Popcorn Crunchers, Reel 54 Trivia Quiz

Answer: atomic energy from a home reactor

In an attempt to modernize the story in "Frankenstein 1970" the script calls for Baron Frankenstein to have an atomic reactor in his basement. The high cost of such an installation explains why he would permit American movie makers to shoot a film in his castle; he needed the money.

The reactor in question produced something called "atomic steam" which was both the source of the creature's life and the cause of its death.

Answer: Dr. Jekyll vs. Jack the Ripper

"Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (1953) is a comedy about two rookie American policemen on the trail of Mr. Hyde in London. "Daughter of Dr. Jekyll" (1957) is a werewolf picture which has almost nothing to do with Jekyll and Hyde. "The Son of Dr. Jekyll" (1951) is a sequel to the original 1941 "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde". Robert Louis Stevenson's novel "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" was published in 1886.

The Whitechapel murders attributed to Jack the Ripper occurred in 1888.

It does not appear that they ever met nor does it appear that a movie titled "Dr. Jekyll vs. Jack the Ripper" was ever made.

Answer: a humanoid

The Alien (for he is given no other name in the film) is played by Arnold Moss. Other than his space-age silver suit and the setting, one would not suspect him of being an alien at all. He informs the five Earth people, kidnapped and transported to his spaceship, that he is from a dying planet far away.

Answer: Leonard Nimoy

A remarkably young Leonard Nimoy (21 years of age) appears as Narab, one of the three Martian invaders in "Zombies of the Stratosphere". Once something is on one's filmography, there is no way to take it off. This was not Nimoy's first appearance on the screen but was one of the earliest.

Answer: No

George H. Plympton (1889-1972) was a screenwriter known for "Scouts to the Rescue" (1939), "Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe" (1940), and "Mysterious Island" (1951). George Plimpton (1927-2003) (note the different spelling of the last name) was a journalist, author, and adventurer who often wrote about his own whacky experiences. "Paper Lion" (1966) is about playing professional football for the Detroit Lions. "Shadow Box" (1977) is about fighting former boxing champion Archie Moore.

Answer: No

Following the theatrical release of "The Brain Eaters" (1958), attorneys for Robert A. Heinlein filed a civil suit claiming that the movie infringed Heinlein's copyright to the novel "The Puppet Masters" (1951). Heinlein demanded damages of $150,000. The case was settled for $5,000 without an admission or adjudication of improper use.

Answer: all three of these were considered

In development, the film which would become "Godzilla" was code-named "Project G". When a Japanese-Indonesian production of "Shadow of Glory" fell through, Project G was put together in a hurry. Eiji Tsuburaya, the special effects director on the final film, proposed a giant octopus sinking ships in the Indian Ocean. Screenwriter Shigeru Kayama proposed a libidinous giant gorilla. Tomoyuki Tanaka proposed a giant fire-breathing ape.

The Japanese name "Gojira" is a combination of the Japanese word for gorilla ("gorira") and the Japanese word for whale ("kujira").

The final form of the monster Godzilla emerged in the screenplay written by Takeo Murata and director Ishirō Honda.

Answer: directing/special effects

Bert Ira Gordon (b. 1922) is an American filmmaker. He has written, directed, and created visual effects for many films, especially horror and science fiction movies. Because of his affinity for giant monsters, he was nicknamed Mister B.I.G. (which happened to be his initials). Motion pictures in which he participated as writer and/or director and/or special-effect creator include "King Dinosaur" (1955), "The Cyclops" (1957) co-starring Lon Chaney Jr., "The Amazing Colossal Man" (1957) and its sequel "War of the Colossal Beast" (1958), "Beginning of the End" (1958), "Earth vs. the Spider" (1958) starring Peter Graves, "Attack of the Puppet People" (1958), "Village of the Giants" (1965), "Necromancy" (1972) which was re-released as "The Witching" in 1983, "The Food of the Gods" (1976) which was based on a story by H.G. Wells, and "Empire of the Ants" (1977), also based on a short story by H.G. Wells.

Answer: underground Mesopotamia

Archaeologists Dr. Roger Bentley and Dr. Jud Bellamin descend beneath a glacier on a mountain in Mesopotamia, searching for an underground civilisation. In caves deep under the surface, they find a many-millennia-old Sumerian civilisation. They are told that the people went underground after a devastating flood destroyed most of the Sumerian empire, which take to be the flood described in Genesis (chapters 6-9).

Answer: a lighted skeleton flown over the audience

There is a scene late in "House on Haunted Hill" where a complete skeleton (belonging inside the body of psychiatrist Dr. David Trent) emerges from the vat of acid in the house's basement. In theatres suitably equipped, a lit plastic life-size skeleton suspended on wires over the audience flew over the theatre seats. William Castle, the producer-director, called this gimmick "Emergo" in his autobiography. (Quiz author's note: I actually saw this effect as a lad in the Roxy Theatre in downtown Tacoma, Washington.)