Quatermass II - BBC TV series (1955)

[@Kennymac8251]

I'm 71 now but as a kid I remember Quatermass on the telly and it frightened the hell out of me then and gave me nightmares. Watching this now has brought it all back. A big thank you for uploading!!!!!

[@thammut1892]

Glad it brought back some memories! Sadly i could not get quatermass and the pit uploaded, i think that is my favourite.

[@lha1951]

Yes me too, very scary at the time

[@paulklasmann1218]

We're they also shown at the cinemas in the 50s?

[@pegna7404]

Brought all the nightmares back😊

[@johnsmith-rs2vk]

I remember too , was allowed to stay up and watch !

[@angelafensom2941]

Wonderful, I sneakily watched this as a child and became a life long fan of Quatermass, so good to see it again

[@kaybacci1134]

I'm 76 now and I remember Quatermass on TV. but my Dad wouldn't let me watch it. He watched it with a blanket over his head and the television set so I could hear the dialogue but I couldn't watch the screen!!! I still feel angry with him about that and he's been dead for 50 years! Anyway, I can watch it now! Nostalgia isn't what it used to be. I love the way that Quatermass's daughter, Paula, speaks. Her accent is pure aristocratic English.

[@RobynWarbling]

How lovely

[@reallifechangingtruth7679]

I know what you mean! It was a simpler time and the science fiction movies were tame by today's standards. Modern special effects are nearly fatal for me (I'm 70). I've seen most of the 1950s science fiction movies (I loved 'em). My Dad said Hollywood wasn't good for young minds! In the 60s, my Dad exclaimed, "Look at those women with the short skirts!" I said, Yeah, that's what I'm trying to do is look! He was not amused!!! I was young and innocent! MBJR. 2-19-24 at 2:01 A.M. Oregon Time.

[@seltaeb9691]

Why didn't he send you to bed. He sounds a tad eccentric.

[@ronanzann4851]

Ah lad, ie be 93 now....an that be the one what betrayed us all an asunder...aarrrrrr !

[@kathybrown145]

Brilliant. I was 7 when I saw this, I don’t think my parents realised how scary it was, but I was hooked on it and couldn’t wait for the next episode. I was a fan of Quatermass from then on. ‘The Pit’ was my favourite ,and I watched that a couple of years ago,but I have never seen this til today. Wonderful memories. Thank you so much.

[@marbleman52]

@kathybrown145....I agree. I think "The Pit" was an excellent episode. One of the older " Dr. Who" episodes was about that episode with the spacecraft from Mars found buried in the ground in a construction site.

[@jimmeltonbradley1497]

The Pit was my first experience as an 8 year old. I'm too young to remember this one but am thoroughly enjoying it now!

[@joa8227]

Back when the BBC was worrth watching. Thank you.

[@happyshopper1806]

Love this classic film 🛸🚀👽👾🛰 Thanks for uploading it I first saw this in the 1970's and it is now 2023 Time flies 🤖

[@daphnewilson7966]

I will never forget being 10 years old in 1963, and (American) visiting a British household where everything stopped, parents and kids, for the half-hour of Tom Baker "Who." The Brits did all this better, sooner!

[@creepycrawl]

Thanks so much for this quality upload 👍 What a writer Nigel Kneale was - this still stands the test of time and you can see the influence it's had on future sci-fi/ horror. Great stuff 👍💖

[@drauglurdarkambient]

Stumbled into this. I'm awestruck. I love every single minute of it This is treasure and no one can tell me otherwise

[@NathanTarantlawriter]

Same here and I totally agree!

[@shireboundscribbles]

This is excellent, thank you, and also the journalist is Roger Delgado (who went on to play The Master in Dr Who)!

[@djlewis5149]

Delgado died in a car crash in the 1970s whilst filming in Greece. He was such a good bloke than Jon pertwee stopped playing Dr.Who because it was no fun without Roger

[@terencegreen4802]

Like most of the responders here, I too loved this series as a kid, I am 72 now. why dont they make stuff like this nowadays! Terry GG

[@maryelizabeth6797]

While I am of the age, I never saw this before. This movie has stood the test of time. Thanks for posting. ❤️🇨🇦

[@DanPiponi]

Very futuristic at 1:10:08. He's drinking coffee made in a Gaggia machine. Pretty unusual for 1955. The Moka Bar opened in Soho in 1953 and before that espresso was almost unheard of in Britain. The camera lingers over the machine and I wonder if Kneale was a cutting edge coffee drinker.

