Zombies of Mora Tau Trivia Quiz

Answer: something supernatural but unexplained

The Susan B sank sometime in the late 19th century whilst it carried a three-thousand-year-old Egyptian chest filled with uncut diamonds. Its captain, Jeremy Peters, was drowned as were the other members of his crew. These sailors spend part of their time in coffins in a mausoleum and part of it protecting the sunken treasure from salvagers.

There have been several attempts: British (1906), German (1914), British (1923), Portuguese (1928), American (1938) and now the present endeavour. There are filled graves for the permanently dead from each of these expeditions in the mausoleum shared by their killers. And there are open graves awaiting the present searchers.

The precise means by which the zombification occurred is left vague by the script.

Answer: a fictional island off the coast of Africa

The fictional name "Mora Tau" sounds and looks like the real place name "Maratua." Maratua is an island in the Derawan Islands of Indonesia. It is certainly not the setting of "Zombies of Mora Tau." The Latin phrase "Mors tua, vita mea" means "your death; my life." It is used to express that notion that, in a zero-sum situation, for the speaker to succeed, someone else needs to fail.

As attractive a speculation as this might be, there is no evidence that this phrase prompted the fictional name Mora Tau.

The narrated introduction to the movie begins 'In the darkness of an ancient world, on a shore that time has forgotten ..." This "shore" appears to be near Dakar, Senegal, which is located on the Cap-Vert peninsula which thrusts into the Atlantic Ocean on three sides.

The exteriors of this film were shot at Baldwin Park and at the Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden, doubling for "the darkness of an ancient world."

Answer: threatening them with fire

When Mona and Jan are approached by a zombie, Jeff tries to break its back to no effect. He hits it repeatedly in its face to no effect. He tries to choke it to no effect. In another scene, Jeff stabs a large knife into a zombie's neck to no effect.

Grandmother Peters rescues Mona, Harrison, Jan, and Jeff by waving a torch at a threatening zombie, which drives it off, explaining, "Fire, that's the only way to fight them." Jeff rescues Jan from the zombie mausoleum by shooting a flare gun at them. The party tries to contain the zombies in the mausoleum by setting a fire at its door. The divers, Jeff and Harrison, use oxy-acetylene torches underwater to fend off the zombie crew. On board the salvor ship, the party uses torches made of cloth wrapped around sticks which are soaked in kerosene, to hold off the zombies. The perceptive viewer is left to wonder what would have happened had the salvage-party actually set fire to a zombie.

Answer: His body disappears into the bush.

Sam, played by Gene Roth, is sent to fetch the lovely Jan Peters, played by Autumn Russell, and drive her to the home of Grandmother Peters. He sees a man standing in the middle of the road but, rather than slow the car or attempt to avoid him, Sam collides with him and keeps on going. Jan insists that they stop and see if the man is dead or in need of aid. Sam replies, "It wasn't a man, it was one of them." Jan tells Mrs. Peters about the event but she replies, "There's no one on the road." Jan tells Jeff and he agrees to return to the accident scene. Once there, all they find is glass from a broken headlight, some seaweed and saltwater.

Answer: Gregg Palmer

Gregg Palmer (1927-2015) worked as an actor in motion pictures and on television 1950-1982. During World War II, the Californian served as a cryptographer in the United States Army Air Corps. His acting career began with a bit part in the Martin and Lewis vehicle "My Friend Irma Goes West" (1950). His science-fiction/horror work on television included "Kolchak: The Night Stalker" and "Star Trek: The Original Series." His films in these genres include "Zombies of Mora Tau" and "The Creature Walks Among Us" (1956).

Answer: disconnect his air and communication lines

Jeff makes his first dive on the site of the sinking of the Susan B. He walks along the bottom (not really, but rather walks through a dry studio set, shot through an aquarium to look like it is underwater). When he attempts to enter the wreck, he is attacked by zombies who detach the air hose and communication link to the surface. Just before they pull his plug, he asks to be hauled back to the surface. Safely back aboard the ship, he suffers from the time he spent underwater without air.

Answer: False

American screenwriter George H. Plympton (1889-1972) worked in many capacities in more than 300 motion pictures. He wrote scripts for silent Westerns, then wrote talkie serials for Columbia, Republic, and Universal. He co-wrote the screenplay "Zombies of Mora Tau."

American author George Ames Plimpton (1927-2003) was one of the founders of "The Paris Review" but was probably better known for his ventures into "participatory journalism. He did improbable and interesting things; then he wrote about his experiences. These included pitching in the American League, acting in a Western motion picture, sparring with professional boxers, doing stand-up comedy at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, playing back-up quarterback with the Detroit Lions, doing a high-wire act in a circus, playing golf on the PGA Tour, playing goalie with the Boston Bruins, playing in high-level masters' bridge tournaments, and playing percussion with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.

Answer: She dies and becomes a zombie herself.

Mona Harrison, played by the lovely Allison Hayes, is married to George Harrison, a rich man who finances the expedition to recover the jewels onboard the sunken Susan B. She is a gold-digger and their relationship is loveless. She favours tight and revealing clothing and flirts with handsome deep-sea diver Jeff Clark. Mona was formerly a waterfront bar hostess. Allison Hayes is best remembered for her titular role in "Attack of the 50 Foot Woman" (1958) attired in some bed linens tied together to resemble a bikini.

In what literary critics would call a prefiguration, Mona falls into an open grave freshly dug in the mausoleum and becomes hysterical. Later, her husband George, sick of her coquetry, slaps her, causing her to run away in humiliation and shock. When she fails to return by sunset, the party searches for her and finds her "dead" in the mausoleum. Mona awakens, is cold to the touch, has a flat affect, and does not speak. Mrs. Peters tells George that his wife is dead. That night (in a scant and fetching nightgown) she stabs and kills crewman Art.

Answer: False

The conventions of zombie movies evolved from a stage play by Henry Francis Downing "Voodoo: A Drama in Four Acts" (1914). Others were added to the canonical list by Victor Halperin's "White Zombie" (1932) starring Bela Lugosi. Further developments occurred in Val Lewton's "I Walked with a Zombie." In "Zombies of Mora Tau," the setting is African rather than Caribbean, the zombies are white, no voodoo is involved, no sorcerer or necromancer controls the undead crew, the zombies do not feed on human flesh, nor is their condition contagious.

Answer: Mrs. Peters scatters them in the ocean.

Grandmother Peters tells Jan, "only when the diamonds are destroyed will your grandfather be able to rest." Jan urges Jeff to discontinue his quest to recover the diamonds. Dr. Eggert discusses this with her. Mrs. Peters tells him that the zombies must guard the treasure until it is scattered where no man can recover them. Then, she says, her husband Captain Peters will "return to dust, to find his eternal rest."

Jeff tries to evacuate the women to safety on a small launch. The zombies pursue them. Jeff gives the diamonds to Mrs. Peters who casts them in the sea. She sees her zombified husband and says, "At last, Jeremy Peters, at long last." Captain Peters, along with the zombie crew, turns to dust and his empty uniform falls to the ground.