XX unknown
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | XX unknown |
| Original title | X: The Unknown |
| Country of production | Great Britain |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1956 |
| length | 80 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 16 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Leslie Norman |
| script | Jimmy Sangster |
| production | Anthony Hinds |
| music | James Bernard |
| camera | Gerald Gibbs |
| cut | James Needs |
| occupation | |
| |
XX unknown is a mixture of science fiction and horror film . The film from 1956, shot in black and white, is a production of the British Hammer Films .
action
Soldiers are practicing the use of Geiger counters in Scotland near Glasgow to find a container with low levels of radiation. The soldier Lansing discovers another source of stronger radiation, where the groundwater begins to boil. The other soldiers back away, but an explosion kills Lansing and seriously injures another soldier. A Y-shaped crack has formed at the site of the explosion, in which the bottom cannot be identified. From a nearby nuclear laboratory, Dr. Royston charged with investigating what happened.
One evening, the boy Willie is on his way through a swamp to a tower that he is supposed to visit as a test of courage. He discovers something horrific near a ruin, but refuses to discuss it with his friend who is waiting for him and runs away. The boy collapses and is taken to a hospital. Since he received radioactive burns, Dr. Royston drawn. Royston asks the other boy who points out the tower to him. There Royston meets the distiller Old Tom, in whose chamber he finds a sample bottle from his laboratory. Royston rushes to his laboratory and finds it devastated, only to find that nothing is emitting radioactivity anymore, just like at the explosion site.
The Royal Nuclear Inspectorate sends Inspector McGill to Scotland to join laboratory manager Dr. Introducing Elliott. Royston is grateful for the help, especially since he gets on well with the officer. Royston and McGill go to the hospital. There they are informed of the death of little Willie. Willie's father, Jack Harding, argues with Royston about the purpose of science. At the same time, nurse Zena and Dr. Unwin returns to the X-ray room for a lunchtime. The X-ray machine switches itself on surprisingly. Dr. Unwin goes to investigate and is killed by a radioactivity outbreak. Royston and McGill find out that all radiation has disappeared here too.
Two soldiers, Haggis and Webb, have been assigned to guard the rift. The two are bored when the crevice starts to glow. Haggis wants to get to the bottom of the matter. Webb hears Haggis scream and rushes to it, but only finds his comrade's rifle. Then Webb is struck by radioactive lightning and killed. Royston, McGill and Major Cartwright investigate the place, but find only a service cap. At an emergency meeting, Royston submits his theory. In his opinion, it is an unknown form of life that has formed in the interior of the earth. He believes it is a pure energy life form that feeds on energy. Now that mankind has discovered nuclear power and uses it, the energy system would naturally feed on radiation and thereby develop more and more power and size. While Director Elliott dismisses the theory as nonsense, McGill and the major join the scientist.
Royston wants to gain more clues, the crevice must be examined more closely. To do this, Royston's assistant, Peter Elliott, the director's son, is roped into the crevice with a Geiger counter. Peter finds the remains of the two guards and notices the glow after his Geiger counter has knocked out. Immediately he is pulled up and he remains unharmed. The major now wants to bombard the crack with flamethrowers and explosive charges, after which it is to be concreted over. Royston is skeptical; he believes the life form is like mud.
Dr. Elliott has now complained to the nuclear regulatory agency about Royston. McGill is withdrawn, but first witnesses Royston's gun. It is a high-frequency tone that is supposed to neutralize radioactive molecules. However, the weapon still has to be tested, meanwhile the gap is being concreted over. Yet the life form can reach the surface, it is indeed muddy. Royston now wants to attract the living being with radioactive material, to do this he gets cobalt from the laboratory. Meanwhile, McGill is on the phone with his superiors at a police station and receives an emergency call about a car accident in which the occupants have melted. McGill interrupts his phone call and rushes to the scene of the accident. The sight makes it clear to McGill that the life form has escaped.
Royston discovers that the scene of the accident is exactly in line between the laboratory and the crevice. The life form enters the laboratory shortly afterwards, kills a security guard and feeds on the stored radiating material. Then the life form returns to the column. The route there is cleared by the military and the police, and a nearby village is evacuated. But the living being changes its course in the direction of the village. Here a little girl was forgotten in a church. However, the vicar of the church can save the girl at the last second.
Royston warns that the creature can locate radiation from a distance. A nuclear reactor nearby could be the next target, but the city of Inverness lies in between . Royston experiments with his neutralizer, which appears to be working, but explodes shortly afterwards. At the same time, military units have installed antennas in the crevice, which are supposed to direct the high-frequency sounds into the crevices. In addition, a jeep with a load of cobalt is to be parked close to the column . The driver is too nervous to start, so Peter Elliott takes the wheel and drives the jeep up to the crack. With the cobalt, Peter lures the living being between the antennas. The creature explodes.
Reviews
The lexicon of international films described the film as a trivial horror film, which was formally undemanding and intended for "quick consumption". However, in the background he has an interesting comment on the fear of atomic abuse at the time.
TimeOut London magazine found the film to be worthless to people who don't like horror or science fiction films. But in many ways it reflects the atmosphere of Great Britain in the late 1950s more effectively than most serious documentaries.
Dennis Schwartz of the online portal Ozus' World wrote that, despite its absurd story, the film is a surprisingly entertaining film that does not lead to the death of the viewer's brain cells, even if it is a worthless B-science fiction film.
"... With ingenuity, a fascinating story is told here, but it is completely implausible." ( Variety , quoted from Hahn / Jansen, Lexicon of Science Fiction Films) .
background
The film premiered on May 5, 1956 in Great Britain. In Germany it was released in cinemas on October 22, 1957.
Jimmy Sangster submitted his first feature film script for the film.
The original director was Joseph Losey , who began work under the pseudony Joseph Walton . After a week, Losey had to be replaced by Leslie Norman due to illness. There were a lot of problems between Norman and the people in front of and behind the camera, so that Norman never worked for Hammer again.
literature
- Ronald M. Hahn / Volker Jansen: Lexicon of Science Fiction Film. 720 films from 1902 to 1983 , Munich (Heyne) 1983, p. 574.
Web links
- X the Unknown in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ XX unknown. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ Review of TimeOut London (engl.)
- ↑ Dennis Schwartz on Ozus' World (engl.)
- ↑ Article by Jeff Stafford on TCM (engl.)