[@madlenellul3430]

Well I was born in 46’ and like many here remember sneaking in to watch it from Memory, on Thursday’s at 8pm. Dad didn’t close his shop till after that time so I was ‘safe’ till close to the end of the program. These were the shining times..Thanks again for posting..🥰👵🇦🇺🇺🇸

[@thammut1892]

Glad we could help bring those memories back to the forefront of your mind for you.

[@aadamtx]

Thank you for the upload! This production completes my Quatermass viewing - I have all of the films plus the Sir John Mills' QUATERMASS from back in the late 1970s.

[@lochlainnmacneill2870]

Like Kenny Mac, I was a child when watched this, It was the music that crapped me out. I am now 74 years old.

[@BaroqueVoyage]

Great upload. The credits in the serial did not identify the music, and I also noted that several of the other commentors mentioned it. The music was from "Mars the Bringer of War", from the orchestral suite "The Planets" by British composer Gustaf Holtz. Nice to know what orchestra that played this. I'm guessing the LSO.

[@Firebrand55]

Age 15 we watched this with chins on the ground and chips getting cold..this was the day of one-channel tv.....I'll repeat that; one channel, BBC.Not every house had a tv so it was important to search out a pseudo-chum whose parents had a telly and get into his house! St.Ives then had no general tv, no phones,few bicycles, no cars and no entertainment....making Quatermass a must-see show.....if you could find that pseudo-chum...sweets helped!

[@PeterNebelung]

I fell in love with Quatermass back when I a teen, saw the movies. Never knew there was a seris, thanks for posting this. I'd love to see a new series done.

[@juliagregory5696]

i remember this i was 5 years old at the time watching this with my oldest sister i was ok but it totally sent her bonkers in the head she said we are being watched through the tv screen !!!! now its 2022 !!!

[@thammut1892]

The time goes quick, that is for sure!

[@SarahRichards-hx3ny]

I've been waiting for decades to see this. Thank you so much for the memories

[@thammut1892]

You are welcome!

[@Patty-w5s]

Great Kudus to those who find and publish these old films! Otherwise the would be lost! Sincerely,Robert Goodwin MD aka Db

[@ritawing1064]

I think "Quatermass and the Pit" is one of the best titles ever dreamed up. Was a great series, too.

[@happytravelling]

Thank you. I'm a longtime fan of Quartermass and have heard of this movie, but never seen it. Thank you for downloading it. subscribed!

[@clovelly1946]

Quatermass and the Pit was the first and best.I saw it in Dublin as a teen I'm 76 now and loved it.wish they'd put the complete Pit .

[@thammut1892]

That one is my favourite too! Very lovecraftian.

[@johnsmith-rs2vk]

Me too !

[@michaelhall2138]

Third.

[@naomigraham7241]

Fourth !! This has been wonderful memory trip for so many of us. I thought I was the only person who carried the memories of Quatermass and the Pit from childhood. Oh that feeling of fear......Thank you so much for sharing

[@wayneallen9192]

Wilfred Bramble was only 43 in this, aka Steptoe... He always seemed a lot older than his years... Great actor and sadly missed...

[@Patty-w5s]

The engineering concepts, the scientific themes are remarkable for 1955! Once again, KUDUS!!! Db

[@rx6180]

Thanks for uploading. Unfortunately I didn’t find your upload first and watched the majority of the series through another inferior upload which had sound dropouts and ended 20 minutes before the climax! So thanks to yours I was able to watch the conclusion to the story. I’ve often wondered what the early BBC versions of Quatermass were like and thanks to this upload now I do.

[@thammut1892]

Thanks for saying!

[@adriansherlockdamondark.1094]

Great upload. Love this serial. A window into the past and great writing.

[@thammut1892]

Thank you!

[@johnsmith-rs2vk]

When English was correctly spoken and understood .

[@webbj11]

I remember that music from when I was a boy and I used to hide as it really scared me, thank you for bringing it all back to me and now I can enjoy it, the music was perfect for this series, great stuff.

