Lionel Jeffries - What a Character! Blogathon

Lionel Jeffries was one of the most delightful and unique character actors to ever grace the British cinema. Bald, bewhiskered and bumbling he was an instantly recognizable actor in over 100 films, and however brief his appearances he was always an asset in comedies, thrillers, and dramas alike. Whether he be Grandpa Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang or the inventor Cavor in First Men in the Moon, Jeffries excelled at playing charming crackpots and inquisitive and spirited characters.

Unlike Terry-Thomas who exaggerated toothy eccentrics for comic effect, Jeffries portrayed peculiar personas in a compelling and queer manner which made them strangely believable. His characterizations were of people that you might find and meet one day. Lionel Jeffries brought an element of reality to every character he portrayed. 

"I was constantly rewriting the words of the characters I was given to bring them a comic humanity. Most of the people I played were caught in desperation. In their hearts they knew they were failures - but they would never admit it, even to themselves."

Jeffries was born on June 10, 1926 in Forest Hill, London. As a boy he attended Queen Elizabeth Grammer School in Wimborne Minster, Dorset while his parents worked in a mission in London's East End with the Salvation Army. 

At the age of 19, he received a commission in the Oxford and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, serving first in Burma, where he worked for the Rangoon radio station and later with the Royal West African Frontier Force where he rose to the rank of captain in 1945. After the war he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, where one short year later he won the Kendel award for his acting and writing. He felt out of place at the Academy however, being the only bald student among the bunch. He had lost all of his hair before the age of 20! Perhaps the war had that bad of an effect on his head. 

"Of course I was upset. Tried a toupee once, but it looked like a dead moth on a boiled egg". 

Upon completing his schooling in the early 1950s he quickly embraced the film medium and plunged into a series of roles in some memorable British comedies and spy thrillers in spite of being told by his agent that he was too young for character parts and not good-looking enough for leading man roles. His baldness certainly put him at a disadvantage but he took his egghead and used it to his advantage instead. 

One of his first film roles was a small part in Hitchcock's marvelous little thriller, Stage Fright ( 1950 ). Roles in Windfall and The Black Rider followed but then he hit a rough patch and as his agent predicted, parts were hard to come by and few and far in between. In 1953 he turned to stage and appeared in the Westminster Theatre production of Carrington VC with Alec Clunes. Stage was not his cup of tea and although he did a few more productions he quickly stepped out of the stage scene and was not behind the floodlights again until 1984, when he played Horace Vandergelder in Hello Dolly! at the Prince of Wales theatre in London. 

One day, in early 1955, he attended the cast audition for The Colditz Story and with holes in his shoes he walked away with the third lead to Eric Portman and John Mills. From then on he was always in demand for his quirky characterizations, often playing an officious policeman or bungling crook in these early roles. Some of his most memorable parts of the 1950s included the inquisitive reporter in The Quatermass Xperiment, Gelignite Joe, the diamond robber in Blue Murder at St. Trinians, Major Proudfoot in Law and Order, and a prison officer in The Two-Way Stretch, a Peter Sellars comedy. Jeffries also appeared in a number of dramas and crime films including the suspenseful Vicious Circle with John Mills, Hour of Decision and Man in the Sky with the always competent Jack Hawkins. 

It was in the 1960s, however, that Lionel Jeffries reached his comedic peak, first with his role of a priest in the wacky Bob Hope spy flick, Call Me Bwana, then as key suspect Captain Rhumstone in Murder Ahoy, and lastly in one of my all-time favorite roles, as the highly-strung Professor Cavor in the delightful Charles Schneer/Ray Harryhausen adaptation of H.G Wells' First Men in the Moon featuring Edward Judd and Martha Hyer. Here, Jeffries plays a reclusive scientist who invented a paste that combats gravity and, not wanting to dilly-dally with simple everyday uses, intends to launch a sphere into space on a voyage to the moon. 

Jules Verne's Rocket to the Moon was another film that featured Lionel Jeffries in a similiar role, but that same year he starred in one of his most memorable films - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Jeffries gladly accepted the role of Grandpa Potts, Caractacus' travel-loving father, even though he was in fact six months younger than Dick Van Dyke. 

Jeffries thoroughly enjoyed playing in wholesome children's films such as Chitty. He believed there were more wise children than wise adults and wanted to see entertainment geared towards children that adults could enjoy as well. In an era when society was bombarded with images of sex and violence Lionel Jeffries stood out for his gentler sensibilities. He was a devoted Catholic and deplored permissivism. Unlike alot of Hollywood marriages, Jeffries remained married to one woman, former actress Eileen Walsh, for over 59 years ( until his death ), with whom he had one son and two daughters. One day, his eight-year old daughter Martha came to him with a book she was reading - Edith Nesbit's delightful classic "The Railway Children" - and told her father "I think this would make a good film". Papa agreed and he promptly purchased a short option on the film rights for £300. 

