The Quatermass Experiment

The Quatermass Experiment is a British television science-fiction serial, transmitted by BBC Television in the summer of 1953, and re-staged by BBC Four in 2005. Originally comprised of six half-hour episodes, it was the first science-fiction production to be written especially for an adult television audience. Previous written-for-television efforts such as Stranger from Space (1951–52) had been aimed at children, whereas adult sci-fi dramas had been adapted from literary sources, such as R.U.R. (1938 and again in 1948) and The Time Machine (1949). It was the first of four Quatermass serials to be screened on British television between 1953 and 1979.

Cast and crew

Nigel Kneale went on to become one of the most highly regarded scriptwriters in the history of British television following the success of The Quatermass Experiment. As well as the various Quatermass spin-offs and sequels, he penned such acclaimed productions as Nineteen Eighty-Four (1954) and The Stone Tape (1972). Kneale also appeared on-screen, in a sense, in the final episode of the serial: he 'played' the monster seen in Westminster Abbey at the climax, his hands operating the 'creature' stuck through a photographic blow-up of the interior of the Abbey. The monster was actually made up of gloves covered in various pieces of plant and other material, prepared by Kneale and his girlfriend, later wife, Judith Kerr.

Related Topics:
Nigel Kneale - Nineteen Eighty-Four - 1954 - 1972 - Judith Kerr

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Rudolph Cartier had emigrated from Germany in the 1930s to escape the Nazi regime there, and was already one of the BBC's top television directors, once described as "the man largely responsible for the genre as we know it". He went on to collaborate with Kneale on several further productions, and became a major figure in the British television industry, directing such important productions as Kneale's Nineteen Eighty-Four adaptation, the two further BBC Quatermass serials, and one-off plays such as Lee Oswald: Assassin (1966).

Related Topics:
Rudolph Cartier - Germany - 1930s - Nazi - 1966

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Of the cast, Quatermass himself was played by the experienced Reginald Tate, who had appeared in various films including The Way Ahead (1944). Sadly, he was to die just two years later, while preparing to take the role of the Professor again in Quatermass II. Victor Carroon was played by Scottish actor Duncan Lamont, who later appeared in the film Mutiny on the Bounty (1962) and as a different character in the film adaptation of Quatermass and the Pit (1967). Appearing briefly as a drunk was Wilfrid Brambell, who would later appear as a tramp in Quatermass II.

Related Topics:
Reginald Tate - 1944 - Quatermass II - Scottish - Duncan Lamont - Mutiny on the Bounty - 1962 - Quatermass and the Pit - 1967 - Wilfrid Brambell

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