X the Unknown (1956)

 

X the Unknown (1956)

 

The greatest SF Hero of all time is not nearly well known enough in the USA. Professor Bernard Quatermass, always called Quartermass, was created by SF Writer Nigel Kneale for the TV miniseries/serial, “The Quatermass Experiment” (1953) which became a franchise on TV, film, and other media. Quatermass, armed with nothing but his Intelligence and Humanism, saved the Earth from Alien Invasion over and over.

 

Quatermass was a huge influence on “Doctor Who” (TV series first aired in 1963) and over the decades Quatermass was played by almost as many Actors as the Doctor. “Doctor Who’s” Producers actually wanted to hire Kneale, but he was a notoriously grumpy man and not only turned them down, but publicly called the show stupid. (I’m a huge “Doctor Who” fan, I don’t think it’s stupid, but I must admit, the Doctor has some Special Powers and Technologies, so he didn’t have to work as hard as Quatermass to save the World during most of his adventures.)

 

That first Quatermass TV serial was turned into the theatrical film “The Quatermass Xperiment” (1955) which saved its studio, Hammer Films, from bankruptcy and brought Kneale’s creation an International Audience, but Kneale complained about the film bitterly. Kneale was not fond of Quartermass being playing by an Actor from the USA, and didn’t like that he was re-interpreted as bombastic and selfish. Still, Kneale worked with Hammer for years thereafter, but apparently never stopped complaining.

 

Hammer needed another Quatermass from Kneale, but for reasons unclear to me, the next one, “Quatermass II” (on TV in 1955), wasn’t available to Hammer fast enough. (Note: they did get it eventually get it, making the movie “Quatermass 2” (1957) and Kneale complained about that film too). Desperate, Hammer tried to go forward with a Quatermass without Kneale, that’s this movie, “X- the Unknown.” Kneale threatened to sue, so this film became the Quatermass without Quatermass, a storm-tossed orphan amid 1950s SF/Horror. Despite this mess, it’s still pretty good.

 

Here the Writer was Jimmy Sangster, it was only his second produced script and his first feature. Almost immediately thereafter he, and Hammer in general, would find more comfort in making Gothic Horrors. SF/Horror, which saved them all from unemployment, was (mostly) abandoned in favor of a string of hit films influenced by the Classic Era Universal Monsters (the Era lasted from 1923 to 1941 while Hammer’s most important Gothics were from 1957 to 1975), but it must be remembered, the best Universal Monsters, coming from the USA, were based on books by English Authors. When “Quatermass 2” was finally released it was, like this film, in B&W, but it was double-billed with Hammer’s “The Curse of Frankenstein,” shot in beautifully lurid color.

 

“X-the Unknown” was told in the documentary style-so favored by the Crime films of the era, essentially a Scientific Detective Story. In it, Dr. Adam Royston (Dean Jagger), the Character who was supposed to be Quatermass, must unravel the Secrets of a mysterious explosion, causing one death and another serious injury do to Radiation burns, but the cause of the explosion is uncertain and the Radiation doesn’t behave as familiar forms of Radiation did. As Dr. Adam carefully picks over the problem, the situation escalates, there are more unexplainable Victims of Radiation burns, and before its over, the realization of the accidental unleashing of what could only be called a Monster from Hell.

 

The first Quartermass TV serial starred Actor Reginald Tate, chosen by Kneale. The first film starred Brian Donlevy, from the USA and an Oscar Nominee, and Kneale hated the choice. Hammer didn’t go to Donlevy this time (they would again in the future) but believed that to capture the all-important USA market, they still needed a USA lead, so they hired Jagger, an Oscar-Winner. Jagger didn’t bother to disguise his accent, which was ultimately amusing because he was surrounded by British Actors who often exaggerated theirs: Though the film was shot England proper, it was actually set in Scotland.

 

Jagger is excellent, as was the entire cast filled with people like Leo McKern who would be more famous later. They were exceptional really, because Writer Sangster fell into a trap too common in SF before the 1970s, something called “Competence Porn” where the Characters in a lot of SF films, and a fair number of Crime and War films, have no Identity beyond their Professional Commitments. In SF, Competence Porn is really a reflexive action you see in Writers pursing the Illusion of Realism in the context of the Fantastic, the Characters can often come off pretty cold-blooded as they meticulously figure out problems and execute their jobs. Also, Competence Porn is Chauvinist, and this film almost completely lacks female Characters, only one woman getting any dialogue, she’s in only one scene, and she’s a bimbo (Marianne Brauns as Nurse Zena). It was up to the Cast, and the Cast alone, to infuse their Characters with the Personalities that the script forgot to add. Jagger did manage to remind us of Quartermass’ Humanism and anti-Militaristic bend, which Writer Kneale thought essential but Writer Sangster. Earlier Actor Tate beautifully embodied it (he died before he could resume the role in the next serial) while Donlevy notoriously turned his back on it (Donlevy’s Quatermass was softened, but only slightly, when he returned in Hammer’s “Quatermass 2”).