He wrote a script that retained all of the charm of Nesbit's book and took it to Bryan Forbes, then head of Elstree Studios, to get his opinion of it. Jeffries and his wife had met Forbes at Richmond Hill, home of Sir John Mills, where they often socialized with the Oliviers, the Nivens, and the Attenboroughs.  Jeffries confined to Forbes that he "secretly harbored a longing to direct the film" himself. The Railway Children was indeed Jeffries first experience behind the camera as a director and it was a smash hit. The film, featuring Bernard Cribbins, Jenny Agutter, and Dinah Sheridan remains a cult classic in Britain, being shown year after year at Christmas Time. 

On the wake of its success, Jeffries was inspired to direct some more children's films but continually hit a stone wall when it came time to finding a producer. They were indifferent at best, and he came to the conclusion that "No one wants family entertainment anymore. They want explicit sex". Nevertheless he did find backers to several more productions, The Amazing Mr. Blunden ( 1972 ), Baxter! ( 1973 ), Wobbling Free ( 1977 ) and, his final film as a director, The Water Babies ( 1978 ). 

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Lionel Jeffries turned to television, a medium which he had originally shunned years before because of its inferior production values. An appearance in the drama Cream in My Coffee altered his opinion and launched a belated career on the tiny tube. He had guest appearances in Inspector Morse, The Collectors, Lovejoy and portrayed grandpas in Rich, Tea and Sympathy and Woof!.

For years Lionel Jeffries was playing characters older than himself because of his premature baldness, but in these later roles, his age had finally caught up with his missing hair! Lionel Jeffries passed away on February 18, 2010 after several years of suffering from declining health ailments. He was 83 years old.

This post is our contribution to the What a Character! blogathon, a celebration of some of the most talented actors in Hollywood, the beloved "character actors". Don't miss visiting Once Upon a Screen or Paula's Cinema Club to view a complete schedule and find links to great posts on nearly fifty other great character actors. 

Dame May Whitty - What a Character! Blogathon

Dame May Whitty was a delightful character actress of numerous first-class productions of the late 1930s and 1940s. Typically playing a distinguished aunt, mother, grandmother, or dowager, her presence brought an authentic English air to any film....possibly even more so than Gladys Cooper. Proud, gentle, kindly, and altogether charming, she was indeed the ideal symbol of British dignity. 

Dame May Whitty was born on June 19, 1865 in Liverpool, England, the daughter of a newspaper journalist/editor. Her first encounter with the world of acting was in a stage production of The Mountain Sylph at the court theatre in Liverpool. She was sixteen years old and danced in the chorus. Within a year, she made her London stage debut and quickly became a seasoned performer. By the turn of the century she was well-known on both sides of the Atlantic. 

In 1918, she was created a Dame Commander of the British Empire ( being the first actress to receive that honor ) for her philanthropic services with the Red Cross during The Great War. Always willing to serve a good cause, she displayed her selfless service again by helping out for the war effort during World War II. She also appeared in Forever and a Day and Stage Door Canteen, both made to boost morale and the sales of war bonds. Even upon her death her will requested that rather then giving flowers at her funeral the money should be used to send CARE packages to England. 

Whitty was busy across the pond and on Broadway during the 1920s and 30s, and it was in 1932 that she was offered the co-starring role in Emlyn William's new play, "Night Must Fall." Reluctant at first to accept the role of the wheel-chair bound, chocolate-loving old lady who is beguiled by a psychopathic killer, it was to become one of her best performances. The show was a great success in England, and she reprised the role on Broadway and once again in 1937 for the MGM film of the same name opposite Robert Montgomery. At the tender age of 72 she made her Hollywood film debut. Her first experience in front of the cameras was a happy one, one which she enjoyed immensely. However, there was one sequence she had trepidation over - toward the end of the film, Whitty had to play a two-and-a-half-minute scene of rising tension, culminating in hysteria. She suggested to director Richard Thorpe that she do a run-through, just to show him what she had done in the play and then he could tell her what to do for the camera. But he didn't...he simply shot the scene as it was, unbroken and unaltered, in a single take. This earned her the title of "One-take Whitty". 

It was a magnificent performance altogether and she received an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actress. Thus began a wonderful career as a supporting actress in many fine productions for MGM and other studios. 

In 1937, she played the medium in MGM's The Thirteenth Chair and the next year starred in her most memorable role, that of charming old Miss Froy, an espionage agent who mysteriously disappears onboard a train while returning home to England, in Alfred Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes. 

In 1940, Dame May was asked if she thought of retiring, 

"Quit? Only the aged and infirm quit, and I am neither. So long as I can do my bit, I'll keep right on doing it." 

