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Quiz about More Than Lonesome Dove
Quiz about More Than Lonesome Dove

More Than "Lonesome Dove" Trivia Quiz


Author Larry McMurtry is best known for his Pulitzer Prize winning "Lonesome Dove", but he has written much more. If you've gone to the movies in the last forty years, you will recognize many of these, even if you've never read one of his books.

A multiple-choice quiz by agony. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
agony
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
225,695
Updated
Oct 23 24
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Easy
Avg Score
8 / 10
Plays
987
Awards
Top 5% quiz!
Last 3 plays: bradez (6/10), Guest 165 (10/10), Guest 168 (7/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. McMurtry's first novel, "Horseman Pass By" was filmed in 1963. In the movie, the focus is mostly on the narrator's 'bad boy' elder brother, and his rape of the housekeeper. Under what title was this novel filmed? I'll give you a hint - the brother was played by Paul Newman. Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. In 1994, McMurtry and his screenwriting partner, Diana Ossana, wrote a novel about a famous Depression-era bank robber, Charles Arthur Floyd. What was his nickname, both in the novel and in real life?
Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. The story of Sonny, Jacy, and Duane was made into an Oscar winning film. It's a coming of age story, set in a dying town - also a story of one way of life passing, as a new one opens. What novel was this? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. One of my favorite early McMurtry novels is 1972's "All My Friends Are Going To Be Strangers". In it, Danny 'drowns' his novel in a famous, shallow, Texas river. What river is it? Hint: he can see lights and hear voices from a Mexican village as he approaches it. Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. This 1975 novel also went on to become a movie. It is the story of Aurora Greenway, and her daughter Emma. If I had to describe McMurtry's work in one sentence, I could say that he writes funny books in which characters whom you have come to care about die horrible and often meaningless deaths. This book is certainly an example of this - which is it? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Another favorite novel of mine is "The Desert Rose" a story of Harmony, an aging showgirl, and Pepper, her daughter. Harmony lives on a bumpy dirt road in the desert, and has three peacocks in her back yard. Where is this novel set? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Another book which was filmed, this one as a TV movie, with Angelica Huston getting an Emmy nomination for her portrayal of Martha Jane. Name this 1990 novel, which also has Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley as characters. Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. This next novel is yet another favorite of mine, probably because I spend so much time at flea markets and garage sales myself. (Anybody else noticed how often characters in McMurtry novels go to garage sales?). What's the name of this 1982 novel, in which the main character spends much of his time in his car, hunting down antiques and collectibles? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Well, OK, I can't resist one sort-of "Lonesome Dove" question. Which of the following books is NOT part of the "Lonesome Dove" saga? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Of course, McMurtry doesn't just write novels; he is also a highly regarded screenwriter. Which controversial 2005 movie did he write the screenplay to, along with his partner Diana Ossana? Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Dec 06 2024 : bradez: 6/10
Nov 20 2024 : Guest 165: 10/10
Nov 05 2024 : Guest 168: 7/10

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. McMurtry's first novel, "Horseman Pass By" was filmed in 1963. In the movie, the focus is mostly on the narrator's 'bad boy' elder brother, and his rape of the housekeeper. Under what title was this novel filmed? I'll give you a hint - the brother was played by Paul Newman.

Answer: Hud

The most poignant part of this 1961 novel is the killing of the herd, infected with hoof and mouth disease, and the effect that has on the old rancher. I live in cattle country myself, and this resonates strongly, in these days of BSE.

Incidentally, the incorrect answer options were all Elmore Leonard western novels. Yes, THAT Elmore Leonard - he hasn't always been an urban tough guy.
2. In 1994, McMurtry and his screenwriting partner, Diana Ossana, wrote a novel about a famous Depression-era bank robber, Charles Arthur Floyd. What was his nickname, both in the novel and in real life?

Answer: Pretty Boy

They had written a screenplay on the subject the year before - "... we both decided that we would like to write at more length about the life (as we imagined it) of Charley Floyd. We began by talking out, and then writing down, an extensive, detailed outline of the book as we envisioned it. Each day, L.M. wrote a skeletal five pages; then D.O., putting flesh onto bone, made them ten." ("Pretty Boy Floyd", Collaborators' Note)
3. The story of Sonny, Jacy, and Duane was made into an Oscar winning film. It's a coming of age story, set in a dying town - also a story of one way of life passing, as a new one opens. What novel was this?

