which cleverly makes the movie appeal to both sci-fi buffs and horror addicts.The steady build up pulls the viewer into a story that affects every culture - demons and the fear of an ancient menace that pervades all society..
Quatermass and the Pit (a.k.a. Five Million Years To Earth) is one of the best science fiction movies to come out of Britain.
Quatermass has a theory on the origins of the spacecraft and humanity itself.Hammer Film is more known for its B-horrors.
Excellent sets, very good acting and wonderful special effects for its time, but lovers of modern science fiction film will be disappointed.
I think this is a great sci-fi film, saw it in 72 and since then many times, love the plot.
Good though this 1967 film version is, and highly thought of judging by the many comments here, it is no improvement on the original BBC series I saw as a 7 year old on our tiny TV set.
At this time the film has a lot of things which seems ridiculous and completely nonsense (especially the images obtained with the "headphones"), but if you imagine that we are in the 60's you can believe that this was a movie with great impact.Good performing, with growing tension since its beginning until the end, supported by some science facts.I guess You won't be disappointed if you see it.6 out of 10.
Andrew Keir this time plays Professor Quatermass, a much more passionate and humane portrayal when compared with the performances of Brian Donlevy in the two preceding films.