Popcorn Crunchers, Reel 170 Trivia Quiz

Answer: "This Island Earth"

Jeff Morrow played General Paulinus in "Sign of the Pagan" (1954), a 5th century historical drama. Rex Reason was not in the film. "The Case of the Ancient Romeo" was a 1962 episode of the television programme "Perry Mason" in which both Jeff Morrow and Rex Reason co-starred. Neither Rex Reason nor Jeff Morrow appeared in "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (1951); Michael Rennie played the lead. In "This Island Earth" (1955), Rex Reason played Dr. Cal Meacham, a scientist, and Jeff Morrow played the alien Exeter.

Answer: I'm Gonna Eat Your Brains

The feature-length movies "The Brain Eaters" (1958), "The Woman Eater" (1958), and "Teenage Zombies" (1959) are all actual, unimaginary, existent, and authentic motion pictures. Benjamin Owens made a short (6 minute) subject film called "I'm Gonna Eat Your Brains" (2013) starring Chelsea Arnett and Eliott Glasser.

In Robert Rodriguez's "Planet Terror" (2007), Tony Block says, "I'm gonna eat your brains and gain your knowledge" which reflects a sort of zombie variant meme. American singer-songwriter Jonathan Coulton (b. 1970) wrote and recorded a track titled "Re: Your Brains" (2009) in which he sang "All we wanna do is eat your brains. We're not unreasonable, I mean, no one's gonna eat your eyes." No one appears to have made a feature-length motion picture in the 1950s called "I'm Gonna Eat Your Brains."

Answer: Nothing; he went back to Venus alive

Meba is pursued by the felonious criminal gang of thieves but, in the end, he helps capture them instead of being caught himself. He then transforms into a flying saucer, departs the Earth, and returns safely to his home planet Venus.

Answer: Russ Bender

Russ Bender (1910-1969) acted in many B-movies and played small parts in various major films. After service in the Army in WWII, he worked writing magazine fiction until he landed several minor roles on television. In addition to acting, he wrote numerous television and movie scripts.

His science-fiction and horror filmography includes "The War of the Worlds" (1953), "It Conquered the World" (1956), "Invasion of the Saucer Men" (1957), "The Amazing Colossal Man" (1957), "War of the Colossal Beast" (1958), "I Bury the Living" (1958), "Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow" (1959), "Panic in Year Zero!" (1962), "The Satan Bug" (1965), "Space Probe Taurus" (1965), and "The Navy vs. the Night Monsters" (1966).

Answer: Eaten by Butch, the family cat

While Scott's wife Louise leaves the house on an errand, Butch, their pet cat, attacks him, knocking him down the basement stairs where he lands in a sewing basket. [According to Jean-Claude Suares' book "Hollywood Cats" (1993), Butch was played by a feline actor named Orangey.] According to the director Jack Arnold, Orangey was attracted to enter the dollhouse in which the shrunken Scott was harbouring by cat treats secreted out of sight inside it.

When Louise returns home, she finds Scott's tiny shirt with blood on it and assumes he has been a snack for Butch. Meanwhile, back in the basement, Scott is pursued by a giant (to him) house spider (played by a tarantula actor named Tamara who had starred in director Jack Arnold's previous motion picture "Tarantula" in 1955).

There was no red robin, no house mouse, and no oscillating house fan in this movie.

Answer: Roger Corman

Roger Corman signed a deal with American International Pictures to produce and direct a "historical" motion picture. His working title was "Prehistoric World." The film was built around a twist: the cavemen-like people were actually future people who survived a nuclear apocalypse. AIP preferred the title "Teenage Cave Man" in harmony with the many teen horror films being made largely for drive-in movie audiences. Corman was apparently not consulted about the change because he later said "I never directed a film called Teenage Caveman".

The film was shown in the U.K. with the title "Out of the Darkness." Corman thought the movie was "pretty good" but could have been "genuinely good" with a longer shooting schedule and deeper financing.

Answer: True

A December 1958 edition of the "Hollywood Reporter" gave credit to a Carole Costello for playing the part of Carole in "The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock." This was the film debut of Carole Costello (1938-1987) who was Lou Costello's middle daughter. She acted in both motion pictures and on television. Her fourth and last husband was Craig Martin, son of Dean Martin.

Answer: Acting

American actor Hugh Marlowe (1911-1982) appeared on radio, on television, on stage and in motion pictures. He appeared on Broadway and portrayed Ellery Queen on the radio. He had a long-time (1969-1982) role as Jim Matthews on NBC's daytime soap opera "Another World." His filmography of science fiction and horror films includes "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (1951), "World Without End" (1956), "Earth vs. the Flying Saucers" (1956), and "Castle of Evil" (1966).

Answer: Sussex, England

The premise of the motion picture is that Donald Drake inherits Green Acres Farm in Sussex, in the south of England. He travels there and moves in with his new American wife Penny. Some critics have found comparisons between this film and the American TV situation comedy "Green Acres" (1965-1971).

The name Sussex derives from an Old English word meaning "South Saxons." Author A.A. Milne resided in Ashdown Forest in Sussex; the Hundred Acre Wood where Winnie-the-Pooh lived is located there. In the Sussex Dialect of English, there are a remarkably large number of words for mud. From the 17th century, Sussex has been a locus of fishing and shepherding (but not so much of "duck culture").

Answer: Popoca the mummy tears him/it apart

Dr Krupp, the criminally-insane scientist, built his "human robot" to destroy Popoca if the mummy interfered with Krupp's plans to steal the Aztec treasure. When Krupp steals the golden breastplate and bracelet from Xochitl's tomb, the mummy Popoca awakens and tries to take the Aztec treasures back. Dr Krupp sicks his cyborg on the revived (and upset) mummy. Just when it appears that the electric shocks from the cyborg's will subdue Popoca, Dr Almada arrives and knocks the remote controller out of Krupp's hands.

The metal monster stops fighting and the mummy dismembers it into a pile of metal rubbish.