An American as Parisian Trivia Quiz

Answer: D'Artagnan

Alexandre Dumas released the story of the young provincial getting acquainted with three heroic musketeers in 1844. D'Artagnan was based on the real person Charles de Batz de Castelmore d'Artagnan, who had some adventures in real life. But he would certainly have been astonished reading what Dumas made of him - and Dumas would have been also surprised what movies made out of his book.

Orrin Johnson was born 1865 in Kentucky. His performance on the silent silver screen as D'Artagnan was in 1916, which means he was over 50 when "The Three Musketeers" was released which is a bit old to start a musketeer career!

Moving in time to 1935 and to the next movie with this title, but this time with sound and a charming Walter Abel, originally from Minnesota. It was the first talkie of this story in English.

A certain Gene Kelly from Pennsylvania fought, as D'Artagnan, Madame de Winter (Lana Turner) in 1948 in glorious technicolor. Some years later, in "Singin' in the Rain" silent movie actor Don Lockwood (played by Kelly) was famous for that kind of swashbuckling roles.

I hope you like my cubist/abstract drawing of a musketeer hat?
No, there are not bananas attached to it. These are silver gray feathers!

Answer: Christine Daaé/Dubois

Gaston Leroux, the author of "Phantom of the Opera" from 1910, was still alive when the first movies where released. It's the story set in an opera house in Paris, haunted by a phantom, who helps a young Swedish opera singer with her career. His help includes killing, kidnapping and a falling chandelier. In the end the phantom is dead and Christine elopes with a young man.

The "Phantom of the Opera" haunted Mary Philbin (born in Chicago) in 1925, Susanna Foster (also from Chicago) in 1943 and Emmy Rossum (New York) in 2004.

Mary Philbin had her encounter with the formidable Lon Chaney senior as the Phantom. The story exists that part of the audience screamed when Christine unmasked the phantom. The movie was reissued in the year 1930, with added sound.
After horror and kidnapping Mademoiselle Daaé ends up with the good guy Raoul, while the phantom perishes.

In 1943 there are some important changes to the original story, it is Christine Dubois instead of Daaé, Raoul is a policeman and the lady chooses career over love.

The 2004 adaption as a musical drama film is based on the Andrew Lloyd Webber stage musical. Emmy Rossum sings her heart out facing Gerard Butler.

I hope you like my Christine? I'm not good with chandeliers.

Answer: Jean Valjean

The kindness of a good man, giving former convict Jean Valjean a couple of candlesticks, changes Valjean. He takes care of poor orphan child Cosette, who later falls in love with the nice young Marius, involved in the 1832 Paris uprising. There is a fanatic Javert and the criminal Thénadier. Victor Hugo released "Les Miserables" in 1862.

Maurice Costello, a vaudeville star from Pittsburgh was Valjean in 1909. It was a feature film in four parts: "Jean Valjean", "The Galley Slave", "Fantine; or, A Mother's Love" and "Cosette". Sadly the movie is considered lost. Maurice Castello is the great great grandfather of Drew Barrymore.

Boston's silent movie star William Farnum was on the run in 1917. Farnum was one of the highest payed actors of the silent movies era.

Frederic March escaped Javert in 1935, Javert being played by Charles Laughton.
The film got some Oscar nominations including one for the best picture.

I hope you don't mind the golden hue of the candle sticks. Silver discolors sometimes.

Answer: Esmeralda

We are talking about the beautiful Esmeralda. There was no happy end for this woman in Victor Hugo's 1831 book "The Hunchback of Notre Dame". Born as Agnés, she was switched as a baby by gypsies and worked as a dancer in Paris, performing with a tame goat. She felt sorry for poor hunchback Quasimodo, who was put on the pillory. He saved her when she was in danger of getting hanged. Alas, the sanctuary of Notre Dame was not forever. Esmeralda and the hunchback of Notre Dame didn't survive.

The movies showed more mercy for Esmeralda.
In "The Darling of Paris" from 1917, Esmeralda was also kidnapped at birth by gypsies. But her Quasimodo was cured from his hunchback. Esmeralda was reunited with her birth family, and wedding bells rang for her when she and Quasimodo wed. If you want to admire Theda Bara from Cincinnati as French Esmeralda: there are some photographs, but the movie itself is lost.

"The Hunchback of Notre Dame" from 1939, with Maureen O'Hara as Esmeralda and Charles Laughton as Quasimodo, was closer to the original story. There was one major difference: both Esmeralda and Quasimodo survived. Maureen O'Hara was born in Dublin, Ireland and died in Boise, Idaho.


About the picture: The Esmeralda of the book is said to have worn golden coins in her hair.

Answer: Friar Tuck

Friar Tuck has been part of the Robin Hood lore for a very long time.

In the 1922 adaption "Robin Hood" Willard Louis, who was born in San Francisco, as Friar Tuck had difficulties in entering a convent door due to his rotund figure. They were there for a noble cause: Tuck recognized a cross they "found" on some traveling people as originally belonging to that convent. Willard Louis was a massive man and filled his monk robe very well.

Another friar Tuck with a rotund figure was Missourian Edgar Buchanan in "The Bandit of Sherwood Forest". In 1946 the main hero was the son of Robin Hood, who inherited the passion to fight and help damsels in distress from his father.

In "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" from 1991 Boston born Mike McShane had to wear an XXL monk's robe and loved his tankard of ale. In one scene he pushed a greedy bishop out of a window.

