Hammer Films had done a few low-key genre features before they struck gold with a science fiction horror called "The Quatermass Xperiment," from 1935's "Mystery of the Marie Celeste" (starring Bela Lugosi), 1950's "Room to Let" (a Jack the Ripper story), 1952's "Stolen Face" (a plastic surgeon models a convict's face into that of his former lover's), 1952's "Four Sided Triangle" (another scientist clones a duplicate of the woman he loves), and 1952's "Spaceways" (the first British sci-fi set in outer space). After numerous discussions about subject matter, production manager Jimmy Sangster was instructed to compose the screenplay for "X the Unknown," their followup to "The Quatermass Xperiment," because he was the one making most of the suggestions. This was the beginning of a long and fruitful career as a screenwriter and producer (and director of 3 Hammers in the early 70's-"The Horror of Frankenstein," "Lust for a Vampire," and "Fear in the Night"). This initial script is typical of Sangster's work, strong on character and building tension through the fear of the unknown. A good cast performs well despite a director, Leslie Norman, who was most unpleasant (and never did another for Hammer). Genuine moments of terror proved too much for many audiences, and this was before the phenomenal success of Sangster's second script, "The Curse of Frankenstein," which was criticized for excessive gruesomeness. Following "X the Unknown," Hammer did the sequel, "Quatermass 2," before casting the coveted Peter Cushing in his first co-starring film opposite Christopher Lee, repeating his Baron Frankenstein in 5 sequels. By the early 70s Sangster had moved to the US, thereafter working almost exclusively for television (GHOST STORY, KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER).
Review of X the Unknown