 

Meanwhile, Hammer’s Gothics embraced anti-Realism but were required to be Hot-Blooded, demanding beautiful women scattered everywhere to be threatened, or to threaten. Sangster embraced these Gothics and eventually was not only a Writer, but a Director; instructive here is the title of one of his later films, “Lust for the Vampire” (1971).

 

As good as Actor Jagger was in giving Dr. Adam Humanity, in other ways he proved difficult. The original Director was the gifted Joseph Losey, who was already a collaborator with Writer Sangster, and another guy from the USA. Losey was forced to go to England to find work because he was a victim of Hollywood Blacklisting (he went to Europe to evade a Subpoena from the House Un-American Activities Committee). After filming began, Jagger refused to work with a known Communist, so Losey was fired and replaced by Leslie Norman. Norman was not near in reputation to Losey but proved quite capable, telling the story like a rigorous Police Procedural despite its Fantastic elements. The above-mentioned Competence Porn is both the best and worst aspect of this film, and Norman is responsible for both, as few other Directors would’ve taken it to such extremes.

 

Scientific Detective stories are both common and rare in the same gesture. All the Quatermass serials and films belong in this category, as does many others like the USA’s “Them!” (1954), but generally only for the first third or half. Usually there comes a point when the Mystery is already solved and the Mayhem takes over. So here, I’m making my own categorizing rules, most Monster movies involve a Mystery to solve, but I say that in a Scientific Detective story, the Protagonists, the Mystery can’t be solved, and Mayhem can’t take over, until well-after the half-way mark. You are not allowed to disagree with me because in the best, more Naturalistic, Police Procedurals, they either they never embrace Mayhem, or do so only in the closing minutes.

 

Police Procedurals started appearing in England after the end of WWI England with films like “The Blue Lamp” (1950), but the sub-Genre was really USA-born and more popular here. The longest running Police Procedural franchise in the USA was “Dragnet” (radio show 1949, first TV series aired 1951, more versions followed).  

 

Not much SF evoked/mimicked this, turning away from the Stoic joys of following dogged Detectives of “Dragnet.” In the 1950s, I can only think of a few SF examples: The first Quatermass TV serial (but not the film version), this movie, and USA film, “The Magnetic Monster” (1953); they share the distinction being building Suspense lovingly through inference and at the same time holding back on the Mayhem for a really long time. These films don’t thrive on Direct Confrontation, but follow a Hero trying to play Catch-Up in a Mounting Crisis he doesn’t fully comprehend until the very last minutes.

 

From the Monthly Film Bulletin, “‘X the Unknown’ intriguingly suggests a new addition to the science fiction repertoire of Things, but after a series of prolonged climaxes, with its potential victims staring directly into the camera and shaking with fright, the ‘Unknown’ finally emerges …” After that, the review gets a bit more negative because they didn’t like the Monster much. Personally, I thought its eventual appearance was effectively bizarre and the use of Noirish B&W and miniatures made it pretty scary.

 

The Monster, when revealed, was effectively a form of angry, hungry, mud, and thereby anticipating “The Blob” (1958). “The Blob” also had a Mystery to solve, but handled it far more conventual Monster Movie manner, there was no Quartermass-like Character, just teenagers trying to Save the World (Actor Steve McQueen’s first starring role). “The Blob” was far less about solving the puzzle, and that appealed to many. “X – the Unknown” had a deliberate-pace, “The Blob” had a fast-pace.

 

About the same time, there was a Japanese film, “The H-Man” (also 1958) with a very similar Monster. “The H-Man” chose to quicken its pace by having two Heroes, a Quartermass-like Scientist (Kenji Sahara) pursuing the Monster, and a Cop (Akihiko Hirata) chasing Gangsters, they slowly realize their goals were one-in-the-same.

 

At the time, this Monster was hugely innovative, but became a cliché almost as fast as it appeared.