In the early 1940s, she reached the peak of her film productivity and played in a number of fine films for MGM and other studios...in Raffles ( 1940 ) she played the Lady Kitty Melrose whose diamonds are stolen by the renowned Amateur Cracksman; in Suspicion ( 1941 ) she played Joan Fontaine's mother, and in Mrs.Miniver ( 1942 ) she was Lady Beldon, the perennial winner of the town's annual rose competition, and aunt to Teresa Wright. 

In this film Whitty demonstrated her flair for portraying characters with multiple facets of emotion. In the beginning of Mrs. Miniver we see Lady Beldon engaging with various characters in conversation and freely donating her blunt opinions to each of them. Whitty had a masterful way of unloading carefully timed barbs in such a direct manner while retaining her cuddly lovable cantankerous self. It is as the film progresses however that her depth of character is revealed. Lady Beldon is a crusty coconut, hard and bristly on the outside and sweet and milky within, and one by one the layers of her shell are peeled away to reveal this inner nature...first, by the kindly Mrs. Miniver, and then by the brutal circumstances of war. This performance earned May Whitty her second Academy Award nomination. 

For a change from her more usual high-society roles, she played the down-to-earth Dolly ( her real-life husband Ben Webster played her spouse in the film ) in Lassie Come Home; she was the elderly villager of Penny Green in If Winter Comes ; and in The White Cliffs of Dover ( 1944 ) she played the lovable governess Nanny. Gaslight saw her returning to her prestigious roles, this time as Ingrid Bergman's garrulous neighbor on Thorton Square. 

In the thriller My Name is Julia Ross Whitty had an usually biting role as the wealthy mother who tries to convince secretary Nina Foch that she was her son's wife, and in Green Dolphin Street she did a complete reversal and magically transformed herself in the wise Mother Superior for Donna Reed. 

In 1947 her husband of 55 years, Ben Webster, passed away. Dame May Whitty made the films The Sign of the Ram ( with Susan Peters ) and The Return of October that year but had to be replaced by Lucille Watson in Julia Misbehaves due to illness. 

On May 29, 1948 she died at the age of 82. Many of Hollywood's British colony friends attended the funeral including C.Aubrey Smith, Edmund Gwenn, Herbert Marshall, Brian Aherne and Boris Karloff. 

Her daughter Margaret Webster was a famous actress herself as well as a notable stage producer and director and in 1969 she wrote an autobiography, "The Same Only Different", covering both her and her mother's careers.

This post is our contribution to the What a Character! blogathon, a celebration of some of the most talented actors in Hollywood, the beloved "character actors". Don't miss visiting Once Upon a Screen or Paula's Cinema Club to view a complete schedule and find links to great posts on nearly fifty other great character actors. 

The Quatermass Report - Part Two

In our continuing look at the influential Quatermass series of the mid-century we turn the spotlight onto Nigel Kneale's final serial of the 1950s - Quatermass and the Pit, as well as the final episode, simply entitled Quatermass from 1979. Part One is available to read here. 

QUATERMASS AND THE PIT

Andre Morrell, who had been the original choice for the role of Professor Quatermass when Kneale first conceived of the character in 1953, had finally consented to portray the now-famous bow-tied Brit. This third installment, released in 1958, combined the same elements of the previous series - an alien invasion through human takeover and a time-ticking race on Quatermass' part to stop this - but in a new and completely absorbing way. In fact, Quatermass and the Pit is one of the best of the series. 

"The last adventure, which I called Quatermass and the Pit, went way past the concerns of the time and into an ancient and diabolical race memory," said Kneale in an interview in 1996. "It sought to explain man's savagery and intolerance by way of imagines that had been throbbing away in the human brain since it first developed. Racial unrest, violence and purges were certainly with us in the 1950s, and I tried to speculate on where they first came from."

During routine engineering work at Hobbs' End underground station ( "Hob" is a folk name for Satan ), a group of bones and half complete skeletons of ape men are discovered, apparently drastically predating the era that scientists had established for those creatures. Later, an unusual metal container is unearthed. The authorities, led by the unimaginative Colonel Breen ( Julian Glover ), believe it to be an unexploded bomb left over from WW2, but when Professor Quatermass arrives on the scene, he proves otherwise. The contents inside reveal to him a discovery which shatters the accepted theory of Darwin's evolution and offers a dire warning for the future of mankind. 

Kneale ambitiously attempted to rationalize the nature of both supernatural hauntings and human concepts of the devil and, surprisingly, he translated those ideas into a convincing and plausible, if improbable, script. 

Quatermass and the Pit was broadcast in December 1958 and received much acclaim from television critics, with several reviewers praising Morell for having given the definitive portrayal of Professor Quatermass. Cic Linder, Anthony Bushnell, and John Stratton rounded out the great cast. 

