BFI Film Classics Series

While digging an extension to the London Underground Railway, workmen discover an object which might be an ancient Martian spaceship - and Professor Quatermass of the British Rocket Group investigates a mystery which prompts frightening revelations about the origins of humanity itself.

Before 2001: A Space Odyssey and Doctor Who, Quatermass and the Pit was the paramount British science fiction saga in film and television. Kim Newman's fascinating study focuses on Roy Ward Baker's 1967 film, written by Quatermass creator Nigel Kneale for Hammer Films, but also looks at the origins of the Quatermass franchise in 1950s BBC serials and earlier films. Exploring the production and reception of the film and series, Newman assesses the lasting importance of this landmark franchise.

"Cat People"

by Kim Newman

Published 1 October 1999

Released in 1943, "Cat People" was the first production from the unit set up by RKO to make low-cost, high-return horror movies. Producer Val Lewton was handed the title and ordered to come up with a film to fit. He and director Jacques Tourneur created an innovative picture about a Serbian emigree in New York ("Simone Simon") who's convinced she's suffering from a hereditary curse that will transform her into a panther if her passions are aroused. Kim Newman positions this 74-minute classic in terms of the horror film genre from which it emerges and against which it rebels. Through close analysis, he teases out the layers of meaning and intent that make this at once a supernatural drama and an unusual psychological study.