Quatermass 2 (also known as Quatermass II) is a British science-fiction / horror film, produced by the famous Hammer company and released in 1957. It is based on the BBC Television serial Quatermass II, and is a sequel to the 1955 film The Quatermass Xperiment. In America, it was released under the title Enemy From Space.

The film was directed by Val Guest, and the script was adapted by Guest along with the original television writer Nigel Kneale. Kneale had been unhappy that he had been unable to work on the previous Quatermass film adaptation because of his BBC staff contract: however, in 1956 he had left the staff of the Corporation to become a freelance writer, which enabled him to work on the film.

The Quatermass Xperiment had been a successful and popular film for Hammer, so much so that they had wanted to make their own sequel originally written for the cinema. Kneale had denied them the use of the Quatermass character, however, so the film - 1956's X the Unknown - was made with a new character and not as part of the Quatermass series. After the transmission of Quatermass II on the BBC in 1955, however, Hammer were quick to buy the rights to make another bona fide Quatermass film.

As with the first film, Quatermass 2 stars American actor Brian Donlevy as Professor Bernard Quatermass. This makes him the only actor to have appeared on-screen as the character twice, although later actor Andrew Keir would also play the role twice, once on film and once on the radio. Nigel Kneale was not a fan of Donlevy's portrayal, and regarded him as the least successful of all the film and television Quatermasses. Also appearing in the film was actor Sid James, later famous for his roles in Hancock's Half Hour on television and the Carry On films in the cinema.

Quatermass 2 is generally regarded by fans and critics as the least successful of Hammer's three film adaptations of the serials. It is useful to fans, however, as it is available on VHS and DVD, whereas the original television serial remains unreleased. Hammer would go on to adapt the third BBC serial, Quatermass and the Pit, in 1967.

External links

• Page on the film at The Quatermass Home Page
• IMDb page