Popcorn Crunchers, Reel 81 Trivia Quiz

Answer: a vampire

A stranger named Drake Robey arrives in town and is hired by Dolores Carter to avenge the killing of her brother Tim. Robey turns out to be Drago Robles. His father Don Miguel Robles sent him to Madrid on family business and, when he returned, he found that his brother Roberto was having his way with his wife Isabella.

In anger, Drago killed Roberto with a dagger. Tormented by guilt, he then killed himself with the same dagger. Because of his murder and suicide, he became a vampire. "Curse of the Undead" MAY have been the first motion picture in the Western genre to have featured a vampire.

The subgenre was perpetuated by "Billy the Kid Versus Dracula" (1966).

Answer: The Headless Man

"Man Beast" (1956) is about an abominable snowman. "The Man from Planet X" (1951) is about an alien. "The Man Who Could Cheat Death" (1959) is about a medical doctor with a scheme to remain young forever. In Ancient Greek mythology, headless men were called "akephaloi" meaning the headless ones.

The Ancient Romans called them "blemmyae." Blemmyes appear in Umberto Eco's quite wonderful novel "Baudolino" (2000). The Headless Horseman in Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" has been portrayed in numerous films.

A French film called "Où est la main de l'homme sans tête" ("Hand of the Headless Man) was made in 2007. There does not appear to have been a movie in the 1950s called "The Headless Man".

Answer: earthquake and volcanic eruption

The party shoots several of the dinosaurs but their thick tough skin blunts the impact. The men recover the telemetry from the rocket and, as they are about to climb down the mountain, an earthquake shakes the entire island. They move down quickly as tremors tear the island apart. An outrigger canoe remains at the village, which vessel they use to escape, just as the volcano erupts.

The dinosaurs' screams can be heard over the blast. One final explosion destroys the island totally and it sinks into the Pacific Ocean.

Answer: William Hopper

William DeWolf Hopper Jr. (1915-1970) acted on stage, in films and on television. Upon his return from serving in the US Navy in WWII, director William Wellman talked him into returning to the screen. His best known role was a private investigator Paul Drake on CBS television's "Perry Mason" (1957-1966).

He auditioned for the lead role won by Raymond Burr but settled happily into the private detective's role. He also had major roles in "Conquest of Space" (1955), "The Deadly Mantis" (1957), and "20 Million Miles to Earth" (1957).

Answer: True

Paul Frees (1920-1986) was a highly-accomplished voice actor used by Disney, Hanna-Barbera, Walter Lantz, and many others. He voiced Eastern Bloc spy Boris Badenov on the "Rocky and Bullwinkle Show (1959) on American TV. In "Earth vs. the Flying Saucers," his is the voice of the narrator (who sounds like one of those 1950s Encyclopedia Britannica films made for school children).

When the reel-to-reel tape recording made by Dr. Marvin is slowed down, his is also the voice of the alien invaders. Apart from the movie, Frees voiced the narration for the Disney theme park attraction The Haunted Mansion.

Answer: Ed Wood Jr.

Adrian Weiss, the producer and director of "The Bride and the Beast," conceived the picture's story and Ed Wood Jr. wrote the script from that conception. The original working title was "Queen of the Gorillas" which suits the storyline well. Wood admitted that he was moved by the in-the-news story of Virginia Tighe who was hypnotized and regressed to a former life as Bridey Murphy, a 19th century Irish girl.

Answer: Venus

Bill brings Venus with him to pick up Barbara from work at the Griffith Observatory. Venus ends up playing an important role in tracking down the invisible Phantom. While no one else can see the intruder, Venus is able to sense his presence and leads them to him.

Answer: acting

American actor Richard Egan (1921-1987) distinguished himself with two Gold Globe Awards for leading roles in a motion picture. He starred in a great many films -- "The Glory Brigade" (1953), "The Kid from Left Field" (1953), "Seven Cities of Gold" (1955), "The Revolt of Mamie Stover" (1956), "Love Me Tender" (1956), "A Summer Place" (1959), "The 300 Spartans" (1962).

He acted in only a few horror or science fiction pictures: "Gog" (1954) and "The House That Would Not Die" (1970).

Answer: Los Angeles

The events depicted in "Dementia" (1955), if they happened at all, happened on "Skid Row" in Los Angeles. In the style of film noir, most things happen in darkness or near-darkness: streets, night clubs, hotel rooms. The interiors were filmed on Hollywood studio sets and the outdoors on location in Venice, California.

Answer: a man inside a rubber suit

Paul Blaisdell (known for designing the monsters in "The She-Creature" (1957), "Invasion of the Saucer Men" (1957), "Not of This Earth" (1957) and "It! The Terror from Beyond Space" (1958), et al.) designed the stump monster. It was constructed by Don Post Studios. Chester Hays, a former professional wrestler who became a movie stuntman, got inside the Tabanga suit and made it move.

He nearly drowned in the last scene. Comic-book legend Stan Lee said that he was inspired to create the character Groot (a sentient tree in the "Guardians of the Galaxy" franchise) by the creature in "From Hell It Came."