As with the previous two serials, Hammer purchased the film rights to these monumental Pit episodes, however, partly due to the declining box-office receipts of Quatermass 2, Kneale's refusal to tolerate a drunken Donlevy once again, and Columbia disinterest in the series ( Hammer had recently struck a distribution deal with Columbia Pictures ), it was not brought to the big screen until February 16, 1968.

Instead, Hammer plunged into another film adaptation of a Kneale teleplay - this time of "The Creature" ( 1955 ), which they retitled The Abominable Snowman. 

Roy Ward Baker undertook the directorial responsibilities when Quatermass and the Pit was put into production in February 1967. Baker had directed a number of fine films during the 1950s, notably The October Man and A Night to Remember, but several recent failures made him turn to television, directing episodes of such popular crime-fighting series like The Saint and The Avengers. 

Kenneth More was Baker's original choice for the part of Quatermass, but eventually he selected Andrew Keir to replace Morell, who had turned down the chance to play the role again. This was a stroke of good fortune, for Keir brought an excellent steely determination to his characterization of the professor as well as injecting a very human fragility and vulnerability. 

James Donald adds great support to Keir, and Barbara Shelley, one of Hammer's most popular and prolific leading ladies, is excellent as fellow scientist, Barbara Judd. Quatermass and the Pit ( also known as Five Million Years to Earth ) was her final film for the studio. There are a swarm of delectable British character actors to enjoy as well, including Peter Copley, Bryan Marshall and Edwin Richfield.

Hammer's home base, the Associated British Studios in Elstree, Borehamwood did not allow for enough space to film and so the project was relocated to the MGM Borehamwood studios where no other film was being shot at the time, giving the crew - and especially the production designers - ample space to work with, which they utilized in creating the enormous Underground station and excavation settings. 

QUATERMASS 1979 

After Quatermass and the Pit, Hammer approached Kneale about the possibility of writing another script for a film follow-up but that idea never came to fruitation. Instead, Professor Quatermass made his final television appearance in the four-part 1979 Thames Television serial release, simply entitled Quatermass. Alas, it was a serial that should not have been made. In the mid 1960s, Nigel Kneale had written a dreary and depressing tale of the future state of London - and much of the world - where young people have formed violent gangs and attack bystanders without provocation while bands of hippies worship the ancient energies and dance around archaic stone monuments waiting to be transported by aliens into a faraway world. 

Quatermass was not put into production until late 1978, when these peace, love and hate incidents seemed oddly irrelevant.  What's worse, Professor Quatermass is no longer an optimistic man of science, but has warped into a bitter and discouraged old man. He has long been retired, living in retreat in the Scottish Highlands. His sole purpose in coming to London is to search for his missing teenage granddaughter. After a recent space mission goes horribly wrong, right before the public's eyes on live television, a young astronomer ( Simon MacCorkindale ) and Quatermass search to find the answers to this occurrence and other unusual happenings.

The series, and even the 100-minute feature film release The Quatermass Conclusion, progress along cumbersomely and convey a bleak dystopian setting, a far cry from the 1950s post-war Britain of the previous serials.

Whereas Kneale's original series were genre-defining and ground-breaking, this Quatermass lacks energy and quite frankly, fizzles out before it has a chance to begin. Not even John Mills' superb acting ability could inject new life into the character. 

THE QUATERMASS EXPERIMENT 2005

BBC Four attempted to revive Professor Quatermass for the younger generation 

in 2005, when they mounted a remake of the original Quatermass Experiment, this time with a much more youthful Jason Flemyng portraying the now tie-less Professor. More recently, Simon Oakes, the current CEO of Hammer Films has announced plans to dip into the archives and remake several of Hammer's post popular films, including the inimitable Quatermass.

The BBC Quatermass serials of yor did not rely on special effects but rather on interesting characters, good dialogue and an intelligent story, elements seen far too rarely in modern science fiction films, which hopefully will be remedied if a remake is undertaken. 

To this day Nigel Kneale's creation of Quatermass, and the serials that showcased this character, remain one of the BBC's finest achievements and influenced numerous science-fiction series including Doctor Who and Sapphire and Steele. 

Be sure to check out the Quatermass films available on DVD, as well as The Quatermass Film Music Collection. 

School Bells Ringing, Children Swinging

Boy meets horse, boy loses horse, boy miraculously gets horse back - stories like these were endlessly cropping up in films of the late 1940s. "National Velvet" and "My Friend Flicka" started a chain reaction that continued on until the early 1950s. Most of these follow-ups were just average productions, but The Red Pony ( 1949 ) was a stand out. Beautiful Technicolor and big name drawing actors like Robert Mitchum and Myrna Loy helped draw the adult crowd to this pleasing family film. A young Peter Miles plays Tom Tiflin, the pony's proud papa, and here we see him getting a teasing from his fellow schoolmates. He probably should run to teacher for help, but won't, since she is played by the inimitable Margaret Hamilton. 

