Quatermass and the Pit

Director: Roy Ward Baker, Rudolph Cartier Roy Ward Baker, Rudolph Cartier,

Overview

Nigel Kneale's Quatermass TV series spawned a brief film series produced over an eleven-year period; 1967's Quatermass and the Pit, released in the US as Five Million Years to Earth, was the third and (until 1979's Quatermass Conclusion) last of the features. As with previous chapters in the Kneale saga, the film begins with a baffling scientific discovery. This time it's an alien ship, alive after 5,000,000 years, discovered during the excavation of a new subway line. The craft is able to cause psychic disturbances in individuals genetically connected to the machine; it also prompts them to see dead Martians as ghostly entitites nearby. In time, conclusions drawn from these events lead scientists to shocking conclusions about the origins of the human race.

Product Details

Release Date:	07/30/2019
UPC:	0826663198188
Original Release:	1967
Rating:	NR
Source:	Shout Factory
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Time:	1:37:00
Sales rank:	4,554

Special Features

New audio commentary with film historian Bruce G. Hallenbeck; New audio commentary with filmmaker Constantine Nasr and film historian/writer Steve Haberman; Audio commentary by director Roy Ward Baker and writer Nigel Kneale; Interviews with Judith Kerr, Julian Glover, Mark Gatiss, Joe Dante, Kim Newman and Marcus Hearn; World of Hammer episode "Sci-Fi"; Theatrical trailers; TV spots; Alternate U.S. credits; Still gallery

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

James Donald	Dr. Matthew Roney
Andrew Keir	Prof. Bernard Quatermass
Barbara Shelley	Barbara Judd
Julian Glover	Col. Breen
Maurice Good	Sgt. Cleghorn
James Culliford	Cpl. Gibson
Bryan Marshall	Capt. Potter
Duncan Lamont	Sladden
Anthony Bushell	Actor
Cec Linder	Actor
Andre Morell	Actor
Michael Ripper	Actor
Peter Copley	Howell
Edwin Richfield	Minister
Grant Taylor	Police Sergeant Ellis
Robert Morris	Watson
Sheila Steafel	Journalist
Hugh Futcher	Sapper West
Hugh Morton	Elderly Journalist
Thomas Heathcote	Vicar
Noel Howlett	Abbey Librarian
Hugh Manning	Pub Customer
Keith Marsh	Johnson
Bee Duffell	Miss Dobson
Roger Avon	Electrician
Brian Peck	Technical Officer
Johnny Graham	Inspector
Charles Lamb	Newsvendor
June C. Ellis	Blonde

Technical Credits

Nigel Kneale

Roy Ward Baker	Director
Rudolph Cartier	Director
Bert Batt	Asst. Director
Tristram Cary	Score Composer
Arthur Grant	Cinematographer
Anthony Nelson Keys	Producer
Nigel Kneale	Original Story,Screenwriter
James Needs	Editor
Anthony Nelson-Keys	Producer
Spencer Reeve	Editor
Bernard Robinson	Art Director

Editorial Reviews

One of the most startling and ambitious science fiction films of the 1960s, Quatermass and the Pit starts like any number of other sci-fi cheapies, as an alien space craft is found during the excavation of a new subway line. The movie ends up somewhere else altogether, after calling into question the historical, philosophical, and theological basis of the history of mankind and suggesting a troubling alternate history of human intelligence. If Quatermass and the Pit isn't 100% successful in what it sets out to do (which outstrips the ambitions of most sci-fi movies), it comes close enough to have left a strong impression on those who saw it in its short theatrical release and long but fitful life on television. While director Roy Ward Baker's filmography is hardly distinguished, a look at his better films (A Night To Remember, The Anniversary, Don't Bother To Knock) suggests that he knew what to do when he got a good script, and that's certainly what Nigel Kneale brought to the table with his literate and intelligent screenplay. While the occasionally lackluster special effects betray the film's low budget, Arthur Grant's camerawork and Kenneth Ryan's art direction give Quatermass and the Pit a remarkably strong look and lend it a clean, well-structured visual style that's the right match for the performances and script.

All Movie Guide - Mark Deming