Popcorn Crunchers, Reel 184 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Dr. Leslie Gaskell nicknamed it Kronos.

Dr. Leslie Gaskell, an astrophysicist who must have been partly schooled in Greek mythology, coined the nickname Kronos to describe the robot monster. A TV reporter played part of a report recorded by Dr. Gaskell in which the physicist borrowed the name of a Greek god.

The TV reporter liked it, used it, and it became popular. The mythological Kronos was the leader of the Titans. He castrated and killed his father Uranus. Fearful of a prophecy that he would be killed by one of his own children, he killed and ate them at birth.

His youngest son, Zeus, gave him a cup of poisoned wine which caused him to vomit up all of the children he had eaten, alive and well. What all of this has to do with the energy-sucking robot monster is unclear.

Answer: Mars Worms

The feature-length movies "Abbott and Costello Go to Mars" (1953), "Flight to Mars" (1951), and "Invaders from Mars" (1953) are all actual, not-made-up, existent, and authentic motion pictures. "Abbott and Costello Go to Mars" was directed by Charles Lamont who directed eight other Abbott and Costello comedies. "Flight to Mars" was directed by Lesley Selander who specialised in making Westerns but who also directed "The Vampire's Ghost" (1945) and "The Catman of Paris" (1946). "Invaders from Mars" was directed by William Cameron Menzies who co-directed "Chandu the Magician" (1932), created special effects for "Things to Come" (1936), and directed "The Tell-Tale Heart" (1949) for television.

Milo L. Thompson wrote a humourous novel "Invasion of the Martian Onion Worms" (2021). Arthur Jolly wrote and performed the song "Mars Worm" on the album "Recodrum Goes Acid" (2020). A 1995 episode (S3.E5) of the TV programme "Biker Mice from Mars" was titled "Diet of Worms", a strained riff on the historic Diet of Worms of 1521. There is a rare drawing by fanzine artist Jim Jones from (about) 1952 called "Worm-Brained Martian Killer" which looks a bit like the invading Martians in the movie "Mars Attacks" (1996). There does not appear to have been a theatrical motion picture named "Mars Worms".

Answer: radiation and insecticide

Scott Carey is enjoying his leisure on board his brother's yacht when his scarcely-clad body is exposed to a radioactive dark cloud of some sort. Later he is exposed to a newly-formulated insecticide. Thereafter he begins to shrink at the rate of about an inch per day. Doctors conclude that the combination of the radiation and the pesticide induced a sort of "anti-cancer" which irreversibly causes him to get smaller. Because of his "rearranged" molecular structure, medical science is unable to intervene.

Answer: Arlene Dahl

Arlene Dahl was a leading lady in romantic and comedy movies for several decades. James Mason, her co-star in "Journey to the Center of the Earth", was reportedly displeased by her casting as Carla Göteborg. His attitude changed entirely after their first day of shooting when he came to her dressing room at the Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico and complimented her on her professionalism in the day's scenes. On the set, she befriended the duck who played Gertrude and they became inseparable during filming.

In one particularly difficult scene, the actors were required to "ride" a boat in huge waves. A huge water balloon, which was supposed to hit her in the back, producing an aqueous effect, struck her in the face and knocked her out. She later said, "I woke up in the hospital with James (Mason) and Pat (Boone) holding my hand."

Answer: Nobody believes him.

Osvaldo's uncle, Baron Roderico da Frankurten, comes to visit his nephew. The problem is that Roderico is a vampire. When Osvaldo attempts to warn the guests in the hotel about his uncle, they think he is crazy and disbelieve him. Once the male guests, whose wives and daughters Osvaldo has bitten, identify him as a vampire, they want to kill him.

Answer: a comic strip by Alex Raymond

The cartoon strip "Jungle Jim" by Alex Raymond was first published on 7 January 1934. Universal Studios adapted it to a theatrical serial in 1937. The adventures, set in Africa and India, were further developed for radio, theatrical feature-length motion pictures, comic books, and television. Johnny Weissmuller, having played out the role of Tarzan, shifted to the role of Jungle Jim. For "Fury of the Congo" (1951), Carroll Young wrote the screenplay.

Answer: James Craig

The story of the Cyclops appears in the ancient Greek Odyssey. It was adapted by Euripides into a satyr play of the same name. This story and play have been reproduced (with modern settings) in numerous motion pictures: "The Cyclops" (1957), "Cyclops" (1987), and "Cyclops" (2008).

In the 1957 American version, the oversized one-eyed beast is Bruce Barton, a test pilot who crashed in the Mexican jungle, whose growth is the result of radiation from massive radium deposits in the area. James Craig plays Russ Bradford, a scientist who leads a search party to find the missing pilot.

Answer: acting

Hugh O'Brian (1925-2016) was probably best known for his role as Wyatt Earp in "The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (1955 1961) on ABC-TV. His filmography is highly varied; he played in Agatha Christie's "Ten Little Indians" (1965) and with John Wayne in "The Shootist" (1976). O'Brian did not do a great deal of science-fiction movie work but did appear in "Rocketship X-M" (1950), "The Fiend Who Walked the West" (1958), a made-for-TV pilot "Probe" (1972), and "Doin' Time on Planet Earth" (1988).

In addition to his acting career, he founded and operated the Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership Foundation, after meeting with Dr. Albert Schweitzer.

Answer: off the Florida coast, in the Caribbean Sea

As the movie begins, the narrator (Robert Carroll) says "This is the sea, as old as the world itself. It extends over three-quarters of the surface of the globe. The sea, the birthplace of life... We are now prepared to invade this black wilderness." Professor Millard Wyman, an oceanographer, announces that he will send a crew in a diving bell to ocean depths deeper than ever previously reached by man. From a boat off the coast of Florida, the bell descends into the Caribbean Sea. The underwater cave scenes were shot in Colossal Cave in Tucson, Arizona.

Answer: Jacqueline Scott

Jacqueline Scott (1932-2020) performed as an actress in over one hundred motion pictures, television episodes, and on the Broadway stage. Her career extended from 1956 to 2009. Many of her roles were in Westerns. Her science fiction movies included "Macabre" as Nurse Polly Baron and "Empire of the Ants" (1977) as Margaret Ellis, and "The Ghost of Cypress Swamp" (1977) as Aunt Louise.

Her role in "Macabre" was her movie debut.