 At roughly the same time as Quatermass II was being transmitted by the BBC , Hammer Film Productions released their film adaptation of the first serial in British cinemas . Directed by Val Guest , it was retitled The Quatermass Xperiment , and starred American actor Brian Donlevy as part of a deal to help the film find US distribution . Kneale , who had little involvement with the film , was unimpressed with this casting . " I may have picked Quatermass 's surname out of a phone book , but his first name was carefully chosen : Bernard , after Bernard Lovell , the creator of Jodrell Bank . Pioneer , ultimate questing man . Donlevy played him as a mechanic , a creature with a completely closed mind . " Val Guest has praised Donlevy 's performance , saying that " he gave it absolute reality . " 
