Quatermass
Professor Bernard Quatermass is a fictional scientist originally created by writer Nigel Kneale for BBC Television. An intelligent and highly moral British scientist, Quatermass is a pioneer of the British space programme, heading the British Experimental Rocket Group. He continually finds himself confronting sinister alien forces that threaten to destroy humanity. The role of Quatermass was featured in three influential BBC science fiction serials of the 1950s, and again in a final serial for Thames Television in 1979. A remake of the first serial appeared on BBC Four in 2005. The character also appeared in films, on the radio and in print over a fifty-year period. Kneale picked the character's unusual surname from a London telephone directory, while the first name was in honour of the astronomer Bernard Lovell. The character of Quatermass has been described by BBC News Online as Britain's first television hero, and by ''The Independent'' newspaper as "a brilliantly conceive ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Quatermass II
''Quatermass II'' is a British science fiction serial, originally broadcast by BBC Television in the autumn of 1955. It is the second in the '' Quatermass'' series by writer Nigel Kneale, and the oldest of those serials to survive in its entirety in the BBC archives. The serial sees Professor Bernard Quatermass of the British Experimental Rocket Group being asked to examine strange meteorite showers. His investigations lead to his uncovering a conspiracy involving alien infiltration at the highest levels of the British government. As even some of Quatermass's closest colleagues fall victim to the alien influence, he is forced to use his own unsafe rocket prototype, which recently caused a nuclear disaster at an Australian testing range, to prevent the aliens from taking over mankind. Although sometimes compared unfavourably to the first and third ''Quatermass'' serials, ''Quatermass II'' was praised for its allegorical concerns of the damaging effects of industrialisation an ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Quatermass Xperiment
''The Quatermass Xperiment'' (a.k.a. ''The Creeping Unknown'' in the United States) is a 1955 British science fiction horror film from Hammer Film Productions, based on the 1953 BBC Television serial '' The Quatermass Experiment'' written by Nigel Kneale. The film was produced by Anthony Hinds, directed by Val Guest, and stars Brian Donlevy as the titular Professor Bernard Quatermass and Richard Wordsworth as the tormented Carroon. Jack Warner, David King-Wood, and Margia Dean appear in co-starring roles. J. Elder Wills was the Art Director, Phil Leakey handled Makeup, and the Special Effects were by Les Bowie. The film concerns three astronauts who have been launched into space aboard a single-stage-to-orbit rocket designed by Professor Quatermass. It crashlands with only one of its original crew, Victor Carroon (Richard Wordsworth), still aboard. He begins mutating into an alien organism, which, if it spawns, will engulf the Earth and destroy humanity. After Carroon ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Quatermass (TV Serial And Film)
''Quatermass'' (also known as ''Quatermass IV'', or ''The Quatermass Conclusion'' for its limited international theatrical release) is a 1979 British television science fiction serial. Produced by Euston Films for Thames Television, it was broadcast on the ITV network in October and November 1979. Like its three predecessors, ''Quatermass'' was written by Nigel Kneale. It is the fourth and, to date, final television serial to feature the character of Professor Bernard Quatermass, this time played by John Mills. Influenced by the social and geopolitical situation of the early 1970s and the hippie youth movement of the late 1960s, ''Quatermass'' is set in a near future in which large numbers of young people are joining a cult known as the Planet People who gather at prehistoric sites, believing they will be transported to a better life on another planet. The series begins with Professor Quatermass arriving in London to look for his granddaughter, Hettie Carlson, and witnessing th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Quatermass And The Pit
''Quatermass and the Pit'' is a British television science-fiction serial transmitted live by BBC Television in December 1958 and January 1959. It was the third and last of the BBC's ''Quatermass'' serials, although the chief character, Professor Bernard Quatermass, reappeared in a 1979 ITV production called ''Quatermass''. Like its predecessors, ''Quatermass and the Pit'' was written by Nigel Kneale. The serial continues the loose chronology of the Quatermass adventures. Workmen excavating a site in Knightsbridge, London, discover a strange skull and what at first appears to be an unexploded bomb. Quatermass and his newly appointed military superior at the British Rocket Group, Colonel Breen, become involved in the investigation when it becomes apparent that the object is an alien spacecraft. The ship and its contents have a powerful and malignant influence over many of those who come in contact with it, including Quatermass. He concludes that millions of years in the past ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Quatermass And The Pit (film)
''Quatermass and the Pit'' (US title: ''Five Million Years to Earth'') is a 1967 British science fiction film, science fiction horror film from Hammer Film Productions. It is a sequel to the earlier Hammer films ''The Quatermass Xperiment'' and ''Quatermass 2''. Like its predecessors, it is based on a BBC Television serial, in this case ''Quatermass and the Pit'', written by Nigel Kneale. The storyline, largely faithful to the original television production, centres on the discovery of ancient human remains buried at the site of an extension to the London Underground called Hobbs End. More shocking discoveries lead to the involvement of the space scientist Bernard Quatermass. It was directed by Roy Ward Baker and stars Andrew Keir in the title role as Professor Bernard Quatermass, replacing Brian Donlevy, who played the role in the two earlier films. James Donald, Barbara Shelley and Julian Glover appear in co-starring roles. The film opened in November 1967 to favourable review ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Quatermass Experiment