The Alfred Hitchcock Hour - An Unlocked Window ( 1965 )

Today the Hitchcock Halloween blogathon, hosted by Lara Gabrielle Fowler on Backlots, has officially started and we are helping to celebrate the wide and varied film and television career of Alfred Hitchcock with our review of one of his lesser-known gems, "An Unlocked Window" ( 1965 ). Lesser known to those who are not familiar with The Alfred Hitchcock Hour that is, for to fans of the series "An Unlocked Window" is regarded as one of the most memorable and downright spine-tingling episodes ever made. 

The show opens up with the Master of Suspense doing one his customary droll introductions to the story about to be aired. This time we see him standing behind a microphone stating that he wanted to broadcast his portion of the program by radio since he had lost some weight and did not want to mar his "image". 

And then the thrills begin: we spy nurse Freda walking home at night - all alone - after caring for an elderly bedridden woman. A rash of murders has been occurring in the area but this doesn't seem to bother Freda...until she hears footsteps following closely behind. The camera quickly cuts to her feet walking, then to a man's feet walking behind her, back to hers, back to his, back to hers, back to his.... until suddenly we hear him speak "You are such a beautiful nurse Freda" followed by an unforgettable cackle-cackle as he snickers and strangles her simultaneously. 

Freda was not the first nurse to be victimized, for our serial killer has a particular fondness for strangling nurses - young pretty nurses as a matter of fact, which leads us to Stella ( Dana Wynter ), night nurse to the dreamy Mr.Glendon Baker ( John Kerr ), who's temporarily bedridden and under oxygen due to an illness. 

Baker, a young professor, lives in a dreary old house on the outskirts of town. He bought the property hoping to find it haunted but was sadly disappointed, "The real estate agent assured me there had never been a murder, suicide or any kind of violence within these walls...It's too bad a hideous old house like this has no hideous history to go along with it". He currently has his heart set on marrying Stella, an idea that keeps him cheerful despite his confinement to bed.

The news reports of the recent nurse killings have jangled Stella's nerves and she is pleased when another nurse, Miss Ames ( T.C Jones ), arrives to assist her in her work. Aside from the two nurses and Mr. Baker, only Maud the housekeeper ( Louise Lantham ) and her handyman husband Sam occupy the house. Miss Ames often reprimands Stella for her obvious forgetfulness in little matters, fearing that this will hinder her one day while on duty. Recently, Stella has forgotten to obtain extra oxygen tanks for Mr. Baker and so that night Sam is sent to the nearest hospital to bring some back. With a fierce storm raging outside and the fear that the killer will strike them next, the inhabitants of the house batten down the hatches and lock the place up tight - all except for that UNLOCKED WINDOW. Oh, nooo! 

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"An Unlocked Window" was based on a short story written by Welsh novelist Ethel Lina White in 1939. Alfred Hitchcock had previously used one of White's novels, "The Wheel Spins", as a basis for The Lady Vanishes ( 1938 ). Many of Ethel Lina White's books focused on the vulnerability of women. This theme was emphasized brilliantly in Robert Siodmak's adaptation of White's novel, "Some Must Watch", re-titled The Spiral Staircase ( 1945 ), where our heroine is not only a young, timid woman needing protection but a mute as well. 

The concept of the defenseless female reverberates throughout "An Unlocked Window" . In one scene we see Stella, Miss Adams and Maud cowering in corners for fear of their lives, suspecting that the killer has snuck inside the house. When a frightened Maud anxiously turns on all of the lights in the house Stella quickly hushes her and shuts them off, remarking that "the darkness protects us, now if there is someone outside he can see in, and see that we are alone". Surely three women in a house - not counting an ill man in the upstairs bedroom - would not be considered "alone". This once again reinforced the idea that women, especially forgetful women like Stella, were helpless without the protection of a man. 

Other elements that Lina White liked to include in her novels echoed that of the devices American mystery authoress Mary Roberts Rinehart used : lonely country houses, mysterious men on the prowl, night scenes and nurses. This episode is dripping with MacGuffins and old dark house horrors and the exterior sets for the Bates Motel ( Psycho ) were appropriately used as the Baker residence. 

The Hitch himself directed a few episodes of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour but in this case all honors went to Joseph Newman ( This Island Earth ), whose taut direction kept the story at an edge-of-your-seat suspense level and claustrophobically confined to the house. But applause must also go to the great cinematographer Stanley Cortez ( The Magnificent Ambersons ). In several key sequences, he uses tilted shadows to create a feeling of approaching danger. In addition to these talents, Bernard Herrmann, a Hitchcock favorite, composed the subtle score for this episode and James Bridges, who penned the teleplay, won an Edgar Award the next year for this adaption.