 

“X – the Unknown” was in first-run so long it earned two reviews from “Variety” which were polar opposites, they perhaps reveal how this film was Stylistically different it was from most other SF fair of the time. The first was by "Myro”:

 

“‘X the Unknown’ is a highly imaginative and fanciful meller, with tense dramatic overtones ... Made with creditable slickness, it tells a story which is completely absorbing, though totally unbelievable. There's little let-up in the action, and suspense angles are kept constantly to the forefront. Laboratory experiments in an atomic research station have an impressive, but familiar appeal … ultimately they play a key role in the plot. War Office cooperated in the production, and its seal on a story of this kind should have some value. ... The scenes on the desolate moor, the sight of the grim atomic mass moving relentlessly towards its main target, the closeups of the radio-active victims, and the ultimate efficacy of the neutralizer combine in achieving a tense, almost horrific atmosphere. The acting, though mainly stereotype in style, is in the same vein, with Jagger, Edward Chapman and Leo McKern leading a vigorous cast."

 

The next was from "Whit,” who hated it:

 

“Poor and complicated ... carries a complicated [so he used the same word twice] structure difficult to follow … the menace ... is so vague that audiences may be overmystified.”

 

I’m guessing Whit didn’t like the SF Police Procedural aspect. Also, I’m guessing he would’ve liked “The Blob” better.

 

Like much of 1950s SF, this film offers a counter-argument to post-WWII optimism. 1950s SF was frequently anti-Communist, but that isn’t evident here, because the Monster is no Commie. But many films imbued with Cold-War fears similarly lack a Commie Monster: “The Thing from Another World,” (1951), “The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms” (1953), and the forementioned “Them!,” so the overriding Theme seems to be that in the Afraid New World, we’re in over our heads. Vitally, this film treats this new thing, Radiation, suddenly the center of the public conversation but so little understood, as a form of Alchemy. I don’t have a Scientific training to fully evaluate the film’s accuracy, but it's obviously way more logical than other films like “The Beast from …” “Them!” (“The Thing from …” was a little different in that respect, but the use of Gieger counters were still pretty Sinister.)

 

Dr. Adam first finds the lack of Radiation near the victims of Radiation Burns a compelling Clue. Later he established the lack of Radiation at the Crime Scenes is because that’s what the Monster eats and so even though it is, itself, dangerously Radioactive, it leaves none behind. Figuring out what the Monster eats empowers him to guess its next move and bait it into a trap.

 

I should make clear, this isn’t a film with much Political Messaging and far less rich in Cold-War Metaphorics and resistance to Conservative attitudes than any of the Quatermass’ Kneale penned. Notably, the real Quatermass’ contempt for an out-of-control Militarism is radically played down.

 

One could argue that Hammer’s the soon-to-be-dominant Gothics were more Political than this film even though they were wholly indifferent to contemporary Political Issues. But the Gothics were committed to pushing the limits of Censorship with increasing Sex-and-Violence. The titles of both “The Quartmass Xperiment” and “X-the Unknown” referenced, really mocked, the British movie rating system, the “X” rating, but neither had sex, and in both the violence was extremely limited. The Frankenstein and Dracula films though were chock full of both and triggered Political debates about what Horrors the Horror film industry should be allowed to get away with. “X-The Unknown” evaded the battle, Kneale’s Quatermass’ consciously tried to get into the thick of it, but in was really the women in the diaphanous gowns running down castle hallways proved to be what people paid attention to.

 

The Conservatives Ruled England with an intrusive Social Agenda from 1951 to 1964, making the non-Political Hammer Gothics actually increasingly Politically relevant. One could see a lot of resistance to the Conservative Agenda that in a lot of the Era’s English cinema, these were the days of “Kitchen Sink Realism” and “Angry Young Men,” but they generally had smaller audiences than the Dracula’s and Frankensteins.

 

Over time, Director Losey, fired from this film for being a Communist, did make other Hammers, before moving on to being a Hero of Art House cinema and now all his contemporary fans forget that his Genre films even existed. One of Losey’s later Hammer’s especially notable here, “The Damned” (1969): It also treated Radiation as Alchemical, did so in a manner even less logical than “Them!” and was aggressive in its contempt of Government Secrecy, Militarism, and Social Conservatism, even more so than anything that the onery Kneale ever wrote. But, of course, by the time that film was made, the England’s Conservative hegemony was broken (by a Sex Scandal of all things, the “Profumo Affair”), and then-Prime Minister Harold Wilson was running around doing things like abolishing the Death Penalty, most forms of artistic Censorship, Decriminalizing Homosexuality, relaxing Divorce, Birth Control, and Abortion Laws and Outlawing Racial Discrimination.

 

As Critic Roger Manvell pointed out, "It was astonishing to see how the middle-class 'opposition' went down like ninepins, and made a fashionable cult out of a literature of protest which was largely directed against everything they represented.”

 

Oh, the times they were a changing.

 

Trailer:

X... The Unknown (1956) - Official Trailer