''The Quatermass Experiment'' is a British science fiction serial broadcast by BBC Television during the summer of 1953 and re-staged by BBC Four in 2005. Set in the near future against the background of a British space programme, it tells the story of the first crewed flight into space, supervised by Professor Bernard Quatermass of the British Experimental Rocket Group. When the spaceship that carries the first successful crew returns to Earth, two of the three astronauts are missing, and the third – Victor Carroon – is behaving strangely. It eventually becomes apparent that an alien presence entered the rocket during its flight, and Quatermass and his associates must prevent the alien from destroying the world. Originally comprising six half-hour episodes, it was the first science fiction production to be written especially for a British adult television audience. The serial was the first of four '' Quatermass'' productions to be screened on British television betwee ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Quatermass 2
''Quatermass 2'' (retitled ''Enemy From Space'' in the United States and Canada) is a 1957 black-and-white British science fiction horror film drama from Hammer Film Productions. It was originally released in the UK as ''Quatermass II'' and was produced by Anthony Hinds, directed by Val Guest, and stars Brian Donlevy with co-stars John Longden, Sidney James, Bryan Forbes, Vera Day, and William Franklyn. ''Quatermass 2'' is a sequel to Hammer's earlier film '' The Quatermass Xperiment'' (1955). Like its predecessor, it is based on the BBC Television serial '' Quatermass II'' written by Nigel Kneale. Brian Donlevy reprises his role as the eponymous Professor Bernard Quatermass, making him the only actor to play the character twice in a film. The film's story concerns Quatermass's investigation of reports of hundreds of meteorites landing only in the Winnerden Flats area of the UK. His inquiries lead him to a huge industrial complex, strikingly similar to his own plans fo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Nigel Kneale
Thomas Nigel Kneale (18 April 1922 – 29 October 2006) was a Manx screenwriter and author, whose career spanned more than 50 years, between 1946 and 1997. Predominantly a writer of thrillers that used science-fiction and horror elements, he was best known for creating the fictional scientist Professor Bernard Quatermass. He has been described as "one of the most influential writers of the 20th century", and as "having invented popular TV". Born in England and raised on the Isle of Man, Kneale studied acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, beginning his entertainment career with BBC Radio. He won the 1950 Somerset Maugham Award for his short story collection ''Tomato Cain & Other Stories''. Kneale was most active in television, joining BBC Television in 1951; his final script was transmitted on ITV in 1997. His breakthrough as a screenwriter came in 1953, writing the highly successful BBC television serial ''The Quatermass Experiment.'' Kneale's signature chara ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Quatermass Memoirs
''The Quatermass Memoirs'' is a British radio drama-documentary, originally broadcast in 5 episodes on BBC Radio 3 in March 1996. Written by Nigel Kneale, it was born out of his ''Quatermass'' series of films and television serials, which had first been broadcast in the 1950s. The idea for the show appeared as BBC radio intended to create a season of programming looking back at the 1950s, and it was the final piece of writing Kneale completed relating to the character. The show is centered on the character of Professor Bernard Quatermass who, albeit older than in the previous series, is "the same very concerned scientist" but worried about his previous decisions. Andrew Keir, who had played Quatermass in the 1967 film ''Quatermass and the Pit'', was chosen to voice the character. Later, Nigel Kneale himself became dismissive of the serial, but critics gave the production relatively positive reviews. Overview The series mixes three different strands: a new monologue by Kneale in ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rudolph Cartier
Rudolph Cartier (born Rudolph Kacser, renamed himself in Germany to Rudolph Katscher; 17 April 1904 – 7 June 1994) was an Austrian television director, filmmaker, screenwriter and producer who worked predominantly in British television, exclusively for the BBC. He is best known for his 1950s collaborations with screenwriter Nigel Kneale, most notably the '' Quatermass'' serials and their 1954 adaptation of George Orwell's dystopian novel ''Nineteen Eighty-Four''. After studying architecture and then drama, Cartier began his career as a screenwriter and then film director in Berlin, working for UFA Studios. After a brief spell in the United States he moved to the United Kingdom in 1935. Initially failing to gain a foothold in the British film industry, he did some scripting work for BBC Television in 1939 before the service was suspended at the outbreak of the Second World War. After the war, he occasionally worked for British films before he was again hired by the BBC in 1 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Quatermass Experiment (2005)
''The Quatermass Experiment'' is a 2005 live television film remake of the 1953 television series of the same title by Nigel Kneale. Casting Jason Flemyng was cast as Quatermass, with long-time Kneale admirer Mark Gatiss as Paterson, Andrew Tiernan as Carroon, Indira Varma as his wife Judith, David Tennant as Briscoe, Adrian Bower as Fullalove and Adrian Dunbar as Lomax—as a Ministry of Defence official rather than a policeman. Isla Blair was cast as Home Secretary Margaret Blaker, a combination of parts of Lomax's character and two officials from the original serial, and she brought to rehearsals a photograph of her husband Julian Glover on the set of the 1967 film version of '' Quatermass and the Pit''. Blair said that she was delighted to be joining "the Quatermass club". Original 1953 cast member Moray Watson, who had played Marsh, one of Quatermass's colleagues, visited the set during rehearsals. The 76-year-old was invited to make a cameo appearance in the live ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Andrew Keir
Andrew Keir (né Buggy, 3 April 19265 October 1997) was a Scottish actor who appeared in a number of films made by Hammer Film Productions in the 1960s. He was also active in television, and especially in the theatre, in a professional career that lasted from the 1940s to the 1990s. His obituary in ''The Times'' described him as possessing "considerable range and undeniable distinction." Keir starred as Professor Bernard Quatermass in Hammer's film version of '' Quatermass and the Pit'' (1967). He also appeared in the big screen version of the ''Doctor Who'' story ''The Dalek Invasion of Earth'', '' Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.'' (1966). He originated the role of Thomas Cromwell in Robert Bolt's play '' A Man for All Seasons'' (1960). He played Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa in the 1963 Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor vehicle ''Cleopatra''. Early life and career Keir was born in Shotts, Lanarkshire, Scotland. He was the son of a coal miner, and had five brothers and one si ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |