Popcorn Crunchers, Reel 107 Trivia Quiz

Answer: that the Martians were doing something

A choir of eight men and eight women recorded strange, ethereal, haunting music written by Raoul Kraushaar and edited by Mort Glickman. The recording was further "enhanced" by an electronic echo added in post production. Every time some unwary person went up the hill and was sucked underground in the sand dunes, this music/effect would play.

Answer: The Black Magic Curse

"The Curse of Frankenstein" (1957) starred Peter Cushing as Victor Frankenstein and Christopher Lee as the monster. "Curse of the Demon" (1957) was made and released under that title in the U.K. but as "Night of the Demon" in the U.S. "Curse of the Undead" (1959) is a vampire movie set in the Old West. Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer wrote the 1942 popular song "That Old Black Magic". "Black Magic Woman" was made a hit by Fleetwood Mac in 1968 and by Carlos Santana in 1970.

There have been many motion pictures named "Black Magic" (e.g. 1929, 1944, 1949, 1975, 1992, and 2019 films) but apparently none in the 1950s named "The Black Magic Curse".

Answer: an octopus

There were two octopi in "Bride of the Monster": one was a real live octopus in a fish tank; the other was a rubber effigy. The monster prop was either borrowed or stolen from Republic Pictures where it had been used in the John Wayne movie "Wake of the Red Witch" (1948). Accounts of the manner of obtaining the prop differ.

The mechanical parts of the octopus did not work and therefore the actors who were its victims were required to thrash about and manipulate the tentacles such that they appeared to be moving of their own volition.

Answer: Paul Blaisdell

The costume of the monster in "The She-Creature" was made by veteran make-up artist and monster maker Paul Blaisdell. His pattern was to retreat to his home studio in Topanga Canyon and emerge with a scary costume piece which fit his own body. Even though the monster in "The She-Creature" was ostensibly female, Blaisdell played the part throughout filming.

In one scene, where he/she was supposed to emerge from the surf, he went too deeply into the ocean, the rubber suit filled with water and he nearly drowned.

This suit, with modifications, was reused in subsequent American International Pictures, e.g. "Voodoo Woman" (1957) and "Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow" (1959). Blaisdell's pet name for the costume was "Cuddles".

Answer: False

This film was not even nominated for Best Picture. Instead, John Meehan and Emile Kuri won Oscars for Best Art Direction in Color, and John Hench and Joshua Meador won the Academy Award for Best Special Effects. Elmo Williams was nominated for Best Film Editing but did not win.

Answer: True

Although it was not necessarily a remake of the original motion picture, the movie "Games" (1967), with James Caan and Katherine Ross, used a different situation but essentially the same ending. Simone Signoret played a different role in "Games". The first American remake was "Reflections of Murder" (1974) which was made for television and starred Tuesday Weld, Joan Hackett, and Sam Waterston.

A second American made-for-TV remake was made in 1993. It was called "House of Secrets" and starred Melissa Gilbert.

A theatrical remake was made in 1996 using the original title. It starred Sharon Stone and Isabelle Adjani.

Answer: He hung himself in his jail cell.

Liz Walker, played by Yvette Vickers, is unhappily married to Dave Walker, played by Bruno VeSota. Dave runs the local general store. While he is out delivering groceries, Liz takes up with Dave's friend, Cal Moulton, played by Michael Emmet. Dave finds his wife and her paramour "in flagrante delicto" and backs them into the swamp at double-barreled shotgun point. Two giant leeches emerge from the water and drag both Liz and Cal beneath the surface. Dave goes straight to Sheriff Kovis, played by Gene Roth, and confesses but the sheriff believes that Dave shot them both and hid the bodies in the swamp.

He places Dave under arrest and locks him up in a cell, where Dave hangs himself, out of guilt for his involvement in the two deaths.

Answer: acting

Peter Graves (1926-2010) was born Peter Duesler Aurness but changed his stage name to avoid confusion with his elder brother James Arness. He was best known on television for "Mission Impossible" (1967-1973, 1988-1990) and in motion pictures for his roles in "Airplane!" (1980) and "Airplane II: The Sequel" (1982).

He also played in "Red Planet Mars" (1952), "Killers from Space" (1954), "It Conquered the World" (1956), "Beginning of the End" (1957), "Scream of the Wolf" (1974), and "Parts: The Clonus Horror" (1979).

Answer: an isolated Scottish island

Professor Elliot and his daughter repair to a small Scottish village on the remote island of Burray to better observe a rogue planet headed towards Earth. The actual Burray Island is one of the Orkney Islands of Scotland but is used fictitiously in this movie.

Answer: the vampire

"El vampiro" and "la vampira" are the masculine and feminine forms of the noun "vampire" in Spanish. The term has several meanings. It can refer to a supernatural creature such as Dracula who is undead and feeds on the blood of the living. It can also refer to a greedy person who drains away the money of another.

It can also mean a person who exploits others to their economic loss and his economic benefit; such a person is often referred to as a "bloodsucker". In the sense used in the title of the movie "El vampiro", it refers to a classic Bram Stoker type creature who sucks the blood of people and turns them into vampires, as well.