Sci-Fi Movies of the '50s Trivia Quiz

Answer: Washington D. C.

"The Day The Earth Stood Still" begins with the alien craft being tracked at fantastic speed until it lands in Washington D. C. The alien aboard has come to Earth to warn its people about taking their hostile nature into space and threatening other civilisations. He brought with him a robot named Gort to police the situation. The alien is killed but brought back to life by Gort using facilities aboard the space ship.

The movie stars Michael Rennie as the alien Klaatu, Patricia Neal as Helen Benson, Hugh Marlow as Tom Stevens, Billy Gray as Bobby Benson, Sam Jaffe as Professor Jacob Barnhardt and Lock Martin as Gort. It was directed by Robert Wise.

Answer: James Arness

"The Thing from another World" begins with scientists at Polar Expedition Six at the North Pole tracking a UFO and sending to Anchorage for help from the air force. On arrival they find a craft under the ice but destroy it trying to free it. They save the pilot who escapes and terrorizes their camp killing some of the scientists. Later they set a trap and kill the alien by electrocution.

The movie stars Kenneth Toby as Capt. Patrick Hendry, Margaret Sheridan as Nikki Nicholson, Robert Cornthwaite as Dr. Arthur Carrington, Dewey Martin as Bob the crew chief and James Arness as The Thing, he later played marshal Matt Dillon in the TV series "Gunsmoke" which ran for 20 years. It was directed by Christian Nyby.

Answer: Telephone Linemen

In "It Came From Outer Space", shape shifting aliens who crash land on Earth replace two telephone linemen, Frank Daylon and his assistant George. All that the aliens want to do is repair their ship and leave so they abduct local towns people to help with repairs and take the place of some of them to gather materials for the repair. The local sheriff is bent on attacking the aliens and freeing the people while Dr. Richard Carlson is trying to help them.

The movie stars Richard Carlson as John Putnam, Barbara Rush as Ellen Fields, Charles Drake as Sheriff Matt Warren, Joe Sawyer as Frank Daylon and Russell Johnson as George. It was directed by Jack Arnold.

Answer: The Amazon

"Creature from the Black Lagoon" (set on the Amazon river), begins with an expedition in the Amazon uncovering fossilized evidence that provides a direct link between land and sea animals. The Gill-Man (the creature) appears and is curious about the visitors, they attack him but he kills two of them.

The movie stars Richard Carlson as Dr. David Reed, Julie Adams as Kay Lawrence, Richard Denning as Dr. Mark Williams, Nestor Paiva as Captain Lucas, Whit Bissell as Dr. Edwin Thompson and Ben chapman as Gill-Man (land), Ricou Browning as Gill-Man (underwater). It was directed by Jack Arnold.

Answer: Brian Donlevy

"The Quatermass Xperiment" begins with the British Rocket Group launching its first rocket into space. The rocket with a three man crew crashes to Earth but two of the crew are missing. Astronaut Victor Carroon is taken to hospital but starts to change into a hideous creature and kills a man while escaping, absorbing his life forces. The manhunt starts and the creature is killed in Westminster Abbey by electrocution.

The movie stars Brian Donlevy as Prof. Bernard Quatermass, Richard Wordsworth as Astronaut Victor Carroon, Jack Warner as Police Inspector Lomax, Lionel Jeffries as Mr. Blake, Gordon Jackson as a BBC TV Producer, Sam Kydd as a Police Sergeant and Jane Asher as a Little Girl. It was directed by Val Guest.

Answer: Large head and white hair

The Metalunans have large heads and white hair, they came to Earth to recruit scientists to their facility to help them transmute lead into uranium. They need uranium to power their energy field against the Zagons with whom they are at war. After an escape attempt and the destruction of the facility two scientists are taken back to Metaluna to continue their work but the war is lost and they escape with the help of a renegade Metalunan who brings them back to Earth but dies when his ship is destroyed.

The movie stars Jeff Morrow as the alien Exeter, Faith Domergue as scientist Ruth Adams, Rex Reason as scientist Cal Meacham, Russell Johnson as scientist Steve Carlson and Robert Nichols as scientist Joe Wilson. It was directed by Joseph Newman.

Answer: Jupiter

The "Fire Maidens from Outer Space" live on the 13th moon of Jupiter. Made in 1956, it is possibly the worst British Sci-Fi movie ever made. Signs of life are discovered on the Jupiter moon so a five man team is sent to investigate. They are armed with handguns and have a good supply of cigarettes. They find 17 people, 16 woman and a middle aged man. They are being attacked by a monster who is impervious to bullets. Their leader Duessa wants to keep the Earth men as mates for the woman but she is killed when the monster attacks their city. The astronauts kill the monster and leave for Earth but promise to send spaceships back with husbands for the women.

The movie stars Anthony Dexter as Luther Blair, Susan Shaw as Hestia, Paul Carpenter as Capt. Larson, Jacqueline Curtis as Duessa, Harry Fowler as Sydney Stanhope and Sydney Tafler as Dr. Higgins. Watch it if you dare. It was directed by Cy Roth.

Answer: Kevin McCarthy

In the fictional California town of Santa Mira, alien plant spores fall from space and grow into large seed pods. As the pods mature they reproduce a duplicate replacement copy of any human sleeping near them. Dr. Miles Bennell notices that the duplicates are devoid of any human emotion and tries to warn the townsfolk. Unfortunately the pods take over the whole town but Dr. Bennell escapes to the highway to warn whoever will listen, shouting "They're here already, you're next".

Kevin McCarthy as Dr. Miles Bennell is the actor who appears in both movies but only lasts about 5 minutes in the 1978 remake before being knocked down and killed in traffic. Gig Young, Dick Powell and Joseph Cotton were being considered for the part before budget cuts were made. The Movie also stars Dana Wynter as Becky Driscoll, King Donavan as Jack Belicec, Carolyn Jones as Theodora "Teddy" Belicec, Whit Bissell as Dr. Hill, Dabs Greer as Mac Lomax and Sam Peckinpah as Charlie the gas meter reader. It was directed by Don Siegel.

Answer: He continues to shrink to atomic size and beyond.

Scott Carey a businessman is on vacation with his wife, when a strange mist covers his skin. Some time later he notices that his clothes are too lose He goes to his doctor who takes X-rays, they confirm that he is shrinking. An antidote is developed but stops working after a while and he gets smaller and smaller. He gets attacked by the family cat and later a spider. His wife thinks that the cat ate him and announces his death. Meanwhile he continues to shrink to atomic size and disappears from view.

The movie stars Grant Williams as Scott Carey, Randy Stuart as Louise Carey, April Kent as Clarice, Paul Langton as Charlie Carey, Raymond Bailey as Doctor Thomas Silver and William Schallert as Doctor Arthur Bramson. It was directed by Jack Arnold.

Answer: The Blob

An alien amoeboid entity (The Blob) crashes to Earth from outer space inside a meteorite. It proceeds to dissolve and devour the citizens of the small communities of Phoenixville and Downingtown, PA. The people finally defeat the creature by freezing it with fire extinguishers. The Air Force transport the Blob to the Arctic where it is later parachuted down to the ice, not dead but frozen. The movie cost £110,000 to make.

The movie stars Steve McQueen as Steve Andrews, Aneta Corsaut as Jane Martin, Earl Rowe as Lieutenant Dave, Olin Howland as Old Man, Stephen Chase as Dr. Hallen and John Benson as Sergeant Jim Bert. It was directed by Irwin Yeaworth.