User reviews

Often overlooked even by those who enjoy the sci-fi films of the fifties, "X The Unknown" is one of those sleepers that real afficionados will watch over and over. Starring Dean Jagger, the cast also features a very young Anthony Newly as a British Army corporal.

There's not much that professional critics would find either amusing or compelling about this film, but when considered in its place as a landmark movie both for the sci-fi genre and for Hammer films, it shines somewhat brighter.

As has aready been mentioned, this film occupies a prominent role among those that feature a "blob" monster. The special effects, incidentally, are not bad for the year (1956), and the concept of a radioactive blob is perhaps even more interesting than one that merely gobbles up people.

I understand that this was one of the early films produced by Hammer, as a step toward making more sci-fi entries. I'm glad they took the chance. This film and those that followed it enriched the genre for all fans of 1950's and 1960's sci-fi films.

This early offering from the studio that would go on to become the greatest force horror would ever see lacks the vibrant colours and pseudo-Gothic style that would go on to epitomise their later output, but it retains the British charm and wit that Hammer became famous for. The film also succeeds in being entertaining, and that's what Hammer Horror has always done best. X the Unknown is your classic 50's B-movie, and it follows a seemingly bottomless crack that has opened up in the Earth. This is not all, as adding to the Earth's woes is the creatures that have come out of this pit; which are made of mud and feed on energy. For the time it was made, the effects certainly aren't bad and this was an obvious blueprint for several b-movie 'classics', including most notably; The Blob. Seeing the huge mud creature fumble over telephone lines and rooftops is very fun to watch, and is a good early indicator of the sort of film that Hammer studios would go on to mass-produce.

One thing that X the Unknown is notable for is the believability regarding the scientists researching the 'creature'. Too often in this sort of film, the scientists realise what is going on and everyone just accepts it, no matter how ridiculous it is; but here there's a bit of opposition and it's nice to see. The film remains interesting throughout thanks to the way that the plot is developed, and the fact that it doesn't go over the top with detail. It attacks the premise from lots of different angles, and seeing the army do it's best to thwart the creature is always amusing. The cast keeps the film afloat at all times, and the acting isn't bad at all; and certainly much better than I was expecting. Most of the cast are unknowns, but one standout is Hammer regular - Michael Ripper, who puts in a small appearance. X the Unknown isn't a brilliant film, and Hammer would go on to better this ten fold; but it's good for what it's worth, and I definitely recommend this movie to fans of classic 'B' cinema.

X: The Unknown from Hammer Films was intended to be a sequel to the film, The Quatermass Xperiment. Objections from the writer Nigel Kneale meant that the plot of the film was reworked.

The original director was slated to be the noted American blacklisted Joseph Losey who started shooting the film but due to illness had to be replaced by Leslie Norman (Father of film critic Barry Norman.)

This is an unpretentious film dealing with issues with nuclear radiation very much in vogue in the 1950s in horror and sci-fi films. The films also predates The Blob by a few years which was more campy.

Soldiers in Scotland discover a bottomless crack in the ground with a mysterious source of radiation activity. An explosion kills a few of the soldiers from radiation burns. Soon several more people die of radiation burns.

American actor Dean Jagger plays Dr Royston from an Atomic Laboratory who hypothesized that a form of life from prehistory trapped in the crust of the Earth, tries to reach the surface every 50 years depending on the alignment of the sun and tidal waves in order to find food from radioactive sources.

As the entity, a glowing blob feeds on radiation its mass increases as it tries to make its way to nuclear plants to find more radiation.

The film has a mix of good special effects especially with people melting and some ropey ones as the blob moves taking over the town or with fire explosions that look like a match going off. A lot of the horror is off camera but the film maintain its thrills.

The acting from Dean Jagger and Leo McKern is straightforward. It has a fair amount of thrills such as a little girl being left behind in a church as the blob approaches or at the climax when a jeep gets stuck in the mud.

The plot: In the remote Scottish Highlands, a living radioactive mass seethes out of the depths of the earth and kills everyone in its path as it seeks fresh radioactive energy. Luckily an American scientist is about the place and kicks the 'thing' back down from whence it came.

X the Unknown, while not having the innate intelligence of the Quatermass movies, is a good example of 1950's British pulp science-fiction cinema. While most of its American counterparts visited fantastic worlds inhabited by outlandish monsters and gorgeous 'space-babes', X the Unknown was a truly British effort: our monster was dollop of mud out of a hole in the ground doing a slow crawl around a dingy moor.