"An Unlocked Window" aired on February 15, 1965. It was the 17th episode of the third season of the popular extended length, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. This episode boasted a fantastic cast including Dana Wynter, a delicate lady who was no stranger to suspense films. In 1963 she had just completed starring in John Huston's thriller, The List of Adrian Messenger, while John Kerr was enjoying a respite from his usual melodramatic roles. Louise Lantham practically steals every scene she is in with her fear-begotten characterization of Maud, the boozy housekeeper, accented by her whinny lethargic drawl. It is a performance reminiscent of Agnes Moorehead's stellar portrayal of Velma in Robert Aldrich's Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte ( 1963 ). Lantham had made her film debut just one year prior in Alfred Hitchcock's Marnie, as Mrs.Edgar, Marnie's callous mother. 

"An Unlocked Window" was remade on The Alfred Hitchcock Show revival series in 1985. It was condensed to a half-hour episode and this time starred Annette O'Toole and Bruce Davison. Both episodes are available for viewing on Youtube, but viewer beware.....if you are watching these on a dark and stormy night, be sure to check that your doors and windows are securely locked before sitting back to enjoy these frightful delights. 

DO NOT PEEK! 

If you are familiar with "The Unlocked Window" and know its ending than here is an interesting article on one of its principal players...otherwise, do not peek! 

The Quatermass Report - Part One

A BIRD'S EYE VIEW

Before The Invaders and other television series such as The X-Files popularized investigations of alien invasions there was Professor Quatermass, a pioneer in the field of experimental science who often encountered bizarre extraterrestrial happenings in and around London.

Professor Bernard Quatermass, head of the British Experimental Rocket Group, was the brainchild of screenwriter Nigel Kneale. Kneale had won the prestigious Somerset Maugham Award in 1950 for his book, Tomato Cain and Other Stories and had joined the BBC staff of writers shortly after that. The professor's unusual surname was plucked from a London telephone book and his christian name was dubbed in honor of astronomer Bernard Lovell, who in the 1950s was making news experimenting with his telescope at Jodrell Bank observatory. 

Unlike scientists today who rely heavily on computer-generated data, Professor Quatermass did not need any technology to help him in his quest to explore the unknown. A few rubber gloves, a microscope and some crude radar equipment would suffice for him. Afterall, Britain was still recuperating from the destruction and chaos of WWII and it was make-do-and-mend men like Quatermass that were getting the nation firmly back on its feet again. Besides, Quatermass did not fight two-headed green-skinned aliens of mortal substance, but rather had to battle the most maddening of foes: the shifting, shapeless, unknown variety. Cardboard instruments would do quite well for that task.

Quatermass had an unlimited supply of confidence and resilience. He knew his duty lay in saving England from beastly intruders, wherever they came from, and when approached with bureaucratic setbacks he busted through the red tape like a juggernaut. 

Professor Quatermass was introduced to the public on July 18, 1953 in the first of six half-hour BBC episodes collectively entitled The Quatermass Experiment and it was this program that laid the foundation for what would become one of Britain's most memorable sci-fi franchises. 

THE QUATERMASS EXPERIMENT

When The Quatermass Experiment crackled onto teles all across Britain in the summer of 1953, the viewing public, two million Brits to be exact ( in a rough sort of way ), had not seen anything like it before. Television serials were a common programming feature but no show prior to this had been so engrossing and so plum absorbing to watch. At least, for adults. When majority of the sci-fi programming on television in the early 1950s was geared towards little tykes, Quatermass was meaty entertainment for adults. Nigel Kneale cheerfully admitted, "we didn't get the kids". The Quatermass Experiment reached out to the audience to ask the ultimate mind-engaging question, "What if?"....and it gave these viewers an entire week to ponder the answer before they found out what happened.

What exactly was the "if" question all about? An experimental B.E.R.G rocket, manned by three astronauts, crashes in the remote countryside of England after having been broken off orbit some time earlier. There is one surviving crew member. The other two men have been completing annihilated  Nothing remains but the empty suits they once wore....nothing except a gooey blob of sticky substance that is. Professor Quatermass attempts to discover what caused the rocket to break off of orbit and what creature - or alien presence - has entered the ship during flight and destroyed the two men. 

Andre Morrell was originally approached to portray the tired, desperate Professor Quatermass for this television serial but declined the part and so director Rudolph Cartier offered it to Reginald Tate, whom he had previously worked with for the teleplay It is Midnight, Dr. Schweitzer. Tate brought authenticity to the character which compelled audience members to tune in to their sets every Saturday night for the next five weeks to see how the brilliant prof could save mankind from the dreadful state it was in. Tate had had much experience on stage and this was fortuitous since most of television productions were broadcast live. 

