The 1967 advertising poster for the film's UK release.

Quatermass and the Pit is a 1967 British science-fiction / horror film, produced by the famous Hammer company and based on the 1958 BBC Television serial of the same name. It was adapted by the writer Nigel Kneale from his own original television scripts, and directed by Roy Ward Baker. In the United States, the film was released under the title Five Million Years to Earth. The film was designed by Bernard Robinson and scored by Tristram Cary. Uploaded to illustrate Quatermass and the Pit. ... Uploaded to illustrate Quatermass and the Pit. ... 1967 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1967 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... [[Image:Day the Earth Stood Still poster. ... DVD cover showing horror characters as depicted by Universal Studios. ... Hammer horror refers to horror films produced in the late 1950s through the 1970s by the British film studio Hammer Films. ... 1958 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... BBC One (or BBC1 as it was formerly styled) is the oldest television station in the world. ... The opening titles of Quatermass and the Pit. ... Nigel Kneale (born Thomas Nigel Kneale on April 18, 1922 in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England, UK) is a Manx television and film scriptwriter, who has worked mostly in the UK. He is best known for his creation of the character of Professor Bernard Quatermass, who has appeared in three... Roy Ward Baker is a British film director born in 1916. ... Bernard Robinson was born in Liverpool, England in 1912 and died in 1970. ... Tristram Cary (born 14th May 1925) is a British composer living in Australia. ...

The film was a sequel to two previous Hammer adaptations of Kneale's BBC serials: The Quatermass Xperiment (1955) and Quatermass 2 (1957). It was the first Quatermass production to be made in colour, and starred Scottish actor Andrew Keir as Professor Bernard Quatermass, replacing the American Brian Donlevy, who had starred in the previous two films. The 1955 advertising poster for the films UK release. ... 1955 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Categories: 1957 films | Films based on television series | Movie stubs | Science fiction films ... 1957 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Royal motto: Nemo me impune lacessit (Latin: No one provokes me with impunity) Scotlands location within the UK Languages with Official Status1 English Scottish Gaelic Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow First Minister Jack McConnell Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 2nd UK 78,782 km² 1. ... Andrew Keir, born Andrew Buggy on April 3, 1926 in Lanarkshire, Scotland, was a British actor, well-known for his roles in several Hammer Films horror film productions during the 1960s. ... Professor Bernard Quatermass is a fictional character, created by the writer Nigel Kneale originally for BBC Television, who appeared in three influential BBC science fiction serials of the 1950s, and made his swansong in a final serial for Thames Television in 1979. ... Donlevy (right) with costar Ella Raines in Impact (1950) Brian Donlevy (born Waldo Bruce Donlevy on February 9, 1901 in Cleveland, Ohio, USA; died April 6, 1972 in Woodland Hills, California, USA) was an American actor, known for many film roles from the 1930s through to the 1960s. ...

In contrast to Donlevy, Keir's performance as Quatermass has been very well-received down the years, and the film is generally felt to be the most faithful of the three cinematic adaptations, although it was not as commercially successful as its predecessors. Nigel Kneale's script is in particular extremely close to his original television version, with whole scenes and chunks of dialogue remaining essentially untouched.

In addition to Keir, other actors appearing included Julian Glover as the officious army officer Colonel Breen; James Donald as the archeologist Roney, and Barbara Shelley as Roney's assistant Miss Judd. Also appearing in a small role as the drill operator Sladden was actor Duncan Lamont, who in 1953 had played the major part of astronaut Victor Caroon in the original Quatermass television serial, The Quatermass Experiment. Gareth Thomas (actor), later to appear in popular 1970s television series Children of the Stones and Blakes 7 makes a brief, non-speaking appearance in the film. Julian Glover in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. ... James Donald (May 18, 1917 - August 3, 1993) was a Scottish actor who most notably played Major Clipton in The Bridge on the River Kwai. ... Barbara Shelley is a British film and TV actor born in 1933. ... Duncan William Ferguson Lamont (born June 17, 1918 in Lisbon, Portugal; died December 19, 1978 in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England, UK) was a British actor, born in Portugal but raised in Scotland. ... 1953 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... The Quatermass Experiment is a British television science-fiction serial, transmitted by BBC Television in the summer of 1953. ... Gareth Thomas could be Gareth Thomas who played the part of Blake in Blakes 7 Gareth Thomas who plays Rugby Union for Wales Gareth Thomas the member of Parliament for Clwyd West Gareth Thomas the member of Parliament for Harrow West This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid... This article provides extensive lists of events and significant personalities of the 1970s. ... Children of the Stones was a television drama for children produced by HTV in 1976. ... Blakes 7 was a BBC science fiction television series created by Terry Nation that ran four seasons from January 2, 1978 to December 21, 1981. ...

Quatermass and the Pit was the last Quatermass movie to be produced by Hammer, although after its release Kneale did pitch a storyline to the company for a further film written directly for the cinema. Although it was not produced by Hammer, the storyline eventually formed the basis of the character's 1979 swansong television serial Quatermass, screened on the ITV network. This page refers to the year 1979. ... The cover of the 2002 UK DVD release of the serial. ... Independent Television (ITV) is the name given to the original network of British commercial television broadcasters, set up to provide competition to the BBC. In England and Wales the channel was recently rebranded ITV1 by ITV plc who own the regional broadcasting licences for the regions. ...

Andrew Keir returned to play the character of Quatermass again in the 1996 radio serial The Quatermass Memoirs for BBC Radio 3, becoming one of only two actors - Brian Donlevy being the other - to play the role for a second time. 1996 is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... The Quatermass Memoirs is a British radio drama documentary broadcast in five parts on BBC Radio 3 in the spring of 1996. ... BBC Radio 3 is a domestic UK BBC radio station, which devotes most of its schedule to classical music. ... Donlevy (right) with costar Ella Raines in Impact (1950) Brian Donlevy (born Waldo Bruce Donlevy on February 9, 1901 in Cleveland, Ohio, USA; died April 6, 1972 in Woodland Hills, California, USA) was an American actor, known for many film roles from the 1930s through to the 1960s. ...

See also

• Hobbs End underground station

Hobbs End is the name of a fictional location used in several works of speculative fiction. ...

External links

• Page on the film at The Quatermass Home Page
• IMDb page