It's effective though. It has the same austere, grim intensity which made the Quatermass movies so memorable. The film also benefits from moody, high-contrast black and white photography, a typically acerbic score from James Bernard, and a good cast; Leo Mckern turns in a very good, naturalistic performance, much like his turn in The Day The Earth Caught Fire.

I first saw this movie when I was about six and the extraordinarily graphic scene depicting the monster 'devouring' a hospital doctor gave me a few... err....sleepless nights (there's a particularly ruthless zoom-in to the poor guys hand as it expands and melts!). Perhaps I should have stuck to Bugs Bunny.

Overall, a decent chiller, well directed by Leslie Norman (late father of the superb British film critic Barry Norman).

One last memory of a six year-old's first viewing of this picture: I remember sitting there stunned and horrified as the end credits rolled; I was not looking forward to a good nights sleep. The statutorily paternal BBC announcer came on and cracked the following nervous joke: "Well, I'll never eat cheese on toast again" (see the film and you'll know what he meant). I laughed with relief and my childhood was thus saved a terrible trauma! Thanks Uncle Beeb.

'X the Unknown' is a typical and entertaining British sci-fi movie and comes with everything that these types of movies relied on...

...terrible special effects, a budget that wouldn't feed a church mouse and a silly story that is brought to earth by a well-known cast who play it straight with a good tight script and well-paced direction.

There are lots of excellent reviews and information on this site that do this movie far more justice than I can... so I'm dedicating this review to Chris Tarrant and Peter Tomlinson...

Thank you so much to Chris Tarrant and Peter Tomlinson who made Friday night Hammer movies such a delicious pleasure in the 1970s on Midlands Television.

Every Friday night after the 'News At Ten', either Chris or Peter (sometimes both) would introduce a Hammer film which would take us through to the idiotic conversational bible class at about 12:30 in the morning. This was followed by the loud whiny pitch which let us know that there was no more telly for the night and it was time for Britain to go to bed!

While my parents were out at the Officer's Mess at RAF Cosford getting drunk and having a good time, I'd make a big round of sandwiches, steal a few cans of dad's McEwans Pale Ale or Tartan Export Ale and settle in front of the TV on my own, for the best two hours of the week.

The movies were usually Christofer Lee or Vincent Price doing their various evil characters and of course, there were also sci-fi movies just like 'X The Unknown'. And as the adverts came around, Chris or Peter (I think they took turns each week) made watching these scary movies so much more fun. Add that to the memorable Cinzano adverts along with the Milk Tray ads and Castella ads, Hamlet ads... my Friday nights were the very best that any kid could have imagined.

Thanks, Chris and Peter... You'll never be forgotten for the enormous pleasure you brought to so many people like me, who watched scary Hammer movies in the midlands during the 70s, who were now never alone on a Friday night!

X The Unknown is directed by Leslie Norman and written by Jimmy Sangster. It stars Dean Jagger, Edward Chapman, Leo McKern, Anthony Newley and Jameson Clark. Director of photography is Gerald Gibbs and James Bernard scores the music.

During a British army training exercise in the Scottish Highlands, mysterious fissures open up in the ground and unleash a radioactive being. The authorities call in atomic scientist Dr. Adam Royston (Jagger), who sets about defeating the entity before it destroys mankind.

Following the success of The Quatermass Xperiment the previous year, Hammer Film Productions quickly realised that a market was open for some sci-fi horror from the British Isles. Wanting it to be a sequel to Quatermass Xperiment, producer Anthony Hinds was dealt a set back when Quatermass writer Nigel Kneale refused permission for the character of Bernard Quatermass to be used. Undaunted he fetched in Sangster and paired him with exiled American director Joseph Losey. American actor Dean Jagger was brought in to play the Quatermass like role of Royston, but he refused to work with Losey on account of his suspected sympathies to communism; the reason the director was in flight from America for. So in came Leslie Norman and the film was finally made.

Sangster brought a new spin to the 50's craze of sci-fi schlockers and creaky creature features. Having observed mankind come under threat from all manner of aliens or beasties, from space, land, sea, air or otherwise, Sangster hit on the idea of having the threat come from the Earth's bowels. Thus X The Unknown was spawned, in a big blob of malevolent alien energy. Photographed in shadowy monochrome by Gerald Gibbs, "X" taps into the general unease that was pulsing in America and Europe at the time. The Cold War was gathering apace and the threat of a nuclear based WWIII was at the back of everyone's minds. 1956 was also the year of the Suez crisis, the makers of "X" had pitched their film at just the right time.