Today, only one episode - the first - remains intact since video was a rather expensive film medium and many programs were taped over to cut costs. Although the sets were quite flaky, the lighting bad, and the "scientific procedures" alarmingly simple ( how does one test to see if a rocket's shell has cooled sufficiently? Pat it with your hands )...the story touched on the imagination of its viewers. In fact these primitive production techniques only helped to enhance the feeling of the impending chaos that Britain would find itself in had aliens attacked. 

In 1954, Hammer Film Productions, one of Britain's fledgling film studios, purchased the screen rights to the serial, shrewdly sensing a golden film property. Hammer Productions had yet to gain their reputation as one of the leading horror film factories, but their adaptation of The Quatermass Xperiment would be a key project in helping them reach that status. 

The Quatermass Xperiment, released in the US as The Creeping Unknown became Hammer's highest-grossing film to date and still remains one of the most memorable of the British sci-fi classics. Brian Donlevy starred as Professor Bernard Quatermass and was woefully miscast, portraying the professor more as a ruthless businessman than an inquisitive man of science. 

Most people remember this film because of Jack Warner's striking portrayal of the sole surviving member of the doomed experimental rocket ship. Without speaking one word, he conveyed the anguish he was feeling internally through the blank helpless look on his face. This character, with hardly any makeup, is one of Hammer's most frightening.

The British Board of Censors issued an X certificate for the film upon its release and in order to emphasize this the studio changed the title from The Quatermass Experiment to "X"periment. 

Hammer Productions were anxious to quickly create a sequel to follow-up on the wake of the success of The Quatermass Xperiment, and so they hired Jimmy Sangster to pen another oh-so-mysterioso science fiction tale. They entitled their film X-The Unknown but much to their dismay Kneale refused them the rights to use the name of Quatermass in that production, a decision made in part because of his disappointment with the studio casting Donlevy as Quatermass in the first adaptation. This film, however, did not feature Donlevy, but rather Dean Jagger in the role of the resolute professor. 

QUATERMASS II

The success of The Quatermass Experiment, and the launching of ITV network ( which ended BBC's broadcasting monopoly ) empowered the studio's programmers to develop more competitive programs, and the first thing they undertook was to commission Nigel Kneale to write a sequel to The Quatermass Experiment. 

Inspired by the news reports about the UK Ministry of Defense's secret research establishments and the fears they were creating to the reading public, Kneale devised a story around Quatermass doing top-secret research work for the Defense.

In this next series, originally aired in the autumn of 1955, Quatermass is asked to investigate unusual meteor showers. He discovers that aliens are conspiring to infiltrate mankind, targeting mainly the highest members of British government. 

Quatermass II has the distinction of being the earliest surviving complete British sci-fi television production. Like the original series, it was quite compelling and this time featured John Robinson as the renowned professor. The lead change came about for a very simple reason: Reginald Tate had passed away suddenly, at the age of 58, just one month prior to when filming was scheduled to begin. Robinson did an adequate job filling his shoes but had difficulty in learning some of the technical dialogue and his delivery of the lines has often been criticized. 

Hugh Griffith, the ebullient Welsh actor, portrayed Dr. Leo Pugh, Quatermass' chief assistant. Monica Grey ( as Quatermass' daughter Paula ), John Stone, and Roger Delgado ( Doctor Who ) also starred. 

Hammer Productions once again was anxious to receive the film rights for this second serial, and did so, this time with Kneale joining the staff of screenwriters to ensure that his characterization of Quatermass remained intact. 

Brian Donlevy returned in the role of Quatermass, inspite of Kneale's arguments to the contrary, and Quatermass II ( issued as Quatermass 2 in the states ), released in 1957, was once again a smashing success. The film featured John Longden, Sid James and Brian Forbes in supporting roles. Donlevy's portrayal of Quatermass mellowed a bit this time around but he still managed to succeed in looking frightfully out of place. 

James Bernard, who went to write the wonderfully eerie scores to so many Hammer films, concocted a beautiful medley of percussion and strings for Quatermass II. This was also production designer Bernard Robinson's first picture for Hammer, later he went on to create many of the beautiful sets for the studio's gothic films, such as The Phantom of the Opera and The Gorgon. 

To be continued....

Hammer Films' The Gorgon ( 1964 )

"It has been said that every legend and myth known to mankind is not entirely without some truth..." 

In the sleepy hamlet of Vandorf, a legendary 2,000 year old creature has reawakened and its spirit taken possession of one of the villagers. Seven gorgonizing deaths have taken place on foggy moonlight nights in the past five years; each one of the victims turned to stone. 

