Popcorn Crunchers, Reel 96 Trivia Quiz

Answer: a free funeral

An uncredited narrator begins, "'The Screaming Skull' is a motion picture that reaches its climax in shocking horror. Its impact is so terrifying it may have an unforeseen effect: it may kill you. Therefore, its producers feel they must assure free burial service to anyone who dies of fright while seeing 'The Screaming Skull.'" During this announcement, a casket/coffin slowly opens.

Inside the casket is a card which reads, "Reserved for You."

Answer: Abbott & Costello Go to the Moon

Abbott and Costello met the Invisible Man in 1951, went to Mars in 1953, and met the Mummy in 1955. They also met Frankenstein in 1948 and "the Killer Boris Karloff" in 1949. Their mummy movie was the last in a long series of movies which exploited stock horror characters in Universal Pictures' stable. There does not appear to have been a movie called "Abbott & Costello Go to the Moon" in the 1950s (or at any other time, for that matter).

Answer: It died with the death of Dr. Morbius.

The monster is a projection of Dr. Morbius' id. Morbius orders Robby to kill it but the robot cannot kill it because it is an extension of Morbius and this would violate his robotic programming. Morbius finally accepts the truth that the monster is his other self and, when he is mortally wounded in confronting it, dies such that the monster dies with him.

Answer: Frank Lovejoy

Frank Lovejoy (1912-1962) had a career on radio before he turned to motion pictures and television. His square-jawed face and no-nonsense manner worked well in roles such as a police officer, military man, or newspaper reporter. He may have been best known for TV's "Meet McGraw" (1957-1959).

He played Lieutenant Thomas "Tom" Brennan in "House of Wax" where he intervenes at the last possible moment to prevent boiling wax from spilling all over Sue Allen, played by Phyllis Kirk, in the exciting conclusion.

Answer: a deep-sea mini-submarine called Lungfish

Before setting out for the Arctic Circle, the Tigershark puts in to the Naval Ship Yard in Bremerton, Washington, for special fitting. In particular, it is modified to carry a deep-sea exploration vehicle, a sort of mini-sub, called the Lungfish.

Answer: change people's names; substitute NASA for CCCP

"Battle Beyond the Sun" was made in the Soviet Union where it was titled "Nebo Zovyot". Producer Roger Corman hired film school student Francis Ford Coppola to "Americanize" it by dubbing it into English and editing out any Russian references. Corman and Coppola removed any mention of Soviet/US conflict, covered up all the Russian writing, replaced models and stills of Soviet spacecraft with American ones, and changed the names -- characters and crew -- from Russian-sounding ones to American-sounding ones.

The result was 13 minutes shorter than the original.

Answer: three

The five people who are on board the space ship bound for the Moon are Dirk Green, a Moon man played by Michael Whalen, two escaped convicts, Gary or Gene, played by Tommy Cook, and Lon, played by Gary Clarke, Dirk's partner Steve Dayton, played by Richard Travis, and his fiancée June Saxton, played by Cathy Downs. Cook's character is sometimes called Gary and other times called Gene. Dirk Green is killed when a meteor storm dislodges a battery which strikes him in the head. Gene (also known as Gary) struggles with a huge load of diamonds, is trapped by the alien rock creatures, and steps into the lethal direct sunlight.

His space suit begins to smoke, his body bursts into flames, and all that is left of him are his smoldering bones.

Answer: acting

Fred Astaire (1899-1987) is best known as a dancer, actor, singer, and choreographer on stage, television and film. He played romantic and comedic roles in musicals. Later in his career, he took a number of "straight" roles in more serious motion pictures, beginning with "On the Beach" (1959) and later in "Ghost Story" (1981).

Answer: Bantalaya

Harry West, played by Norman Willis, learns that there is gold inside an idol worshiped by a tribe in Bantalaya. That country is a French colony, located deep in the African jungle. The tribe practices voodoo. West recruits Marilyn Blanchard, played by Marla English, to assist him in recovering the gold.

She turns the tables, kills Harry, takes his map, and organizes an expedition of her own.

Answer: Kay Lawrence

The Gill Man appears to have an unnatural attraction to Kay Lawrence, the only female member of the expedition. There are no female gill persons in evidence. Ms. Lawrence was played by Julia Adams, who was crowned Miss Little Rock (Arkansas) in 1946 at age 19. In this film, she looked particularly fetching in a one-piece white bathing suit.