So what does exist then?The Quatermass Experiment - Eps 1 & 2, 35mm Mechau film recordings with
variable density optical soundtracks.
Quatermass II - Eps 1 - 6, 35mm suppressed field FR's (except ep 3, 35mm
Moye-Mechau FR) with variable area optical soundtracks. Models sequences for
episode 6 on 35mm camera negative.
Quatermass and the Pit - Eps 1 - 6, 35mm stored field FR with variable area
optical soundtracks. Also 35mm two-part compilation version, with many original
35mm film sequences cut back into the prints, and 16mm magnetic soundtracks
(derived from original 35mm episode soundtracks which no longer exist).
Further musings:
From the Forum-Wed May 30 2001
"In the section about The Quatermass Experiment (1953), the observation
is correct. If my memory serves me right, I happened to be standing next
to Dicky Meakin, the S.Tel.E of Telecine at the time, (this was in Telecine
at Lime Grove) when we were previewing the telefilm of either the first
or second episode, and he rejected it as being of too poor quality. "I've
got standards" he said at the time. "
-Arthur Dungate
From a Personal e.mail from Arthur 28/04/2003
"Recently I had a rethink. Dicky Meakin was previewing one of the
episodes on the EMI flying spot telecine scanner at Lime Grove, and it was a
16mm reduction print. Now we didn't move from AP to Lime Grove until sometime in
1954 - and so, as Quatermass was a 1953 prog, the dates don't match. Thus what I
said a few years ago can not be accurate. This means the reason Eps 3-6 were not
telefilmed (that's the term we used at the time) is still a mystery.
I apologise for the misleading information, but it *is* 50 years ago!
