stevie boy

Fantastic work Alan,thanks so much

philkb

Thanks so much from me too! Looking at those pics just makes me wish all the more that I could be there and experience how it feels to actually be at a place where a film that had an effect on me was made. Being in color makes it a bit tricky to compare to the same area in the film but I can tell that they are the same places and that some of them look much the same as they did way back when.
Again, it's too bad about the shell Haven plant being leveled. That would probably be the most "creepy" feeling to actually see. Of course we couldn't have gotten very far in there to see much that we could recognize due to security concerns.
The other areas, such as the back road shown in the opening scenes, and the "Carlisle Road" scene, etc, might be harder to find and recognize, unless they too have not changed much in all those years.
I guess just about everything else was done at the studios. I'm still not sure about the scene where the MPs are entering that area where they will be taken down, where the guys with the gas masks were. It may be the studio but it sure looked creepy too, wherever it was.

Thanks again,
Phil

alan french

Hi Stevie Boy and philkb.
Thankyou for last responses. If you knew the strange problems that occured your comments have made my frustrations worthwhile.

Carlisle Road is as far as I know is fictitious. I believe it is the Watford Bye Pass/ North Orbital Road. The other part you refer I believe is filmed in a studio.

As far as being there, well you might be disappointed. Then again maybe not. I know wheter I am on a bus or on foot, when I go past these places I must admit I think that there is where Sid James got shot. There is where Quatermass had to make a getaway. That's where Quatermass saved the world. Here aliens were. Here is my Dentist's drill. Come backe aliens, all is forgiven. In fact I envy EarlB as he actually witnessed the making of the film.

Earlb and your friend Tony Rogers. Thankyou also for your contributions in between the pictures being loaded and my write up.

Alan French.

earlb

Just a minor correction Alan French - I did not witness the filming personally due to National Service in Germany but my good friend Tony Rogers was at the side of the camera watching Brian Donlevy 'strut his stuff'.

I'd give my right arm to be ambidextrous.

alan french

Hi earlb.
I was developing square eyeballs by the time I finished. I obviously must have developed a melted memory bank as well in this heat we are having. Thankyou for correcting me. In view of this I shall envy Tony Rogers. I missed it all because the making took place when I was living in another part of town. Plus the fact I was probably at school that day.
Alan French.

philkb

Seeing those pictures makes it seem as if family or very good friends are there sending them to me. I guess this is the next best thing to being there.
I still wonder about the site near the "beacon" that was used for Winnerden Flats. Does anyone know if the "debris" in the film was put there by the film company or was left over from WWII, possibly from bombings during the war. I always try to figure out what kind of building/s it was but there's little to go on in the film. No doubt it's long since been cleaned up, all traces of it.
It would be interesting to know or see if the Studios had any archival info on the film itself, since the narration on the DVD doesn't really tell much. I suppose Nigel and Val may have forgotten a lot of the details over the years. They both sounded quite elderly during the narration. I do know it took several showers to get Tom Chatto cleaned up after the falling in the food scene, also that it took several takes to get that part right. Poor, poor Tom Chatto. That couldn't have been much fun. I'll bet he had a thing or two to say to his wife, since she was the casting director for the film. I still wonder what gosh awful concoction was used for that black stuff.
Anyway, good to hear from all of you. Again, it's almost like family.

Phil

alan french

Hi philb.
Although Ivinghoe Beacon is in one of the next counties, it is not far away from us in Hemel Hempstead. It is a beauty spot. I don't know whether the film company put debris there or not. But I would suspect they did. However, during the 1950's, there was a gruesome incident there, when tragically, two boys found an unexploded bomb and were badly injured when it blew up. They did survive.
As far as bits and pieces laying around in the Hemel Hempsted locations are concerned. The Warners End Estate was in process of being built. In fact you can see in the background in one shot, where Quatermass is asking for directions,what possibly may be some genuine builders at work. The houses in Gadebridge that are seen in my photo, where the marchers were headed, and a dome is seen briefly, plus a bus, were as far as I am aware, about to be built.
Alan French.

