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Terry Hooper-Scharf
Off topic. I just finished watching the Giant Behemoth with the excellent Andre Morel doing his 'knda' Quatermass professor thing. Some good effects - the same model car got stomped 4 times - and Willis O"Brein's monster ( rampaging though London and wrecking some power lines ala Godzilla ) was fab ! Yep. They don't make 'em like that anymore ! TTFN.
ReplyDeleteIRELAND for the world rugby cup ! Seeya, Terry.
I used to know someone who told me that as far as he was concerned any Andre Morel horror flick was Quatermass "It's the only name I hear when they talk to him" The Giant Behemoth (1959) not to be confused with a 2011 film!
DeleteYes, it's true. Your friend was right. I always thought it was a pity that they never made Quatermass 4 in a timely fashion... the John Mills one was an ok story but lacked the black and white magic of the original 3. I suppose the Goons did do a pastiche #4 ...y'know, Nigel Kneale said in the 60"s ( ?) that ' saving the world three times was enough for any one man' - I guess he was wrong! Yep. Andre Morel... wether as Watson or an archeologist will always be Quatermass just by another name to me! Guess it's time to watch 'The Pit' again.... TTFN. Enjoy the rugby.
DeleteBrian Donlevy (not even British, Sir!) was excellent and showed that "science must prevail" and snappy attitude -after the creature is destroyed in Westminster Abbey Quartermass' assistant asks "What will we do?" and Quatermass snaps back: "Start again!" The The Quatermass Experiment was fun and almost horror. Quatermass II (1957 US -"Enemy from Space") was similar but more Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) but lacked Jack Warners presence as another took his character part. Quatermass and the Pit (1967) had Andrew Keir as a more laid back, militarist hating liberal but still love that film. Little Johnny Mills 1979 Quatermass (also known as Quatermass IV, or The Quatermass Conclusion for its intended international theatrical release) was...uh...well, the concept was interesting but society torn apart and ruled by gangs and blah blah blah was somewhat lame. I was really expecting to see Sir Bernard Quatermass go out in a blaze of glory and even though he was having a heart attack with the help of his daughter they detonated the device -the aliens never returned. The breakdown of society was based on a conservative view of culture at the time and Kneale was like that. He did a comedy Sci Fi series in the 1970s titled Runrig and in interviews stated CATEGORICALLY that there was no alien life and that was why the Runrig series could make fun out of it. I had a very brief face-to-face with him once and said that if he dismissed the views of every other scientist re the likelihood of extraterrestrial life then it was lucky for him that he made money out of it. Pissed him off. There that is my quick over view of the Quatermass films and TV serial. Next!
DeleteAs an add on here, because of "previous work", I found out that some police had nicknamed me "Professor Quatermass"! No giant globby monsters...yet
DeleteGive it time... Give it time.... oh, Donlevy was from N Ireland originally - and Jack Warner was SOLID as inspector Lomax !
DeleteWarner was a much better actor than people (IF they remember him) give him credit for. Dixon of Dock Green was the TV series that followed the fantastic The Blue Lamp in which he told Dirk Bogarde's Tom Riley character to not be silly and to "Give me the gun, son" and Riley shoots him. Leading up to goose pimples creating (and shocking for 1950) line "They've cornered the bastard that shot George Dixon!" (now edited out for "sensitive" audiences. 1947-1951 were some great British movies
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