The Quatermass Xperiment

What's that?

- Sounds like a jet, doesn't it? - That's not jet.

Maggie! Look!

- What is it? - Down! Get down.

Maggie!

Get inside, inside!

Inside!

Maggie!

I'm alright, Dad.

We saw it coming out of the sky, it was brilliant...

You two stay over there, and keep watch from the windows!

It's probably a meteor, isn't it?

I hope that's what it is.

Dad, don't go out there!

- You stay here, lad. - Please, dad, don't go out!

Hang on now! Is the telephone still on! Call the police.

Will you all please return to your homes.

You're only hampering operations by crowding the streets.

Please return to your homes.

Please get back out of the road, on to the pavement please.

Come along now, please. Please return to your homes.

Get back.

People in here. Right back please.

Right back.

Keep clear!

Alright.

You'll be alright. They'll take care of you.

Okay George, let's have a look at you.

Oh, don't you start fussing too. I've got singed, that's all.

It's still too hot to put water on.

It could do with another pump.

It should be heavily green now.

What's all this about, chief?

It could be practically anything.

The object was first sighted at about 9:15 this evening.

And its approach was widely observed over the southern counties.

A statement just issued by the home office,

stresses that there is no general danger.

Members of the public however are warned to stay away from the area.

I will repeat that.

The Home Office stresses that there is no immediate danger.

Do you realize what you'll have to face

if this turns out to be a disaster, Quatermass.

- How much further? - 150 miles, sir.

Quatermass, I'm talking to you!

For the last 20 miles I've been painfully aware of that.

Well that answered that. How did it happen? What went wrong?

For the first time in the history of the world,

man has sent a rocket 1500 miles into space.

You can't expect such an experiment to be perfect.

Well, you must have had some ideas.

I'm a scientist, not a fortune-teller who predicts what will happen.

- Well you had instrument, radio contact. - We lost it for over 57 hours. sir.

Poor old Glooseman don't even know how far it's been.

It had no further contact even when it return to the orbit.

Yet you brought it down by your own control.

Well, that's something to tell your ministry.

Create a mess, set it up and he brought it back.

Please! Oh, please.

Couldn't you pick some other time for this.

I'm sorry, Mrs. Carroon.

I happened to be concerned with the Ministry of Defense.

And I'm not a civil servant, I'm a doctor.

And I happened to be concerned with 3 men. The 3 men who are in that rocket.

Oakley, Green, this is it?

Certainly no secret.

Sorry, no one's allowed past this point.

Ministry of Defense.

Oh, yes, sir. Alright there, open up.

Sorry Miss, you will have to keep back.

Hoi, Miss!

Hey, you have to get back, please!

Miss!

Hi Ike, chasing the girls again.

Aye, you'd think it bank holiday the way they come flocking out.

I'd like to flock home.

You stay put, my lad, until that thing cools off.

Or blows up.

Now don't start that story going around. I said it's not a bomb.

- So why can't we put water on it? - Listen, Charlie. We've had instructions.

Don't ask me why because I didn't tell us.

Hey, hey. Just a minute!

- Mr Blake, Ministry of Defense! - I'll get the inspector.

- Try and get through to them Marsh. - Right, sir.

Get the temperature reading.

Why don't you go and wait in the car, Judith?

It's funny.

It looks exactly the same.

Yet it's been, who knows how far.

There isn't a word.

Hello Q-1, hello.

Q-1, Q-1, This is Marsh.

Hello Carroon, Green, Reichenheim.

You receive me? Over.

Keep trying.

- Mr. Blake? - I'm Quatermass.

I'll be in charge from here on inspector.

Can't say I'm sorry about that. What's the next move?

We can't do anything right now. Not until that cools off.

- How long left is that? - I would say 3 or 4 hours at least.

Q-1, Q-1, this is Marsh.

Can you hear me? Over.

You keeping them there for four hours?

I suppose you'd like me to open it up right now, huh?

One blast of air in against that heat will incinerate them.

Sir, reporters have arrived. They'd like some facts.

- They'll get some later. - They'll get some now. Bring them on Major.

Don't you think we ought to find out a few more ourselves first?

Bring them on, Major.

Are you hearing me Q-1? Are you hearing me?

This is Marsh calling Q-1. Q-1, over.

You know, if I ever gave them all the facts,

you'd find one or two of them difficult to explain.

Don't try and drag me through the mud, Blake,

you might splash a little bit on yourself, you and your committee.

You deliberately launched that rocket without waiting for official sanction.

If the whole world waited for official sanction,

it would be standing still. You took too long.

- I made my own decision. - To gamble with 3 men's lives!

Every experiment is a gamble. The unknown is always a risk.

- They should know that. - Did she know that?

That woman over there waiting, hoping and praying?

It dropped another 100 degrees since we arrived.

We still got a long way to go.

Let's hope that insulation lining doesn't crack up.

Yes, let's hope it didn't.

Because if it did, Quatermass and those 3 men in there are dead...

Dead or alive they'll be heroes.

Let me tell you something, Blake.

They'll fire the imagination so that there'll be a 100 men

begging for the same privilege when we launch the second rocket.

- You can't stop it now. - You mean I can't stop you now.

That's right.

This is Marsh calling Q-1.

Do you hear me? Over.

There's nothing, sir.

Nothing Quatermass. You know what you've done.

I launched it and I brought it back, that's quite an achievement, I think.

- And those 3 men ... - Quiet!

- What is it, Marsh? - Something came through.

Pull up. Brian pull up.

The tapping coming from inside.

By the hull, near the transmitter.

Q-1, Q-1.

Green, Reichenheim, Carroon. This is Quatermass.

We can hear you, can you hear us?

Over.

Q-1, Q-1, can you hear me?

You've landed in England.

We are here not 50 yards from you. Are you all right? Over.

Tapping has stopped.

We can't wait. We've got to get them out of there now.

- Bring me the fire chief. - Right away. sir.

- Set the remote control. - Are you mad?

Do you know what will happen if we have no rocket door now?

We've got to take that risk. We know one of them is alive in there.

In an hour, he may not be.

But you said that would incinerate them. You can't do a thing like that!

Don't tell me what I can do, what I can't do.

That shell temperature is still 300 degrees.

Alright. What would you suggest?

Wait till it's absolutely safe and then bring him out dead?

- Door control set, sir. - Hold it.

Where's that fire chief?

Get an ambulance move in.

You want me, sir?

Yes. Round up every man and piece of machinery you've got.

Move it in there as close as possible.

We're gonna open the rocket door from here by remote control.

When the door opens, when I give you the signal.

I want every hose turned full force around that entrance.

Now you got it?

Oh, that thing's still as hot as the base, I don't know.

If you start pumping water ...

Don't argue with me. I know what I'm doing.

I hope so, sir.

- Major. - Sir.

I want this whole field cleared.

When they come out of the rocket, I want absolutely no one on the field.

Do you understand? No one.

Don't worry, sir.

There's someone alive in there. We don't know what condition they'll be.

So you better get everything out. Oxygen, morphine, glucose ...

Well, now it's up to you.

Keep your eye on me. I'll give you the signal.

- All set? - Set, sir.

Start it up.

Let me know when you're minus 10 the pressure.

Right, sir.

Minus ten

Nine

Eight

Seven

Six

Five

Four

Three

Two

One

Zero.