It proved to be a hit with critics and cinema goers alike. Sangster's script is tight and intelligent, but never losing the necessary sci-fi schlock factor, and it's very well acted, especially by a straight faced and serious Jagger. Bernard scores it with strings and percussion, creeping menace style, while the effects team provide good 1950's style ick and grue. It may not have the quality of the Quatermass films, but it makes for a nice companion piece to that series. While it for sure towers above the bubblegum candy floss that was The Blob that followed two years later. 7/10

With the success of THE QUATERMASS XPERIMENT Hammer films immediately decided to do a sequel and this is that film but Nigel Kneale wisely decided to have nothing to do with it and was adamant the company weren't going to using his character of Bernard Quatermass to appear . I say " wisely " but X THE UNKNOWN isn't by any means a bad film but lacks that little something and one wonders if involvement by the visionary and oh so intelligent Kneale would had lifted the screenplay above being merely average and in to undisputed classic British sci-fi horror ? It's a film you may remember from years ago but upon seeing again realise it's the sum of its parts rather than a consistent whole

Directed by Leslie Norman ( Barry's dad ) the scene is set in the opening sequence with a bleak cold winters day in the Scottish Highlands and a unit of the Royal Engineers on training maneuvers . In those days Britain had a conscript army and if nothing else the film does make a point that forcing young men in to routine military duties seemed rather senseless . It also contrasts a rather mundane setting with the horrors about to come . Norman is rather effective but his job is relatively easy in using night filming , scary music and a build up of people about to be killed by a blob of radioactive mud . Let's be honest and say it's not to difficult to frighten an audience via this type of convention . May be we should also be charitable and point out the melting effect is rather well done but it's difficult to be scared by something that's just a pile of mud

The cast are okay but nothing more than that . Reminding ourselves this was originally supposed to be a QUATERMASS film Brian Donlevy's much maligned performance would have probably been an improvement than Dean Jagger's rather flat substitute role . At least Donlevy would have been a bit more brusque and arrogant and a scene where the father of a dead child condemns the men of science might have had a bigger impact . That said the characters throughout the film are rather non descript and lack a spark to them

X THE UNKNOWN works well enough as a science fiction horror film . It's a good idea on paper and does contain a few scenes that are more than efficient but you're left with the nagging suspicion that more could have been done with the premise , characters and perhaps most of all the big bad monster . Sometimes you wish Nigel Kneale could have written a few more QUATERMASS teleplays

Very solid early outing from Hammer - I always thought of them as the "lurid color horror studio", but "X" (and the "Silent Scream") proves they could put together an impressively tight and well told tale that didn't involves breasts and blood.

The "Quatermass" influences are all over this, of course, but that's not a problem - the screenplay and the production are crisp and energetic even during the expository scenes. And Dean Jagger is almost the "antimatter" version of Brian Donlevy. His character plays the Quatermass role, but he's infinitely more likable (if a little odd and preoccupied) and humane. (There were moments in the Quatermass films that you had to remind yourself that Donlevy was not actually a jerk, just impatient and arrogant.)

The movie does have a little problem with making a monster that is essentially radioactive mud look and sound menacing, but they wisely limit the actual screen time of the beast and concentrate on its effects and its victims. The result is a little potboiler with some eerie and disturbing moments that are well worth your time if you don't insist on big budget special effects.

If you like Hammer films, classic horror films, or black and white 60's British entertainment,take the time to see "X the Unknown" if you get the chance.

When troops practice locating fallout in a remote Scottish quarry, an apparently bottomless fissure opens in the Earth, critically injuring a soldier with radioactive burns. As radioactive goo oozes forth, destroying everyone in its path, scientist Adam Roysten (Jagger) formulates a theory that the living mass, dormant for millennia, now seeks fresh radioactive energy ("energy can only be fed with more energy") and, to this end, is heading straight for the military's own nuclear reactor.

A film of what-ifs and could-have-beens, X The Unknown was originally devised as a Quatermass sequel - until Nigel Kneale, miffed over what he felt was a lousy adaptation of his BBC serial, refused to co-operate (he would, however, go on to co-write Quatermass 2 after leaving the BBC).

More intriguingly, X The Unknown was also to have been directed by the legendary Joseph Losey (The Servant), then on the run from Senator McCathy's Un-American Activities Committee. Obliged to carry the pseudonym 'Joe Walton', he was forced to bow out after leading man and rabid anti-Commie Jagger rumbled Hammer's ruse. (The studio's US distributors considered Jagger's involvement crucial to the movie's commercial appeal overseas, so he had considerably more sway than the director.)

