Cinematic Sisters Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Sound of Music

Angela appeared as one of the Von Trapp children in the classic 1965 film, which won the Oscar for Best Picture. It is based on the true story of a young nun who leaves a convent to care for a widower's large family during World War II.

Before she played Brigitta Von Trapp, Angela was already familiar to television viewers as Danny Thomas's daughter on "Make Room For Daddy". After The Sound of Music, Angela played Penny Robinson on "Lost In Space". Her sister Veronica would follow her into space eleven years later in the 1979 film, "Alien".

While Veronica continued to act as an adult, Angela turned to writing and artwork, although she did make a cameo appearance in the 1998 feature film version of "Lost in Space" with her former co-star from the series, Marta Kristen.

Answer: None But The Lonely Heart

After decades of film and stage work, Ethel won her only Oscar on her first nomination (out of four) for this film, which was based on a novel by Richard Llewellyn (author of "How Green Was My Valley"). Ethel played an ailing shop owner, who must turn to her ne'er-do-well son (Cary Grant) to help run the business. Her award came thirteen years after brother Lionel won in the leading category for "A Free Soul" (1931). Although their brother John was an even bigger star, his greatest triumphs came on the stage, as did theirs. Ethel now has a Broadway theater named after her in New York.

Lionel and Ethel Barrymore are the first brother and sister to have won Oscars for acting, but before them Norma and Douglas Shearer had won awards. Douglas's awards were for achievements in sound and special effects, while Norma won for her leading performance in "The Divorcee".

Answer: Suspicion

"Suspicion" was the film which earned Joan her Oscar. She played a woman who married beneath her social standing and started to develop serious doubts about her husbands intentions.

While they were both known for often playing "good" characters, the two sisters each had chances to play "bad". Joan memorably played self-absorbed, lying, cheating socialite Christabel Carey in "Born to Be Bad" (1950), and later Olivia played Bette Davis's phony, greedy cousin Miriam Deering in "Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte" (1964). The nonagenarian sisters have been estranged for years and will not speak of each other in interviews.

Answer: Stranger Than Fiction

This film told the story of an IRS auditor named Harold Crick who started hearing the voice of a woman narrating his life. He came to realize that he was the main character in a fictional novel, and things started to happen that were beyond his control. Maggie played a liberal-minded cookie-baking coffee shop owner, whom he had to audit.

Naturally, he fell for her. The critically-praised film was a nice intelligent departure for Will Ferrell, so of course his his fans didn't bother to go see it.

Answer: Shine

"Shine", the true story of hardships faced by talented piano player David Helfgott, was a major comeback for Lynn. Prior to that, her last major role was in the 1989 British independent film "Getting It Right" (playing a Mrs. Robinson-type character to a 31-year-old virgin).

After, "Shine", her next role in "Gods and Monsters" earned her a second Oscar nomination, more than three decades after her first!

Answer: Diamonds Are Forever

At age 25, Lana played a character named Plenty O'Toole in this film, in which James Bond infiltrated a jewel smuggling operation. She was offered the part after appearing in the pages of Playboy. Unfortunately, she followed up this exposure by starring topless in a critically reviled low-budget 1972 drama entitled "A Place Called Today".

She doffed her duds once again in "Satan's Mistress" (1982), her final feature film before attempting a 2009 comeback. (No word yet on whether any more nude scenes are in her upcoming films.)

Answer: Electric Dreams

The other films listed featured Michael in small supporting roles, while Virginia played the lead in "Electric Dreams"; a film about an artificially intelligent computer that fell for its programmer's potential girlfriend.

The following decade, Michael would get the meatier parts, while Virginia toiled in supporting roles in films like "Ghosts of Mississippi". That would all change with Virginia's highly acclaimed performance in the film "Sideways", which earned her an Oscar nomination. That finally took her career to a new level, and she was next cast opposite Harrison Ford in "Firewall".

Answer: Arsenic And Old Lace

The other two sisters were Rosemary and Leota Lane. Leota was the oldest, and was primarily known for vaudeville and radio work, not for film. So when it came time to shoot "Four Daughters", Leota was tested for the part, but not cast. Gale Page played the role instead. (Imagine being deemed unsuitable to play the oldest sister of your actual younger sisters!)

In "Arsenic", Priscilla played a woman recently engaged to a man who has just found out his aunts have been taking in elderly borders and poisoning them. Priscilla's name would be the most familiar in subsequent years, but many movie buffs prefer Lola's edgier roles, in the other three films, to Priscilla's squeaky-clean persona.