Answer: The Last Picture Show

The movie is a pretty faithful retelling - if you loved the movie, you'll love the book. McMurtry followed this up with "Texasville" in 1987, and "Duane's Depressed" in 1999.
Cloris Leachman won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her part as Ruth Popper. It was a career booster for the young, at that time mostly unknown, actors who played the younger generation - Timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd, Randy Quaid... This was also director Peter Bugdanovitch's first major film.
4. One of my favorite early McMurtry novels is 1972's "All My Friends Are Going To Be Strangers". In it, Danny 'drowns' his novel in a famous, shallow, Texas river. What river is it? Hint: he can see lights and hear voices from a Mexican village as he approaches it.

Answer: Rio Grande

"... I grappled the novel in both hands and dove. I would carry it to the bottom. Only one of us would come up. I was Gary Cooper, in "Distant Drums". My novel was the Seminole chief. We were fighting under water. The current turned me over, swirled me over ... the novel got squishier and squishier, deep in the channel of the Rio Grande. Finally it got completely squishy, and I knew it was dead." ("All My Friends Are Going To Be Strangers")

Kind of an interesting insight into a writer's relationship to his work, don't you think?
5. This 1975 novel also went on to become a movie. It is the story of Aurora Greenway, and her daughter Emma. If I had to describe McMurtry's work in one sentence, I could say that he writes funny books in which characters whom you have come to care about die horrible and often meaningless deaths. This book is certainly an example of this - which is it?

Answer: Terms of Endearment

Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger, and Jack Nicholson headed up the cast of this one. In this case, the book is much more than the movie - funnier, sadder, richer - I highly recommend this book.
6. Another favorite novel of mine is "The Desert Rose" a story of Harmony, an aging showgirl, and Pepper, her daughter. Harmony lives on a bumpy dirt road in the desert, and has three peacocks in her back yard. Where is this novel set?

Answer: Las Vegas

McMurtry says, in the preface to this book, "Showgirls are large, full-breasted women who neither sing nor dance. They are on stage to wear gorgeous if skimpy costumes, and be beautiful. But fewer and fewer producers want to use them. Today's producers wanted dancers ... I have always been attracted to dying crafts - cowboying is one such.

It became clear that the showgirls were the cowboys of Las Vegas; there were fewer and fewer jobs and they faced bleak futures, some with grace, and some without it." ("The Desert Rose")
7. Another book which was filmed, this one as a TV movie, with Angelica Huston getting an Emmy nomination for her portrayal of Martha Jane. Name this 1990 novel, which also has Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley as characters.

Answer: Buffalo Girls

Martha Jane Canary was also known, of course, as "Calamity" Jane. Reba McEntire played Annie Oakley, in the 1995 movie.
8. This next novel is yet another favorite of mine, probably because I spend so much time at flea markets and garage sales myself. (Anybody else noticed how often characters in McMurtry novels go to garage sales?). What's the name of this 1982 novel, in which the main character spends much of his time in his car, hunting down antiques and collectibles?

Answer: Cadillac Jack

Leafing through the book, looking for something interesting to put here, I came upon the dedication, which I had never read before -
"For Diane Keaton, Queen of the Swap-Meets".
9. Well, OK, I can't resist one sort-of "Lonesome Dove" question. Which of the following books is NOT part of the "Lonesome Dove" saga?

Answer: The Wandering Hill

"The Wandering Hill" is Book Two of "The Berrybender Narratives", which started in 2002 with "Sin Killer".

"Dead Man's Walk" tells of Gus and Call's first expedition with the Texas Rangers, as young men.
"Comanche Moon" tells of about a 15 year span in their rangering days, and introduces us to many of the characters from "Lonesome Dove".
"Streets of Laredo" takes place after the events of "Lonesome Dove" - Pea Eye and Lorena are married, and Call, now an old man, is as uncompromising as ever.

None of these books has quite the epic sweep of "Lonesome Dove", but they are all very good books, well worth reading. "Dead Man's Walk", especially, is a truly great Western novel.
10. Of course, McMurtry doesn't just write novels; he is also a highly regarded screenwriter. Which controversial 2005 movie did he write the screenplay to, along with his partner Diana Ossana?

Answer: Brokeback Mountain

The short story that this screenplay was based on is by an author I like even more than I like McMurtry, Annie Proulx. Hmmm, maybe it's time for a quiz on HER works - I'd better get rereading!
Source: Author agony

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor gtho4 before going online.
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