[@thammut1892]

I still hide.

[@andrewdouglas4211]

It's "Mars, the Bringer of War" from Gustav Holst's "The Planets."

[@kathybrown145]

I think the music was the frightening bit, they really used it to raise the tension, at 7 I was mesmerised by it ! It was years later i discovered what it really was and I bought the LP. Opening up a whole new world of music. Still a favourite!

[@THEFORBIDDENMAN-lk7of]

THANKS FOR FIND THIS AND POSTING

[@rupertbear6883]

Quatermass and pit terrified me. When they drill a hole in the ship and an eye looked back.. Great prog...watch it recently still got caught up in it but did not hide behind the sofa.. 70 y o too.

[@thammut1892]

I enjoyed that one the most, i found it so 'Lovecraftian'. I don't hide behind the sofa anymore, cos im a big tough man now. I just hide my face behind a frilly cushion instead.

[@MrZenby]

I'm 71, too. My Grandma let me watch it-there were bits when I hid behind her sofa.

[@fredneecher1746]

Wow, Maigret and Steptoe Snr! I glimpsed a scene from this at a friend's house in 1955, "This is the food!" I was scared out of my wits. I'm starting Episode 3 now. Let's see if it still scares me.

[@peterbamforth6453]

What a perfect slice of british science fiction history.

[@QBSaul]

Thank you so much for uploading this. I never saw it on its original; broadcast, although I have read the script (Arrow Books, 1979) and I know the Hammer film version. This is inevitably a very blotchy telecine copy - no BBC video recording in 1955 - but interesting to compare it with the Hammer version. It’s slower paced than the film which gives more scope for Kneale’s dialogue and character cameos like Wilfred Brambell’s tramp, while John Robinson’s portrayal of a dignified Brit Prof is closer to Kneale’s conception than Brian Donleavy’s brash abrasive Quatermass. The TV opening is different, too, while it’s Marsh, not Broadhead who falls into the burning food…The film definitely has the edge on production values but the TV has its own mystery and fascination.

[@john_carter8243]

from the intro music I AM HOOKED

[@spadebraithwaite1762]

I love this, compared to modern television, but it was a simpler time when this was considered good.

[@oldedwardian1778]

Ahhh, the ORIGINAL. I am 81 and remember this story very well. There is another version of this with professor Quatermass played by Brian Donlevy. This is the original and the best.

[@terrythomas8482]

Always loved Quatermass filmd ❤

[@thammut1892]

Glad to be able to bring an old favourite to you. Thanks for the sub Terry.

[@maryelizabeth6797]

Thanks for the ending. I also had to hunt around for the last 20 mins. ❤️🇨🇦

[@lisacox8109]

From Indiana. I watched the pit when I was a kid and it scared the @#$& out of me. Clad to find this.

[@thammut1892]

I've said before here, or should have done, the pit is my favourite too, though sadly could not get it on here. Sorry! Hope the others I have work as well for you.

[@intignia]

OH, that was fun. I never saw this before, but it brought back memories of my early childhood in England in the latter half of the fifties.

[@harri2626]

Extremely clunky and hammy, but fascinating. I am 76 and remember this show but not this episode. Let's hope that a similar transformation happens in our world soon, to overcome the worldwide lunacy we have now!

[@davidlally592]

All 3 BBC Quatermass serials are available to buy on one BBC DVD. Note that re the very 1st one (the Q Experiment), only some if this is thereon. The other two (Q II and the superb scariest and finest of them all: Q And The Pit) are in full thereon. Well worth buying.

[@TheOverlordOfProcrastination]

Grateful for this. Thanks for uploading.

[@thammut1892]

Pleasure, thanks.

[@theresamaleady7721]

Love these classics worth a watch

[@johnsmith-rs2vk]

When English was correctly , pronounced , spoken ,and understood .

