Hammer didn't delve into science fiction much—their blood and butter was always the horror genre—but when they did, the results were generally good. X the Unknown, the tale of a dangerous Blob-like creature and it's battle against the British Army on the moors of the Scottish Lowlands, was one of the studio's earliest sci-fi outings and remains a firm fan favorite. Yank Dean Jagger stars as Adam Royston, an atomic scientist who theorizes that X is searching for, and absorbing, as much radioactive material as it can find. With the assistance of Police Inspector McGill (Leo McKern), Royston develops a plan to take down the amorphous entity, but it's a risky endeavor which threatens to endanger the entire world. Jimmy Sangster's screenplay is reasonably intelligent (well, at least as intelligent as you can hope when your subject is a radioactive blancmange), but the film suffers a little thanks to its cheap shot-in-Bray look. Nonetheless, I've watched X the Unknown on multiple occasions since I was a wee lad, and recommend it without hesitation.
Review of X the Unknown