Paul Heitz ( Richard Pasco ), whose father and brother were the most recent victims, travels to Vandorf and, with the aid of Professor Meister ( Christopher Lee ), attempts to undercover the mystery behind these deaths. Alas, he finds himself confronted by a conspiracy of silence led by Dr. Namaroff ( Peter Cushing ) who, along with his associate, Carla Hoffman ( Barbara Shelley ), is protecting some sinister dark secret.

Peter Cushing, who often portrays the hero in such Hammer Film classics as The Mummy, The Curse of Frankenstein and The Horror of Dracula, this time reverses roles and plays our villain and a welcome change it is too. He brings a sympathetic appeal to the character of Namaroff despite his stoic and calculating nature. 

As Professor Meister, it is evident that Lee thoroughly relished the opportunity the role gave him. He creates a memorable eccentric who, like Van Helsing, seems quite capable of tracking and capturing any beast, creature, or phantom he happens to find... in a scientific way.

" We are men of science. I don't believe in ghosts or evil spirits, and I don't think you do either "

The always lovely Barbara Shelley was quickly becoming one of Hammer's biggest attractions when she starred in The Gorgon. She had leading roles in such horror flicks as Village of the Damned ( 1960 ) and Shadow of the Cat ( 1961 ) and in the next few years would go on to make Dracula: Prince of Darkness ( 1966 ) and Quatermass and the Pit ( 1967 ), justly earning the title of The First Leading Lady of British Horror. In The Gorgon, Shelley provides the romantic interest which becomes the key link behind the mysterious happenings in Vandorf. 

Other roles in the film are played by Michael Goodliffe ( Sink the Bismarck ) , Patrick Troughton ( Doctor Who ), and Jack Watson ( Grand Prix ).

Two of Hammer's most recent productions, The Old Dark House and The Damned, had failed at the box-office. They were desperate to find material that would appeal to the public and so they took a direct approach and placed an ad in "The Daily Cinema": 

"Got an idea you think would make a good film? One with an exciting title to match? ( Hammer was taking no chances ). If you have, contact James Carreras. Because good, compulsive selling ideas with the right titles are what Hammer are looking for right now"

The article brought in a good response from the trade and public alike and one idea generated enough enthusiasm to prompt Hammer to pursue it into production. It was a short story submitted by J. Llewellyn Devine about a legendary character from Greek mythological in a mid-European setting. Screenwriter John Gilling was called in to rework the story into a feasible screenplay. He did this and in place of Medusa, he renamed the gorgon Magaera ( one of the three Furies in mythology ). "The Gorgon" went on to become Hammer's first female monster.

Production began in late 1963 at Bray Studios shortly after The Evil of Frankenstein had completed shooting. Some of the sets were revamped to create the setting of Vandorf and the Castle Borski.

Barbara Shelley had suggested that she portray the gorgon herself and wanted to use a wig that - humanely - contained several live snakes. Producer Anthony Nelson Keys felt that, in order to protect the creature's secret identity, two actresses were needed and that the live snakes were unnecessary. Prudence Hyman, a former ballerina, took on the makeup and costumes of the gorgon. After the completion of the film however, Keys regretted his decision and had wished that real snakes were used. Since the gorgon is seen full-face in several shots, the impact of her petrifying glare was lessened by the use of rubber snakes. As Christopher Lee so aptly put it, "The only thing wrong with The Gorgon is the gorgon."

Makeup man Roy Ashton applied the hideous skin paint to Prudence Hyman while Syd Pearson, a special effects engineer at Hammer, had the task of creating Hyman's moving snake wig. Twelve plastic molds were made from which he cast latex rubber snakes. Twenty-five foots cables were attached to each snake, woven into the wig and run along the back of Hyman's costume which were then rigged to a peg and board contraption. When each peg was turned the tension created the illusion of the snake's moving independently.  Perhaps this was a bit easier to stage than the frame-by-frame technique Ray Harryhausen employed to create the Medusa in Clash of the Titans but the finished result was less than comparable. 

The Gorgon is not gory, nor is it oozing with terrifying moments, and for this reason it often falls short on the list of memorable Hammer classics, yet the film captures a unique Gothic atmosphere full of eerie foreboding and even director Terence Fisher considered it one of his personal favorites. 

Like all of the Hammer Studio films, The Gorgon contains richly detailed settings and beautiful colorful cinematography. James Bernard provides a mysterious score to enhance this mythological tale and implemented an early electronic keyboard, the Novachord, to create the effect of the Gorgon's call. It was most dreamlike and bewitching.

The Gorgon was released on August 21, 1964 and was double-billed with The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb. Critic reviews were quite favorable and these two films put Hammer back on track once again as one of the leading horror studios.

This post is part of the Hammer Halloween Blogathon hosted by the Classic Film and TV Cafe. Go to www.classicfilmtvcafe.com to view the complete blogathon schedule.