[@old-manparker6153]

AH! So good! OKAY - first three episodes are low resolution. However, the acting is "BIG" so you'll still get exactly what's going on ( if you can understand the English accents) The last three episodes are higher resolution. Only up to 360, but watchable. Several things not revealed in the movie, are here in the TV series - at least that I noticed. Such as, here in the series Quartermass calls the aliens "the ammonite things" - because they are ammonia life forms. Plus some cool effects shots I enjoyed that I don't remember being in the film. Of course, I love the fact that the monsters from space are defeated by... The English army? No. The English Navy? No. English Air force? No, It's the local worker's union that cleans them space-monster's clock! Yeah, earth is saved by the local industrial workers union! ~ ( he he )

[@henrykujawa4427]

A couple years back, on KZbin, I watched the 2 episodes of "The Quatermass Experiment", and then, for whatever reason, "Quatermass and the Pit", followed by the Hammer version of that. Blew my mind. Over 3 hours long, and it NEVER got boring. Nigel Kneale was clearly a FAR-better writer than most of the ones they had doing DOCTOR WHO! (Nearly every 6-parter on that got boring at some point.) But then to see Kneale CUT nearly 2 hours from "Pit" for the Hammer screenplay-- and it STILL MADE SENSE! Wow. He was something else. Hammer's QUATERMASS AND THE PIT has to be one of the best films they ever did. I'd somehow never seen either version of "Quatermass II", but I decided to do so now. (I imagine the Hammer version will be disappointing compared to this, but, who knows?) I've always read that the opening scenes of DOCTOR WHO's "Spearhead From Space" borrowed from this. It's a bit fuzzy, but, right off the start, I recognized Hugh Griffith and John Stone (I'd seen the latter on THE AVENGERS). John Robinson's voice sounds awful familiar, but I may be confusing him with someone else. The cliffhanger at the end of part 1 sure reminds me of... ALIEN. Heh heh heh. (That movie "borrowed" from as many different sources as STAR WARS did.)

[@johnsmith-rs2vk]

Great stuff . Many thanks for the upload !

[@ftumschk]

10:00 That's Hugh Griffith playing the scientist; he'd go on to win the "Best Supporting Actor" Oscar for _Ben-Hur_ five years later.

[@johnsmith-rs2vk]

Great stuff ! Scared the S...T out of me as a young boy !

[@tallthinkev]

23:47 I'd want a full bloody pint for a start!!

[@tedscott1478]

When the village was taken overnight, where did the uniforms helmets, guns and ammo and road signs etc. come from ?

[@jeffreylawrence6928]

I’m not certain how you found this but this was the first series to really scare me…really going to enjoy this.

[@thammut1892]

I'm a bit of a good download hunter at times, possibly. Glad to be able to get a but of classic horror to you, enjoy!

[@chriseaston1392]

I never new there was a quartermas 2 or as ive been told a tv series.thanks for the view,ill let everyone no what i thought.have a great day

[@thammut1892]

You too!

[@thammut1892]

There is a third, Quatermass and the Pit, its my favourite. It couldnt be uploaded here due to copyrights. Its on our server if you wanted to join us. Follow the link in description if interested!

[@tony3313]

Love the intro theme by Holt.

[@drwho534]

Old guy in bar scene "when there was less government things we're better" .. he's got that right!!

[@None-zc5vg]

That's what they made Reagan say, followed by the disastrous last 30-odd years of Capitalism-off-the-leash.

[@henrykujawa4427]

@@None-zc5vg 100%. Government is meant to serve THE PEOPLE-- not the BILLIONAIRES.

[@Droodog127]

saw the Brian Dunlevy version of this

[@josephnash2081]

This feels very much like the Doctor Who (Jon Pertwee) serial, "The Spearhead from Space" (which it probably inspired.)

[@andygozzo72]

yep, probably did😉 also was 'the daemons', likely influenced by quatermass and the pit ,

[@Eltonlaleham]

I wish I had been born in 1955 or even, born before 1955 and I can imagine life was easier to live back then unlike in the 70s and beyond.

[@bekiwalker2843]

Wish someone could put "X The Unknown" on here. Great movie too

[@borusa32]

It would have been nice if Professor Quatermass ( looking an awful lot like Mattel's Major Matt Mason in his rigid space suit) could have spun around and picked up poor Professor Hugh Griffiths on his way back to Earth in Fireball Junior.

[@robertbulmer164]

"Someone's in trouble" "shouldn't we go back" "No it might help us" "Well that explains the firing" Quatermass, man, that is cold!

