Primordial Menace from Below: X The Unknown (1956)
An Amorphous Monsters Month Feature
After spending some time in Japan with The H-Man, our amorphous monsters tour veers back west to the moorlands of Scotland for a creature feature that is a real face melter. This is also our first foray into Hammer studios (admittedly, not the most conventional pick for any Hammer fan, myself included). So, let’s dip a toe into some very radioactive sludge and get started!
A frightful fissure
As our film opens, a British military unit is conducting Geiger counter exercises at a shallow quarry somewhere on the Scottish moorlands to hone their troops’ ability to read/detect radiation levels in the field. Just as one final (and very eager) solider tries his hand at the Geiger, an ominous rumbling begins and the ground beneath cracks open violently to form a fissure. Pools of water around the fissure begin to boil, followed by an explosive blast of intense heat and fire that burns several soldiers, killing one.
Because military personnel, led by Major Cartwright (John Harvey), are unable to account for the unusual and unsettling incident, Dr. Adam Royston (Dean Jagger) is brought in to advise. Dr. Royston is the chief atomic scientist at a research laboratory in nearby Lochmouth. A mild-mannered scientist of some renown, Dr. Royston gets to work investigating the phenomena with only a few clues to start. That said, the depth of the fissure is startling and clear—a simple drop of a stone reveals it to be a seemingly endless abyss .
Burning curiosity
Royston quickly gathers more clues as the number of perplexing and frightening incidents begin to mount. In several instances victims have had their faces and bodies melted down to the bone. In addition, someone (or more likely something) has inexplicably entered both Dr. Royston’s lab and the radiation room of a local hospital to somehow deplete all radioactive material.
Enter Inspector 'Mac' McGill (Leo McKern) of the UK Atomic Energy Commission’s internal security division. While the affable and self-deprecating McGill is brought in ostensibly to conduct his own investigation, he quickly builds a rapport with Royston and ultimately defers to his expertise to solve the mystery and neutralize this new threat. Royston theorizes that some kind of primordial organism deep in the earth has been exposed to massive amounts of compressed energy over millions of years to become something akin to pure energy. Over time the earth’s gravity and additional factors compelled the entity, which Royston refers to as “X,” to visit the surface in search of sustenance in the form of radiation.
While Royston has the support of Mac and his loyal lab assistant and budding scientist Peter Elliot (William Lucas), his theory runs into some resistance by the laboratory’s supervisor John Elliott (Edward Chapman), who is incredulous at the suggestion. John is also Peter’s father.
X marks the spot
While Royston, Peter, and Mac push to prove their theory and arrive at viable solutions, the military has decided—much to Royston’s chagrin—on a very conventional approach to stop X. It decides to bombard the fissure with conventional weapons, including explosives and that favorite 1950s monster fighting weapon, the flamethrower! After the attack, the fissure is sealed off with concrete but X manages to escape and make its way towards the research facility and a large radioactive meal in the form of a cobalt bomb. What happens next? Watch and find out—you won’t be disappointed.
My two cents
X The Unknown, like several of our recent features, comes in at a much-appreciated run time of under one hour and twenty minutes. The story follows a pretty standard 1950s monster movie template: an unnamed (or “unknown”) threat is established, a scientific/forensic investigation begins, the monstrous threat grows, a scientist hero (often with military help) saves the day, and the menace is neutralized—maybe. I appreciate this tried-and-true formula which has been used in many movies of the era, especially when it is employed effectively as it is here.
I should preface any comments on the cast by noting that Hammer originally envisioned this movie to be a sequel to the successful sci-fi/horror film The Quatermass Xperiment (1955). However, writer and creator Nigel Kneale declined the request for a sequel and use of his Quatermass character, which compelled producers to rework the story, including the addition of the Adam Royston part. That said, anyone familiar with the Quatermass films will pick up on the similar themes and tone in X The Unknown.
More often than not, Hammer nails casting for its genre films and this movie is no exception. Dean Jagger exudes a certain ease playing the brilliant yet mild mannered Dr. Royston, representing a change of pace when compared to Brian Donlevy’s or Andrew Keir’s respective takes on the Bernard Quatermass character. Donlevy played him in both The Quatermass Xperiment (1955) and Quatermass II (1957)—I guess Kneale eventually came around—while Keir took a turn for Quatermass and the Pit (1967). Keir starred in several Hammer genre films in the 1960s. Both actors imbue Quatermass with a big personality: whip-smart, hard-driving, and sometimes blustery (especially in Dunlevy’s case), while Jagger plays Dr. Royston in X The Unknown as a calm and decidedly solicitous cinematic scientist. For the record, I enjoy all versions.