philkb

I recall the building materials at the spot where Quatermass asked about the police. I always thought they were either bricks or maybe roofing materials. At the Winnerden Flats site, you may recall, there were what looked like the remains of some small buildings, one of which had a window in it. there was what looked like a small, concrete foundation, three-sided, as well is a few levels of brick structure. This is why I wondered about bombing damage. From what you said, that may be the case. Certainly glad the kids survived and hopefully without crippling injuries. That must have been horribly frightening for all involved. It does seem strange that any buildings would be built on such a narrow strip of level area, with the steep hills, up and down, on both sides of it. The rest of the debris, such as an old, broken up bicycle, etc., may have been put there for additional effect. The structures sure looked like they were once permanent. The partial fence was probably put there too by the filmers, but then again, inasmuch as that looks like an extremely sharp, sloping hill, it may have been a permanent thing also.

Phil

philkb

Just thought I would mention, for my Wedding back in 2000, we had a limousine that had a TV/VCR combo that could be used for whatever reason. My younger brother, six years younger, and I were talking about possible movies we could put on it even though there wouldn't be enough time to actually watch one through. Almost without my thinking about it my brother said: "We should put in Enemy from Space". He was joking around, since he didn't know that I actually had the VHS tape of it (Qatermass 2 on the tape) at home. He hadn't seen the movie since 1962, which was the last time the movie was aired on TV here. He was 9 at that time. Like me, and the rest of my family who saw it at the theater in 1958, he was affected by it and never forgot it or its title. Of course I didn't have the tape with me in the limo or I would have popped it in and he would have really been shocked, and probably would have wanted to see it all the way through. Oddly though, although the limo was brand new, the CRT in the TV/VCR combo appeared to have color tracking problems as there was almost no green in the picture. Seeing "Quatermass" in light and dark purple just wouldn't set the mood quite right. Anyway, it was my wedding and such a disturbing film would not have been appropriate.

Phil

stevie boy

this is a good thread and there are some great comments. I beleive that Donlevy was a big drinker and was under the influence during filming, but for all that he gave a good performance. A very good film that is well loved hence this thread,thanks,one and all.

stevie boy

Is there someone techy on here who could put a grab of the community centre against a picture of that area now. beyond me I am afraid, what a great thread this is

alan french

Hi stevie boy.
It is photo 5. While these pictures were being loaded and just before I did my write up, earlb quoted from his friend who witnessed some of the shooting, who in turn confirmed that is where mock up community centre is. The photo for that communication is repeated therefore just prior to my write up. So it is in the school grounds behind a privet hedge. There is a real community centre on that estate, but A) It is not up that end of the road. It is near a pub called The Top of the World. B) I do not know if they had started to build it and what state it was in at the time of filming. The fictitious community centre is as stated elsewhere appears to be a mixed bag of a film mock up and a film studio set for the internal shots. However, I believe there is a possibility that a small building is also seen either for this or something else which I am suspicious is a building at the entrance of Berkhamsted Castle. I have got to look up my old photo albums some time to check if I have a picture of this, and put on this website. But I will coming back sometime in the future about that one way or another.
Alan French

stevie boy

cheers Alan

alan french

Hi stevie boy.
There is something wrong. I will come back.
Alan French.

alan french

Hi Stevie Boy
The picture of mine which earlb duplicated after his friend who witnessed the filming, is where the mock community centre was located. There are some flats on the left of the picture, a public telephone booth in the centre and to the right, you will see a school with some red paint. The school ground behind the privet hedge is where the fictitious Winnerdon Flats Community centre's external location shots were filmed. The footpath near the telephone box is where the zombies were filmed with their metal/meteor detectors. The last photo of mine published (3.8.08) is the one which was omitted the previous week. For technical reasons has combined with the article that I submitted on the same computer session. I think I will keep things simple as just after I said that I will come back to you I sent an e-mail to Britmovie and at this point by coincidence all the computers in the Hemel Hempstead Library went funny, and so I had to end my session. I say with tongue in cheek, I think that the aliens from Quatermass 2 are getting revenge and taking it out on me. I will now write about the last photograph in the next panel to come.
Alan French.