[@glenncalderwood8945]

This is much scarier than the hammer film.

[@oldedwardian1778]

This may have been the first time I ever heard Holst’s MARS from the Planet Suite. What better music could you have than this. The Planet suite is so good that John Williams has admitted that it provided a basis for his music to Star Wars.

[@AwesomeAngryBiker]

If its the first time you heard Mars, how did you know it was Mars if you hadn't heard it before 😁?

[@oldedwardian1778]

@@AwesomeAngryBiker Because I have subsequently heard the music that I now know to be MAES. I recalled that it was the same music I heard when I first saw the Quatermass stories all those years ago on those tiny 9 iINCH TV SCREENS. ERGO, that was the first time II heard Holsts MARS.

[@oldedwardian1778]

@@AwesomeAngryBiker later I heard the SAME MUSIC and someone ANNOUNCED THE NAME. So I used MY BRAIN, you should try it sometime, and I realized that the music I had heard was the same as the music, whose name I now knew.

[@AwesomeAngryBiker]

Thumbnail is from old farmer at about 6:30

[@thammut1892]

It gave me a giggle, and thought it would work.

[@rayjennings3637]

The Landrover is motoring down the road but who walks past and leaves a shadow on the screen at 04:19 ?

[@tarnopol]

Monster upload!

[@jackthebassman1]

My brother and I watched from a safe position, behind the sofa, all ready to dive for cover.

[@oliversmith9200]

Neat that the space suits were taken from the current British science proposed design of the period. A shame that the also British modified V-2 proposal didn't take the first human to outer space. It certainly could have. Funding pouring instead to nuclear weapons and delivery.

[@old-manparker6153]

So... I've seen the movies, and this is the television show? Oh, is this is the 2nd Professor Quartermass movie - as a television series... right? The one with the big Lovecraftian shagoth monsters in the huge pressure domes? That one? Well Quartermass is a great big grouch in the movies and the TV show, that's for sure!

[@thammut1892]

Well it is a totally different production and set of actors. The film was made by hammer productions, where as this was made by the bbc, both with seperate actors and production. Though Nigel Kneale, the writer, worked on the screenplay for both. Now I want to watch them all again!

[@thammut1892]

And yes it is the same story. Sorry, i have had a drink!

[@old-manparker6153]

@@thammut1892 ~ Thanks very much for the info. Yes, it's easy to see the difference of production values. TV vs Movie. I like how the meteors look exactly like little space ships after they "reconstruct" their shape. It reminds me of the "Doctor Who" series - perhaps in a very early idea stage... The acting is wonderful! Extremely over dramatic- almost comic it's so extreme, however, it really pushes the story along! They have no other production values to work for them. No big effects, or lavish costumes or sets - just the sheer acting out a good story. Refreshing really. Oh, it's really too bad this copy is so low resolution. Makes it hard to watch. - LUCKILY, the resolution rises up to 360 in the end - making the last episode ( the grand finale ) much better. So watch til end. Their "English" accents and unusual word usage also can be a little bit of a challenge, as well. However, I enjoy that it's longer - over three hours of classic sale Science Fiction! An exciting story. Super weird enemies. Plus creepy-scary space-monsters! -( the ammonite things )- ..and in a nifty twist, the "synthetic food" turns out to really be monsters from space and humans are THEIR food!

[@petdoe8938]

My favourite thank you

[@Patty-w5s]

I love this! The awful video adds to the charm! Db

[@thammut1892]

Haha I get what you are saying, it does add something. It is for this reason that i will only watch the original version of Night of the Living Dead.

[@petersolomon5227]

A series desperately in need of a digital restoration & remastering. BFI perhaps?

[@None-zc5vg]

Not a chance! How did this not get wiped?

[@johnsmith-rs2vk]

When English was correctly pronounced and spoken .

[@thammut1892]

I do the English right good too.

[@andymackie8283]

The first words spoken: "Now then lad, how goes it?"

[@thegreencat9947]

Oh...my goodness. Sounds good to me..whereas I am an American 😊

[@gandfgandf5826]

I can't spell zero the way they pronounce it. I also enjoy hearing past English pronunciation.

[@johnsmith-rs2vk]

@@andymackie8283 JUST HAD A PONY SARGE !

