Popcorn Crunchers, Reel 87 Trivia Quiz

Answer: a woman who turns into a leopard

Leonora Johnson, played by Barbara Shelley, is about to inherit the estate of her uncle, Edmund Brandt. He summons her to visit him and tells her that she inherits a curse whereby she will become a leopard from time to time, and will thirst for blood and to kill. This happens.

Answer: Night of the Voodoo Zombies

In "Teenage Zombies" (1959), a mad female scientist uses gas to change teenagers into mindless slaves. In "Zombies of the Stratosphere" (1952), there are no zombies whatsoever. In "Voodoo Island" (1959), Boris Karloff plays a private investigator hired to prove that there are no zombies on a Pacific tropical island on which the Paradise Carlton resort is to be built.

Wes Craven's "The Serpent and the Rainbow" is about voodoo zombies: ones created by a necromancer rather than being bitten by the flesh-eating sort. This follows the voodoo zombie tradition of "White Zombie" (1932), "King of the Zombies" (1941), "I Walked with a Zombie" (1943), and "The Plague of the Zombies" (1966). There does not appear to have been a 1950s theatrical movie named "Night of the Voodoo Zombies".

Answer: an actor wearing a monster suit

Keizô Murase used empty peanut shells to create the surface on the back of the monster suit made for "Varan the Unbelievable". There were abundant peanuts in the shell in the creature shop due to a gift. Eiji Tsuburaya, the special effects director, approved of the suit design.

The Varan suit was worn by actor Haruo Nakajima (1929-2017) who also wore the monster suit for 12 Godzilla movies. Nakajima suffered burns to his stomach during the filming of the final scenes of "Varan the Unbelievable", the only time he was ever injured portraying a movie monster.

Answer: Yvette Vickers

Overweight, balding, verbally-abusive Dave Walker, played by Bruno VeSota, is married to Liz Walker in "Attack of the Giant Leeches". She detests him and is unfaithful to him with his friends. The summary in IMDB describes her as a "she-cat of a wife".

After shooting "Attack of the Giant Leeches" but before its theatrical release, Ms. Vickers appeared nude as the centerfold in the July 1959 issue of "Playboy Magazine". In an interview, horror author Stephen King reported a juvenile crush on Ms. Vickers, prompted by her role in this film.

Answer: Vulcania

Nemo's safe harbour turns out not to be so safe when he returns to find it occupied by naval vessels and marines. Aepyornis Island is a fictional atoll near Madagascar in H. G. Wells' short story "Aepyronis Island" (1894). Caprona is a fictional island in Edgar Rice Burroughs "The Land That Time Forgot" (1918). Phraxos is a fictional island in John Fowles' postmodern novel "The Magus" (1965).

Answer: a novel by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac

Producer-director Henri-Georges Clouzot, together with his brother Jean (using the nom de plume Jérôme Géronimi), adapted the novel "Celle qui n'était plus" ("She Who Was No More") to create the script for "Diabolique". The 1952 novel was written by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac. Clouzot's wife Vera originally told Clouzot about the novel.

He read it in a single night and bought the rights from the authors in the morning.

Answer: tunnels under the sandy surface

The Martians had a heat-ray gun with which they melted the sand and rock underground leaving bumply melted tunnel walls through which they could pass undetected. When fired at a wall of stone, the ray would cause the rock to melt and bubble. This effect was created by filming a pot of boiling oatmeal to which red food colouring had been added.

The effect of the melted tunnel walls was first done with balloons but they looked too much like balloons. They were replaced by large balloons with smaller inflated condoms and achieved the desired effect.

It required 3,000 condoms to complete the walls filmed. One has to wonder which member of the special effects team was sent out to purchase 3,000 condoms and how his request was greeted by the provider.

Answer: acting

American Gene Barry (1919-2009) excelled in several fields. He acted on stage, television and in motion pictures. He was also an accomplished singer. He had two successful television series: "Bat Masterson" (1958-1961) and "Burke's Law" (1963-1966). He played the lead in a number of science fiction and horror films: "The Atomic City" (1952), "The War of The Worlds" (1953), "The 27th Day" (1957) and the 2005 remake of "War of the Worlds".

Answer: the Himalayas

"Man Beast" begins with a voice-over which raises the possibility that manlike creatures exist high in the Himalayan mountains between India and Tibet. The first expedition goes to the Himalayan Mountains to search for the yeti. When the first expedition is not heard from again, the sister of one of the scientists on it mounts a second expedition to find him.

Answer: short space-suited humanoid with a tall head

A spaceship, believed to be from Planet X, lands in the moors on a remote Scottish island. Inside is an odd small humanoid. He has a head as tall as Beavis' and Butt-Heads' encased in a tall glass space helmet. He looks a bit like the moai on Rapa Nui (Easter Island). Unable to breathe the Terran atmosphere, the visitor carries a pack of breathing gas which is piped into his helmet.

The creature does not speak words but attempts to communicate using musical tones.