Quatermass 2 (1957)

Memorable, crazy movie

Just perfect...

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

The success of The Quatermass Xperiment (1955) was the factor that alerted the hitherto obscure British film studio Hammer that the future for them might be with horror movies. This follow up movie – incidentally, the first sequel to use '2' in its title – merely cemented this notion and by the end of the decade Hammer's hugely influential cycle of horror movies was truly underway. At this earlier stage in the mid-50's though, the fashion was not yet for Gothic horrors filmed in glorious colour but for sci-fi/horror in traditional black and white. With its story of a meteor shower that ultimately results with people being taken over by alien entities, it not only indicates the influence of the earlier Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) but more generally shows itself to be a product of the Cold War years, where people suddenly become roboticised by external forces (which was essentially what many folks from the day thought those dastardly communists were doing).Its lower key British sensibilities, setting and plot-line make it feel like a definite precursor to the sci-fi series 'Dr Who', which would kick into gear at the beginning of the next decade. Similar to that, Quatermass 2 is an imaginative piece of work which benefits from a creative script from genre specialist Nigel Kneale. Val Guest who directed the first instalment returns here again, as does Brian Donlevy to reprise his role as the somewhat prickly title character. Less expectedly it also features 'Carry On' legend Sid James in a role which by his subsequent standards is very serious.I think this sequel may in fact surpass the original. It seems to have a little more budget and it makes that count. The production is still a modest one but makes use of its locations, especially the power plant where the action orbits, while the big finale is pretty well executed with some nice special effects. I think over and above that, it has an effective slightly downbeat atmosphere which suits this story well and, on the whole, this can certainly be considered one of the upper bracket science fiction films of its day.

I hope that some producer out there will remake this excellent British SF film. The Quatermass films are one of the best SF films to come out of the UK. Quatermass 2 is the best. Almost all of the stars in this film have passed. Thanks for the film and the memories.Vera Day is the only one. A beautiful woman who starred in a another SF film "The Woman Eater". But according to her filmography she is still working in films. Nice to see that. Brian Donlevy, known for tough guy roles, was very credible in this film. All the rest, give the film the good support as actors. I just wish some producer would give it a shot and do a remake. There several UK films that are worthy of remake but this film deserves it.

Hammer Films remake the BBC television serial Quatermass 2 and this time Nigel Kneale adapts his own original story.Brian Donlevy who seemed too much like a tough guy than scientist in the original film reprises his role again. Here he is more softer, slightly more academic but still comes across as an action anti- hero.Professor Quatermass finds a secret Government base which is producing synthetic food but there seems to be something more sinister involved that could involve aliens and there is a government conspiracy to keep it all hushed up.I like the fact the he manages to zip up and down from London to Carlisle like it was a matter of minutes away rather than 4-5 hours on the motorway and there was no motorway at the time.There is a good supporting cast involved in this film with Bryan Forbes, William Franklyn and Sid James. Vera Day provides some sauciness.Its a little bit dated, although still spooky here and there. Its also a bit schlocky and some of the acting is on the hammy side. The character who gets blackened at the industrial plant and then carefully comes down the ladder is on the silly side.

After the huge success of The Quatermass Xperiment (1955) - the film that launched Hammer Productions into the mainstream - Hammer and the BBC were quick to greenlight an adaptation of the sequel before the television serial of the same name even aired. Original creator Nigel Kneale was brought back in to pen the early draft, which was later revised by director Val Guest. Kneale's main problem with the first film was the brusque performance of American Brian Donlevy, and was disappointed that he would again reprise his role. But Kneale's criticism's aside, Quatermass 2 is a more action-packed and dramatic effort, although admittedly inferior to the first.Professor Quatermass (Donlevy) is struggling to get his Moon Project off the ground. His plan is to set up a base on the moon and be the first to successfully colonise it. These plans are interrupted when Quatermass becomes intrigued with various meteorites that have been landing in the area. After travelling with his colleague Marsh (Bryan Forbes) to one of the meteor sites, Marsh is injured as one of the meteorites cracks open and leaves him with a 'V'-shaped burn on his face. Armed guards with similar facial scarring take Marsh to their nearby government facility, leaving Quatermass to contact his old friend Inspector Lomax (John Longden) for advice. This leads him to Vincent Broadhead (Tom Chatto), a member of parliament also investigating the strange going-ons at the site.Although it was Nigel Kneale's main gripe with the movie adaptations of his creation, Donlevy's (possibly alcohol-fuelled) performance as Quatermass is one of the most intriguing aspects of the Quatermass series. He should be your typical Sherlock Holmes-esque British inquisitor, but Donlevy's interpretation is arrogant, selfish and abrupt, making him one of the more interesting 'heroes' of the genre. Here he is more action star too, dodging machine gun fire and making quick getaways in a film that is much more action-orientated than it's predecessor, although it retains much of it's realism. Due to this, it lacks the slow-build atmosphere of Xperiment, almost losing it completely with the overblown climax full of explosions and gun-fire. Even though it was overshadowed on its release by Hammer's The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), it is still a fun film, and even features of pre- Carry On Sidney James.www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com