After a subway construction crew discovers the bones of ancient humans, and then a metal object, Col. Breen (Julian Glover) is called in to defuse what they assume is a left over, WWII, German, V-type bomb. But rocket scientist Bernard Quatermass (Andrew Keir) thinks the device is of extraterrestrial origin, and working with anthropologist Mathew Roney (James Donald), and Roney’s assistant Barbara (Barbara Shelley), he sets out to discover what it is, if it is dangerous, and how it is connected to local supernatural events.
An alien spaceship. Demonic possession. Telekinesis. A new type of human found in the fossil record proving our near ancestors existed far earlier than previously believed. Race memories. Ghosts that have haunted a specific area for hundreds of years. Genetic manipulation. Genocide as part of human nature. I get tired just listing all the things in the remarkable Quatermass and the Pit. This is entertainment for the literate science fiction fan. Filled with ideas stated during long segments of dialog, it manages to be fast-paced and always captivating.
This is the third and best of the Quatermass stories, all originally airing as BBC serials before Hammer Films turned them into features. The first two had suffered from the inappropriate casting of Brian Donlevy as an abrasive Professor Quatermass. For this entry, Andrew Keir takes over, creating a much more believable and sympathetic lead, without turning him into a sweet old grandpa. Quatermass is still arrogant and abrupt, carrying out experiments with too little concern for the safety of the subjects and scientists, but now he’s someone you can support. With the improved casting, there is nothing to distract from the intricate script, which will keep you thinking for weeks after the credits role.
Quatermass and the Pit has become a cult classic, and is particularly important to the development of both cinematic horror and science fiction for its mixture of occult activity and science. It takes the position that the majority of events that have been classified as supernatural happened, but we fouled up the analysis. Everything can be explained rationally, once you have all the pieces, and sometimes those pieces include extraterrestrials.
One of the most chilling aspects of the story involves racism and genocide. While the film was made in 1967, the TV mini-series had been produced in 1958, a more fitting time as it was close enough to WWII that most British viewers would have had vivid memories of the blitz and of the Nazi desire to exterminate “inferior” members of the human race. Quatermass and the Pit suggests that the behaviors common in the Third Reich are ingrained in us, and without constant vigilance and soul searching, any person could easily slip into fanaticism and murder. It manages this with a metaphor, and one you’ll likely remember.
So, if it’s so good, why am I so grumpy as to withhold the final 
? Well, it may be out-of-vogue to judge a film negatively due to poor special effects, but I scoff at convention. (Scoff! Scoff, scoff!) It makes a difference if you can accept what you see on screen or if it takes you out of the moment to giggle, and the only thing I can say positively about the effects in this film is that they are better than in the previous two. A dream-memory is particularly painful, with obvious puppets bouncing up and down. The characters are all horrified by what they see. You will be too, but for a different reason. If you can look past the effects, you’ll find a fascinating film that shows how science fiction can be presented on the big screen.
The movie was re-titled Five Million Years to Earth for release in the U.S.
The other films in the series are: 1955’s The Quatermass Xperiment (The Creeping Unknown in the U.S.), 1957’s Quatermass 2 (Enemy from Space in the U.S.), and 1979’s The Quatermass Conclusion.