Popcorn Crunchers, Reel 156 Trivia Quiz

Answer: George Reeves

The motion picture begins as newspaper reporters Clark Kent (played by George Reeves) and Lois Lane (played by Phyllis Coates) arrive at a drilling site in the small town of Silsby. Reeves had been acting professionally since 1939. His role as Clark Kent in "Superman and the Mole Men" and in "The Adventures of Superman", which immediately followed on television, so identified him with that character that it became difficult to find other roles in movies. Despondent, he took his own life.

Answer: The Heat of the Blood

"Blood of the Vampire" (1958) isn't really about a vampire but rather about a scientist who takes blood from prisoners to conduct unspeakable experiments. "A Bucket of Blood" (1959) isn't really about a bucket of blood but rather about a nebbish who kills people to turn their bodies into sculptures. "Corridors of Blood" (1958) isn't really about corridors of blood but rather is about opium addiction, blackmail, grave robbing, murder and other unsavoury things.

Vampires are reputed to have supernatural vision which comprises the ability to see at great distance, to see clearly in total darkness, and (rather like an infra-red camera) to see the heat of a victim's blood emanating from that person's body. There does not appear to have been a feature-length motion picture in the 1950s called "The Heat of the Blood".

Answer: a big sea turtle (Arabemys crassiscutata)

The zoological star of the show is Little Joe: a kinkajou (to which the brilliant-scientist characters refer as a lemur), which is also colloquially known as a honey bear. He is the only animal with an on-screen credit in the film: "Little Joe as The Honey Bear".

In contrast to Joe's friendliness, all of the other animals which the explorers meet on the planet Nova are hostile and hungry: a giant crocodile, a giant snake, a giant woolly mammoth, a giant iguana dressed up to look (a little) like a Tyrannosaurus rex, giant vultures, giant insects, and a giant heavily-armoured armadillo (Glyptodont). Most of the monster footage in this movie was "borrowed" from other films.

Answer: K.T. Stevens

K.T. Stevens (1919-1994) was not, in any sense, a scream queen. She appeared in many movies -- "Kitty Foyle" (1940), "Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice" (1969), and "They're Playing with Fire" (1984) -- but only one science-fiction or horror film: "Missile to the Moon". She was born into the industry; her father, Sam Wood, was a Hollywood producer-director. She also played on Broadway and on television. She had continuing roles in soap operas: "General Hospital, "Days of Our Lives", and "The Young and the Restless". Her role in "Missile to the Moon" was as a beautiful, sexy, blind queen of an all-female lunar society.

The Italian word "lido" means shore or beach; the Latin term "litus" means shore (think of the English word littoral). In British English, a "lido" may mean an outdoor natatorium or beach open to the public. On cruise ships, the "lido deck" is the primary location of the swimming pools, hot tubs, suntanning, and casual food and drink service. The moon ladies are attired in one-piece swimsuits and gossamer cover-ups, which could be said to collect with a beach theme.

Answer: all of these are true

Jessica didn't want the box to be unearthed, nor taken back to the ranch house, nor opened by anyone. Aunt Flavia, who technically owned the box, it having been dug up on her land, said to leave it alone until it could be opened by an expert. The box bore a date (1579) and an inscription: "If ye valuest thy immortal soul, open not this accursed chest...".

Answer: Yes

"Attack of the Giant Leeches" was remade in 2008 by the Canadian filmmaker Dudez Productions. The movie was written by Jeff O'Brien and directed by Brett Kelly. It stars Mark Courneyea, Kerri Draper, Kevin Preece and Shawna McSheffrey in what is aptly described as a horror-comedy. For viewers who enjoy women's swimming fashions, this film features many bikinis.

This makes especially good sense in that screenwriter Jeff O'Brien previously wrote the screenplays for "Bikini Girls from the Lost Planet" (2006) and "Ghost in A Teeny Bikini" (2006).

The remake of "Attack of the Giant Leeches" was shot primarily in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, which is a long way from tropical swamps occupied by alligators and giant leeches. The movie's tagline was nonetheless, "Something hungry is in the water."

Answer: "Stranglehold", a story by Jan Read

Jan Read, a friend of Boris' Karloff, wrote a story called "Stranglehold" with the actor in mind. He gave his story to movie producer Richard Gordon who wished to make a horror film. Gordon gave the story to producer John Croydon. John Croydon adapted and rewrote the screenplay, changed the name to "The Haunted Strangler", and made the transformation of James Rankin physical as well as mental. Croydon was credited as John C. Cooper.

Answer: acting

Robert William "Dabbs" Greer (1917-2007) spent 60 years playing character roles both on American television and in motion pictures. Two particularly memorable television roles are Mr. Jonas in "Gunsmoke" and the Reverend Robert Alden in "Little House on the Prairie". Greer was as comfortable in a space helmet as in a cowboy hat.

His horror and science fiction movie credits include "House of Wax" (1953), "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (1956), "The Vampire" (1957), "It! The Terror from Beyond Space" (1958), "Evil Town" (1977), "Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat" (1989), and "House IV" (1992).

Answer: True

The original Republic serial comprised 12 chapters which ran 167 minutes. The edited condensation (omitting the repetitions in each episode which were common to the format) ran 91 minutes. Another version ran 100 minutes, which was typical of the condensed serials which RKO marketed to television stations.

The TV version was retitled "Slaves of the Invisible Monster". The chapters had lurid titles like "Slaves of the Phantom", "Highway Holocaust", "Ordeal by Fire", and "Death's Highway". Chapter 10, "High Voltage Danger", was a reprise of the previous nine episodes.

This serial, like all of the Republic serials, was a low-budget, action-driven, series intended to be shown before the feature at theatrical matinees.

Answer: on the phonograph in the empty house

Grayson and Bressard take Grayson's girlfriend and sister into the country for a picnic. They discover an empty house which Grayson recognizes from his dream. Inside, they find an old record player and play a phonograph record. One of them bumps the machine which slows the playback speed. Grayson recognizes the music as that in his nightmare.