Popcorn Crunchers, Reel 56 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Francis Ford Coppola

The director of the original movie "Nebo Zovyot" was Mikhail Karyukov. The director of the Americanized version was Francis Ford Coppola. The name of the film was changed to "Battle Beyond the Sun". Credit for the original Russian stars Aleksandr Shvorin and Ivan Pereverzev were changed to Andy Stewart and Edd Perry.

The Soviet directors Mikhail Karyukov and Aleksandr Kozyr were changed to Maurice Kaplin and Arthur Corwin (and rudely demoted to credit as "assistant directors"). Coppola added the scene where the two space monsters fight each other and also some crowd scenes from the Pasadena Rose Parade to use as the crowd reaction when the astronauts' return to Earth.

Answer: She Prowls the Night

"The Astounding She-Monster" (1957) is about an attractive female alien whose spaceship crashes on Earth. In "The She-Creature" (1957) a hypnotist regresses a woman to a past life as a prehistoric humanoid monster. Shipwrecked survivors find the "She Demons" (1958) to be horribly mutated women with fangs created by a Nazi mad scientist.

In Simon and Garfunkel's song "April, come she will," it says, "In restless walks she'll prowl the night." In 2011, Crystal Jordan's shape-shifting-panthers novel "Prowl the Night" was published.

There does not seem to be any motion picture named "She Prowls by Night".

Answer: He got stuck part way through a wall.

Scott transforms out of his phase-shifting form and his ex-girlfriend Linds shoots him. He laughs and declares his invincibility. He shifts back into the form which can pass through walls and attempts to go through a wall made of impenetrable Cargonite, where he gets "stuck". The words "The End" appear on the screen, followed by a question mark.

Answer: Richard Crane

Buster Crabbe played Buck Rogers in theatrical serials. Steve Holland played Flash Gordon on the 1950s television series. Johnny Weissmuller played Tarzan in twelve feature films. Richard Crane played Rocky Jones on television and in the many feature-length movies which were edited together from those programmes.

Answer: bloody, gory special effects

Not only are a large number of people killed in the scenes leading up to the final battle with the monsters, but that battle is itself prolonged and remarkably graphic. Ten people have their spinal fluid sucked out by the monsters: Jacques Griselle, Amelia Adams, Ben Adams, Mayor Hawkins, Constable Howard Gibbons, Sgt. Kasper, an atomic engineer, Melville, Professor R.E. Walgate, and a sentry.

The end of the monsters is particularly messy, as well.

Answer: concern about copyright infringement

This motion picture was shot and released theatrically in Great Britain with the original title "Stranger from Venus". In the US, it was released only to television and not to theatres because "The Day the Earth Stood Still" was still in theatrical re-release.

Its television title was "Immediate Disaster". It was released on DVD as "The Venusian". Once "The Day the Earth Stood Still" concluded its second run in US theatres, "Stranger from Venus" was released to the theatres in the US. 20th Century Fox never sued, despite the blatant similarity to their film.

Answer: their wings and their flight sounds

The two pterosaurs in "Rodan" can create strong cyclonic winds with their wings, thereby knocking buildings down. They can also create sonic booms, by flying in excess of the speed of sound, which are potentially fatal to humans. They also occasionally eat people.

Answer: directing

Spencer Gordon Bennet (1893-1987) earned the informal title of King of Serial Directors for directing over 100 theatrical serials. He began directing motion pictures in 1921 and his first serial in 1925. He directed serials in the following series: "Superman", "The Masked Marvel", "G-Men vs. the Black Dragon", "Secret Service in Darkest Africa", "Batman and Robin", "The Purple Monster Strikes", "The Adventures of Sir Galahad", "The Tiger Woman", "Captain Video: Master of the Stratosphere", "Zorro's Black Whip", "Jungle Jim", "Red Ryder", and "Mysterious Island".

His tombstone, erected in Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery, in 1987, reads "His Final Chapter".

Answer: the time and place depicted

The answer to the question "When and where did this take place?" defines the setting of a motion picture. It is the time and place in which the story is told. Other terms for setting are "story world" and "milieu". It may contain elements of history, geography, weather and climate, culture, stratum of society, and the like. The setting of horror films in isolated places increases tension and suspense in the audience. The setting of science fiction films in the future allows for imaginative locales, characters and social situations beyond those possible on present-day Earth.

Answer: a secret social club for girls

When Nancy arrives at the Sherwood School for Girls, she is hazed by her new roommates who finally tell her about their secret organization The Birds of Paradise. The girls are starved for male companionship so they share Eddie, the groundsman, played by Don Devlin, on a rotating basis. Nancy is initiated but wants none of Eddie, as she has a boyfriend, Glenn, back home.