Answer: Agnes of God

Meg earned her only Oscar nomination for playing an enigmatic young nun in this film, based on John Pielmeier's play, which concerned the fate of a baby born in a convent under mysterious circumstances. Her role was originated on stage by Amanda Plummer.

Meg retired from acting in 1995. She now concentrates on writing. After publishing "Gemma" in 2006, she revealed that the child abuse depicted in the novel was something about which she was able to write from personal experience.

Answer: Men Don't Leave

"Men Don't Leave" is a wonderful bittersweet comedy starring Jessica Lange as a recently widowed mother moving to a new area, and trying to start a new life without having time to properly move on. Joan's character in it was controversial, in that her young nurse character, Jody, seduced Jessica's teenage son. (Hey, Woody Allen gets away with it in films all the time, with the genders reversed, and he's much older.) The film was very modestly budgeted and released to a limited number of theatres. Despite this lack of exposure, several film critics included it in their year-end Top Ten lists for 1990. Several even ranked it higher than "Dances With Wolves", "Ghost", and John's film, "The Grifters".

While still appearing in Hollywood films, Joan maintained a home and family in Evanston, Illinois. There she made a lot of money as the spokesperson for U.S. Cellular wireless phone service, and was seen on billboards across the Chicago area until the company changed its marketing in 2008. Her Oscar nominations were for "Working Girl" (1988) and "In & Out" nine years later.

Answer: Stanley and Iris

Released in 1990, "Stanley and Iris" was Jane Fonda's last film before her self-imposed retirement during her marriage to Ted Turner. She played Iris, a woman who fell for an illiterate cook, played by Robert DeNiro. Expectations were high for a film featuring two two-time Oscar-winners, but the reviews were mixed, and the box-office receipts tepid.

Many of Jane's fans did not like the renowned feminist becoming a "Mrs.", and liked even less the fact that her only appearances in front of a camera would be limited to infomercials for fitness equipment. They were relieved when she returned to acting fifteeen years later (divorced from Ted) to star in the hit comedy, "Monster-In-Law". Jane also published a memoir, faced her critics in person on the book tour, and joined forces with anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan. In doing so, she removed any doubts that the old Jane was back.

Answer: Where The Boys Are '84

The film was supposedly a remake of the 1960 spring break hit, although it bore almost no resemblance to the novel by Glendon Swarthout on which the original movie was based. The four female leads were all too old to be convincing as college coeds, and star Lisa Hartman's short hairstyle on the film's posters didn't even match her long hair on the screen.

It received some of the worst reviews of the year, after which Lorna stuck to sporadic television appearances until her bit part in "54", the film about the notorious New York nightclub where her half-sister famously hung out.

Answer: Being There

A story of a simple television-obsessed gardner whose simple words become inspirations to some weathy and powerful people, "Being There" was more of a showcase for Peter Sellers and Oscar winner Melvyn Douglas than it was for Shirley. But she received excellent reveiews for her lusty, yet sympathetic role as a potential love interest for Sellers' enigmatic gardner, Chance. Several critics believed that the film was the greatest of 1979, and among the best of the decade, yet it was not even nominated for Best Picture. Still, it remains an all-time favorite for many film buffs.

Answer: The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

A tender musical story of young lovers torn by unfortunate circumstances, "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" was so well received in France that a new, more lighthearted musical was filmed, starring both Catherine Deneuve and her sister, Françoise Dorléac. The filmmakers even enlisted the participation of one of the biggest musical stars in the United States, Gene Kelly. Alas, before the film was released, Françoise's car crashed and burned in Nice, killing her almost instantly. She was 25.

The crash happened just as Françoise was breaking into Hollywood films. Few doubt that, had she lived, Françoise would have been at her sister's side as the first ladies of French cinema. Her other two surving sisters are Sylvie and Danielle Dorléac.

Answer: The Cardinal

The other three films featured sister Lillian Gish's most well known speaking roles.

Based on a novel by Henry Morton Robinson, "The Cardinal" was a story of a priest's tumultuous journey to the rank of Cardinal within the Catholic church. The film was directed by the legendary Otto Preminger. Not a bad final film for Dorothy Gish, who died five years later. Although Lillian was born earlier, she would outlive Dorothy by nearly a quarter-century, to the ripe old age of 99. Thanks for playing!