Popcorn Crunchers, Reel 181 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Whit Bissell

He appeared in "Lost Continent" (1951), "Creature from the Black Lagoon" (1954), "Target Earth" (1954), "The Atomic Kid" (1954), "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (1956), "Monster on the Campus" (1958), "The Time Machine" (1960), "Soylent Green" (1973), and "The Time Machine" (1978). Perhaps his best-known television role was as Lt. Gen. Heywood Kirk on ABC-TV's "The Time Tunnel" (1966-1967).

Answer: It Kills by Moonlight

"The Killer Shrews" (1959), "Killers from Space" (1954), and "The Man Who Could Cheat Death" (1959) are all actual, not-made-up, existent, and authentic motion pictures. "The Killer Shrews" is about shrews of unusual size who eat people. "Killers from Space" planned to use insects and reptiles made gigantic by radiation from nuclear-bomb testing to eradicate the human race. "The Man Who Could Cheat Death" is a gifted surgeon and sculptor who murders to provide himself the parathyroid glands for the decennial transplants which keep him perpetually young.

In early 1946, there were five serial killings which were called by the press "The Texarkana Moonlight Murders." The documentary "Murder in the Moonlight" (2018) was based on these homicides. A 1991 16mm feature film titled "Kill the Moonlight" is an unconventional comedy about a stock car racer. In 2011, Mike War and the Resistors released an album called "It Came From the Desert!!!" which contained a track called "Moonlight Killer." Due diligence could not discover a 1950s theatrical feature film called "It Kills by Moonlight."

Answer: bipedal bibrachial cycloptic nasties

Very much unlike the Martians described in H.G. Wells' novel, the design of the creatures in "The War of the Worlds" was driven by budget. The sixteen-tentacled beasts in the book would have been too expensive to recreate on film. The 1953 filmic versions were short, two-legged, two-armed, one-eyed creatures.

They were reddish-brown in colour. Each of their skinny arms terminated in a three-fingered hand; each finger terminated in a suction cup. A single eye had lenses of red, blue and green. Albert Nozaki designed the alien costumes.

They were built by Paramount's long-time monster maker Charles Gemora. He was assisted by his daughter Diana both in constructing the suits and bringing them to life. For example, the Martians' bodies pulsed (as if caused by a heartbeat) which effect was accomplished by rhythmically pumping air through a circulatory system.

The result was made of chicken wire, latex, and wiring but it looks like it was made of Martian.

Answer: False

The "Creature From the Black Lagoon" was played by two different actors/stuntmen: Ricou Browning and Ben Chapman. Chapman filled the role on land; Browning played the Gill Man underwater. Browning's scenes underwater were filmed in Florida; Chapman's in California. Neither could see very well as the headpiece did not afford a view of the wearer's surroundings. This was resolved by the placement of "google eyes" in the costume for the first and second remakes.

Answer: an unknown actor

No one is identified as the actor who played Malcolm in the on-screen credits "The Headless Ghost." None of the usual and customary websites disclose who lost his head in the film. Robert Morley played the ghost of Gen. "Jumbo" Burlap in "The Ghosts of Berkeley Square" (1947). Rex Harrison played the ghost of Captain Daniel Gregg in "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" (1947). Alan Rickman played the ghost of Jamie in "Truly, Madly, Deeply" (1990).

Answer: students at USC School of Cinematic Arts

"The Hideous Sun Demon" (1959) was written, directed, produced by Robert Irby Clarke (1920-2005), who also played the lead and title character. On a minuscule budget, he recruited film students from the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California. For some, the motivation was to get participation in making a "real" motion picture on their resumé. Clarke said, in a later interview, "To think that we made "Sun Demon" with a crew that were students, and that the picture eventually became a commercial success -- that really is a great achievement. To me it's quite remarkable!"

Answer: England

"The Quatermass Xperiment" was a Hammer Films production, based on a BBC television programme. The interiors were shot at Bray Studios, in Berkshire, England. The exteriors were shot mainly at the London Zoo in Regent's Park and at Westminster Abbey.

Answer: acting

American actor John Baer (1923-2006) acted in over sixty motion pictures; only a few of these were horror or science fiction films. On television, he starred in the series "Terry and the Pirates" (1953) which was adapted from the comic strips. He played in "The Flying Missile" (1950) and "Superman and the Mole Men'' (1951). He had the lead in "Night of the Blood Beast" (1958), after which he found a second career in real estate sales.

Answer: the Buddha with a tiara

The connection between the snake, the idol and the treasure is somewhat unclear in "Serpent Island." The idol may be guarding the treasure. Or the snake may be guarding the idol. Or the wildly-dancing chicken-sacrificing natives may be guarding them both.

The idol appears to be a gilded Buddha with a tiara on its head, sitting in the lotus position (Padmasana) atop a stone Greco-Roman pedestal.

Answer: a science-fiction and fantasy peer award

The World Science Fiction Society has been recognizing excellence in science fiction and fantasy since 1953. The first award was to Alfred Bester for his novel "The Demolished Man." The Hugo Award is named after Hugo Gernsback who founded the magazine "Amazing Stories." In 1958, a Hugo Award for "Best Dramatic Presentation" was added to recognize and applaud theatrical films, television episodes, stage plays, and radio plays.

The first such award was given to "The Incredible Shrinking Man" at a gala held in the Alexandria Hotel in Los Angeles.

The winner for best novel was "The Big Time" by Fritz Leiber and for best short story was "Or All the Seas with Oysters" by Avram Davidson in "Galaxy Science Fiction" magazine. In 2009, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." It was included in Steven Jay Schneider and Ian Haydn Smith's "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die" (2019).