I hope the cross on the tree and two tankards with a frothy liquid helped you.

Answer: Miss Havisham

The story is "Great Expectations" and Dickens brought us the story of Pip, who was in love with the beautiful Estella in 1860/1861. The most interesting person was the strange and somehow mad Miss Havisham. In her younger years she was left standing on the altar. Something that unhinged her just a bit. Years later she still wore her wedding dress and swore to raise the girl Estella to treat men real bad. Later she repented and died in a fire.

Grace Barton from the state of New York played Miss Haversham in a silent movie in 1917. Ms Barton was in her mid thirties when she played Miss H., I suppose she did wear a faded bridal gown, but the movie is lost.

In 1934 Philadelphian Florence Reed, a renowned stage actress had her first role in a talkie playing Miss Havisham. In that version the lady didn't wear her bridal outfit permanently, was more eccentric than mad and died peacefully.


OK, the bridal outfit isn't that dusty and faded as you might expect. I hope it helped with the answer anyway.

Answer: Long John Silver

"Treasure Island" was published in 1883.

R.L. Stevenson based the likable ruffian on William Ernest Henley, a poet who had lost a leg at a young age. I suppose everyone has read the story or seen one of many movies. The boy Jim Hawkins got hold of a treasure map and together with some friends set out to find it. Too bad that there were also some pirates around- including Long John Silver.

Charles Ogle from Steubenville, Ohio sailed the seven seas in 1920. The boy Jim Hawkins was played by Shirley Mason, a young 20 years old actress.

Wallace Beery from Clay County, Missouri was an impressive pirate in 1934. He made it easy to understand why Jim (Jackie Cooper) trusted him in the beginning.

The great Orson Welles from a place near Lake Michigan was on board of the "Hispaniola" in 1972. He had been there before in a 1938 radio broadcast.

About my illustration: "X" marks the spot of the treasure, watched over by the parrot Captain Flint. The brown thing is a wooden leg. Maybe I should have tried the black spot, easier to paint and recognize.

Answer: Juliet

"Romeo and Juliet" is a play written by William Shakespeare in the 16th century.
Two lovers met, but due to bad blood between their families it ended in tragedy. One lover swallowed poison, the other used a dagger.

Florence Lawrence surely was a pretty Juliet in 1908, judging by her photographs. Alas, this 1908 movie is considered to be lost. Canadian born Florence appeared in more than 300 movies. She died 1938 in Beverly Hills, USA. She committed suicide by poison aged 52, not because of a Romeo; she was chronically ill and in pain.

With Norma Shearer we've got our next Canadian-American movie Juliet in 1936. English actor Leslie Howard was her Romeo. Another sad story connected to "Juliet": Norma Shearer was married to producer Irving Thalberg, who died on the evening of the premiere.

Will our third Juliet be happy? Condola Rashād played her on Broadway in 2013. A film was made of this, showing Condola next to her Romeo, Orlando Bloom.

A dagger and a bottle of poison are clues to the play.

Answer: Samson

The story of Samson and Delilah as written in the Bible:
Samson had superhuman strength, but only with his long hair. His lover Delilah learned about that secret, and while the man was asleep, she arranged a haircut for him. Then she turned him over to his enemies. There must have been something definitely wrong in their relationship.

J. Warren Kerrigan was Samson in a 1914 movie of the same name. Delilah was played by his older sister Kathleen. Movies were short then, so I guess the plot stuck to the basics: fighting the lion, close encounter with Delilah and destroying the temple.

Victor Mature was a handsome dark-haired Samson to a entrancing Hedy Lamarr. The movie "Samson and Delilah" was released in December 1949. Contrary to the biblical story, Delilah felt remorse and died with him in the collapsed temple.

There is an interesting connection between Kerrigan and Mature; both were born in Louisville, Kentucky, just like a real strong man (but with short hair), Muhammad Ali. But most Samsons came from Italy.

I guess I don't have to explain my picture: Samson before the loss of hair and strength.

Answer: Snow White

In 1812 the brother Grimm released their collection of fairy tales, including the story of Snow White. Stepchild of an envious queen, she got refuge with seven dwarfs. Further attacks on her life followed, at some time she was supposed to be dead and was placed in a crystal coffin. There was a happy ending in the end. She got a prince and the bad stepmother died in a horrid way.

Beautiful and petite Marguerite Clark from New York teamed up with the dwarfs in 1916. She knew her part well; she had performed it on Broadway. The dwarfs in the movies look like children with cotton wool attached. It is a pretty movie and you recognize the original story. Including the mirror and a poisoned apple. A young Walt Disney did watch this movie...

"Snow White and the Three Stooges" supposed to offer fun in 1961 and strayed quite a lot from the official story. Snow White did some ice skating in the beginning (Carol Heiss won an Olympic gold medal in 1960). You might be wondering about the three Stooges instead of seven dwarfs- and feel surprised about a prince with amnesia! It wasn't a success. Moe Howard, one of the Stooges called it "a Technicolor mistake". Miss Heiss is a native New Yorker.


In 2012 "Mirror Mirror" Snow White was impersonated by English-American Lily Collins. There is a magical house of mirrors, a prince and Snow White was trained in combat by the dwarfs, who were robbers...modern times.

About my picture:
Seven little dwarfs, with beards white as snow//
After the got rid of a stray princess, they stayed safe at home//
and watched a wonderful TV show//
all for one, one for all: Seven little dwarfs, home alone.