[@chrislongstay]

Great to see a young version of Steptoe, still dressed the same. Lol

[@reesetorwad8346]

👍 Nice!

[@stephencrowther524]

Can’t understand many of the comments…I didn’t find it especially frightening and enjoyed the music from Holsts “The Planets.” (I’m 70) As for “ back in the days when the BBC made programs worth watching” 😂😂 Talk about living in the past !

[@mikekemp9877]

the master from dr who turns up ep 4! knew he was behind it! seriously brilliant use of post war attitudes.people then were used to secrecy from government due to the war no one asked questions.commitees ran everything if a bloke in uniform told you to do something you obeyed.add to the paranoia of the show new towns being built all over plus huge plants springing up that we were never sure what went on in them and you have a perfect plot.where i lived for example the experimental research division of explosives was just up the road at waltham abbey.houses did now and then get hit by presumably shrapnel as overshoots from the base.mysterious mod police armed patrolled the place.later the even today totally unaccountable nuclear police also armed took over before it closed.in the 90s a massive class action was won by relatives of people who lived near the site who all died of a very rare unknbown form of leukaemia! leaving out the alien side to the story there were a lot of places in the uk like the flats in the story.made it very credible and scary then and still works now.

[@MegaTruthseekers]

An early Wilfred Bramble from 'Steptoe & Son' and Rupert Davies from 'Maigret'

[@Ubique2927]

What are Royal Engineers doing running RADAR.

[@seltaeb9691]

HD would be great. I was only 2 yrs old, & rmbr thinking that, plus another bottle of milk.

[@colinglass1342]

If this was a radio drama I'm thinking qautermass Sounds like Christopher Lees voice

[@Tech-Relief]

It is a pity that it is unwatchable at 360 low resolution, why is it so bad?

[@DJKinney]

Those are some spacesuits

[@francis400]

The man walking behind a so-called moving land rover was BBC all over.

[@Wig4]

I was/am confused !!! So, there was the "Quatermass II" TV series (this copy) in 1955, AND a later "Quatermass II" feature film in 1957 !? Same story, but total runtime of the film (1h 20) is less then half that of the series, yet a technically way better production !

[@marksieving7925]

Nothing terribly confusing about it. The TV series were popular, so feature films were made to capitalize on them. The feature films had higher budgets so were able to have better technical production. An American actor was cast as Quatermass to appeal to the US market.

[@Wig4]

@@marksieving7925 I found out, that Quatermass feature film was in no way better storytelling quality, then the BBC series. (To the contrary) .......... About the "American market" topic : I aggree is WAS important to US film going public, but from my European viewpoint, it's absolutely worthless.. :-)

[@thegreencat9947]

Hello...I am here to see what has banned....

[@thammut1892]

Hello!?

[@johnsmith-rs2vk]

Putting the freigtheners on th BBC.

[@johnsmith-rs2vk]

When English was correctly spoken , pronounced , and understood !

[@michaelmanuell326]

Never did like the program. Always made to go up to bed when it came on😂.

[@lizdoyle7158]

🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🌏🌎🌍🌏🌏EXCELLENT🌟 ⭐🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

[@kali3665]

Shame the first one is probably gone forever....

[@nicolepilcher1059]

The original Quatermass is available on Amazon.

[@kali3665]

@@nicolepilcher1059 I think that's just the movie. As far as I understand, the original serial is gone except for a few bits and pieces.

[@thammut1892]

I was told Thatcher had a lot of old film stock burned, that was in beeb storage. How true that is im not sure.

[@peteroates2908]

I liked the other actor who played Quatamas much more than this grumpy sod 😮xx.

[@annabelladebonnay8320]

If this brilliant series was televised today the Sissy Brigade would sanatise it!!!!

[@bazeye]

Terrible directing and ham acting, but still an interesting curiosity.

[@bazeye]

@cket I can imagine. I admit I'm being somewhat unfair, It's because I was excited to watch this when I found it on YT, and it was dissapointing.

[@jmc1000mickey]

First time watching...yep its shit

[@peterwebb725]

Poor quality visuals. Filmed in a fog

[@mistsmogguru8378]

Werrrrre dooooomed !