At roughly the same time as "Quatermass II" was being transmitted by the BBC, Hammer Film Productions released its film adaptation of the first serial in British cinemas. Directed by Val Guest, it was retitled "The Quatermass Xperiment" to capitalise on the British "X" classification 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".