Replacement director Leslie Norman does his best within the budget's limitations, aided by a faintly literate premise "cobbled together in an hour" by 27-year-old Jimmy Sangster (in his major screen writing debut), along with a shipload of tapioca pudding. But, sandwiched between the two classic Quatermass films, this can't hope to replicate Val Guest's achievements.

Faintly ludicrous scenes of soldier boy Tony Newley firing blindly at a tsunami of pud sit uncomfortably with some genuinely shocking moments - faces melting, exposing skulls. There's a sense of treading water here - Bernard's score lazily re-working familiar themes, although some naturalistic performances (particularly from Newley, as Private 'Spider' Webb) go a little way to absolving the film.

Back in the days when "Prince Valiant" still covered most of a page in the Sunday funnies, I first saw this wonderfully creepy SF sleeper. From the opening scenes of a stretch of the Scottish moors opening up under a British soldier's feet, I was hooked. I was very lucky that my parents didn't send me to bed then(although they did right in the middle of "From Hell It Came", but that's another story); I was resolved to catch it again just to get that creepy feeling! The ominous P.O.V. shots of the "X" monster shambling through the barren woods at night, the outrageous "melting" death by hard radiation of the medical tech in the X-ray room, Dean Jagger as Dr. Royston, describing his new invention that can (theoretically) speed up decay of radioactive materials without causing flare-ups(!) simply by leeching away its' energy, and the film's creepy, near-ambiguous ending ("We did destroy it...didn't we?") showed just what you could--and can!--still do with a small budget and respect for the material.

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).

The always reliable Hammer Studio would find its Artistic, Money-Making stride the next Year, but before that there were offerings like Quatermass and this follow-up and it was obvious that there were rumblings of Greatness afoot.

It would take Classic Monsters, Color, bloody Violence, Cleavage and smart Production all around that would take Moviedom in a new direction and announce that Hammer Studios would be an unforgettable force for the next twenty Years.

This was before all that and is an eerie, quite effective, very low-budget, brainy, anti-nuke Movie that has great and gloomy Atmosphere with believable Characters experiencing Horrific situations. There is a good deal of "Scientific Explanation" and is a bit talky here and there, but this nonetheless remains a very good Shocker that is much better than the overrated Rip-Off, The Blob (1958).

Definitely worth a view for B-Movie and Horror Fans and even for those who like to laugh at this kind of stuff. Even they may be impressed at its doom laden, Cold-War seriousness and overall quality.

A horror film from the early days of Hammer, the famous British B-movie horror company, with a particularly absurd script. British army radioactive experiments lead to the release of a ridiculous being, like nuclear goo, which roams the fields and towns of rural Scotland, melting whatever comes its way.

A kind of Blob in a radioactive version and manufactured in Scotland.

The allusion to radioactivity is quite typical of the time, when everyone had heard about the nuclear bombs dropped by the North Americans on Japan, but no one had a definite idea of what radioactivity was and what dangers it represented. To simulate the radioactive danger, it was necessary to invent a murderous foam that would melt anyone who approached it less than three meters (and not always, if the film is to be believed).

Anyway, a basic film, only for fans of Hammer's minimal and absurd style.

First saw this excellent British Sci-Fi film when I was 10 or 11 at our local neighborhood theater. It seems like yesterday, since the invisible monster scared the Hell out of all of us.

This was the first of many other Brit Sci-Fi movies we would scream our guts out at. They were far ahead of U.S. film makers in suspense and realism. The casts were also superior in their acting skills for this genre.

I hope to locate many more movies like "X The Unknown" to see how I view them now as an adult. The initial impact may be less than it was originally.

Two years before The Blob (1958) we had X The Unknown (1956). X takes a more serious approach and a bit more adult of the two films, whereas The Blob is a bit more comical and teenager-ish. Both are good creature features if you like that sort of thing. I like The Blob better.

The copy of X I watched had a weird wave to the entire film that is hard explain. It's not wavy lines though it. It's not a rocking motion of the camera man I don't think but almost as if the film was sliding around during the recording to DVD but it could have been originally filmed that way - it's hard to say. I can say that it made me a bit nauseous and dizzy watching it. (I watched it via YouTube).

I would not go out to buy this film and would not care to watch it again, but I am not saying it's a terrible film... it's just not that much fun to watch.

4/10