The Quatermass Xperiment

The Quatermass Xperiment (US title: The Creeping Unknown) is a 1955 British science fiction horror film from Hammer Film Productions, based on the 1953 BBC Television serial The Quatermass Experiment written by Nigel Kneale. The film was produced by Anthony Hinds, directed by Val Guest, and stars Brian Donlevy as the eponymous Professor Bernard Quatermass. Jack Warner, Richard Wordsworth, and Margia Dean appear in supporting roles. The film was shown in the U.K. in 1955, and was released in 1956 in the U.S. on a double bill with The Black Sleep. Three astronauts are launched into space aboard a rocket designed by Professor Quatermass, but the spacecraft returns to earth with only one occupant, Victor Carroon (Richard Wordsworth). Something has infected him during the spaceflight, and he begins mutating into an alien organism which, if it spores, will engulf the Earth and destroy humanity. When the Carroon-creature escapes from custody, Quatermass and Scotland Yard's Inspector Lomax (Jack Warner), have just hours to track it down and prevent a catastrophe.