Also strong are Edward Chapman as the fastidious and sometimes indignant John Elliott and William Lucas as the earnest, thoughtful, and loyal junior scientist Peter Elliot. Of course we would be remiss if we did not at least mention character actor and fan favorite Michael Ripper, who plays Sgt. Harry Grimsdyke. Hammer fans are more than a little familiar with the charismatic character actor for his many appearances in Hammer genre films of the 1950s and 1960s.
Leo Mckern might be my favorite of the cast as the humble, practical, and good natured “Mac” McGill, a very appealing and relatable character. I recall Mckern fondly in several roles, including the veteran journalist Bill Maguire in the excellent and highly underrated 1961 sci-fi/disaster film The Day the Earth Caught Fire. And it just so happens that film was recently featured on the Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever (Almost) podcast hosted by Ayesha Khan. Khan and her guests do a wonderful job unpacking this thrilling, searing, and dire film.
X: The Unknown features atmospheric nighttime photography and some POV-style camera work from cinematographer Gerald Gibbs, capturing a real sense of menace around the secluded fields, woods, moors, and of course the fissure. The use of black and white film serves our amorphous creatures quite well (as it also did in Caltiki, The Immortal Monster).
The movie also includes several brief yet frightening scenes in which individuals have the misfortune of a close encounter with X. Props to the actors, several of who play minor parts, for selling these scenes with close-up shots of genuine shock and abject terror.
Various practical effects are used to animate X, as we watch its glistening mass roll inexplorably across fields and through villages in search of its next source of radioactive sustenance. These composite shots are relatively well integrated with various miniatures and matte paintings, especially when you consider the modest production budget which was estimated at approximately $60,000.
Meanwhile the special effects makeup department helped to deliver some horrific images of brutally burned bodies and faces literally melting in the presence X—gnarly stuff for the mid-1950s. The sound department also deserves a shoutout for upping the tension with a crackling static sound effect that can be heard anytime X appears. It is a simple yet very effective way of representing radioactive energy, raw power, and extreme heat that you can almost feel singing your skin.
The music for X The Unknown was composed by James Bernard, who created somewhere in the vicinity of two dozen scores for Hammer’s genre films. Those attuned to the music in Hammer’s horror and sci-fi films will likely pick up some hints or variations of themes he composed for other films such as the gothic classic Horror of Dracula (1958). Bernard’s music, instantly recognizable to monster kids, often features full orchestral scores emphasizing layers of tense and taut strings to establish a forbidding atmosphere and high drama.
In all, this is an entertaining, low-budget monster movie given a bit more weight by its strong cast, eye-catching cinematography, and exciting creature feature moments. It also earns some points for being one of the first amorphous monster movies, predating much of the blobby cinema soon to come.
If you enjoyed the overall tone and sci-fi vibes of X The Unknown and have yet to watch Hammer’s three Quatermass films, you should check them out.
Did you know
It has been reported that Leslie Norman, who entered the production after the departure of a previous director, was reluctant to direct X The Unknown. He was, allegedly, also difficult work with. Given theses challenges and the reworking of the story, I am pleasantly surprised at how well the film turned out.
Classic horror fans may recognize Leo Mckern in a small yet memorable role as the archaeologist/exorcist Carl Bugenhagen in The Omen (1976).
The reveal of X is withheld until the latter part of the film, a technique more popularly associated with later monster movies such as Jaws.
X The Unknown features an abrupt ending. While possibly jarring to the uninitiated, those familiar with Hammer films will recognize that as hallmark of many of their genre movies.
How did I watch?
Blu-ray Shout Factory
Original trailer and Shout Factory blu-ray promo
Cast (abridged)
Dean Jagger – Dr. Adam Royston
Edward Chapman – John Elliott
Anthony Newley – Pvt. Spider Webb
Leo Mckern – Mr. “Mac” McGill
Jameson Clark – Jack Harding
William Lucas – Peter Elliot
Peter Hammond – Lt. Bannerman
Marianne Brauns – Zena, nurse
Ian Mcnaughton – Haggis, soldier
Michael Ripper – Sgt. Grimsdyke
Crew (abridged)
Director – Leslie Norman
Story & screenwriter – Jimmy Sangster
Cinematographer – Gerald Gibbs
Composer – James Bernard
Producers – Anthony Hinds, Sol Lesser
Special Effects Director – Jack Curtis
Production Company: Hammer Film Productions, Ltd; Sol Lesser Productions, Inc.
Running Time: 1h 19m
Recommendations based on X The Unknown
The Quatermas Xperiment (1955)
Quatermass II (1957)
The Fiend Without a Face (1958)
The Blob (1958)
Godzilla vs The Smog Monster (1971)
Supplements-
From Christopher Lee To Peter Cushing: The Hammer Heritage Of Horror (Retrospective Documentary)
A Conversation with James Bernard (Cinescores Center)
