One or Two Liners - '40s and '50s movies Quiz

Answer: Some Like it Hot (1959)

Marilyn Monroe (Sugar Cane) says the above quote in the bathroom of a train, to Tony Curtis. She complains about her bad luck with men.

This film starred Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon posing as show girls while taking a train from Chicago to Miami. Marilyn Monroe was the real-life show girl. Oh, and Tony and Jack were being chased by a gangster, played by George Raft, after they inadvertently witnessed a killing.

"Some Like It Hot", directed by Billy Wilder, was nominated for 6 Academy Awards.

Answer: African Queen (1951)

"The African Queen" is the name of a river tug captained by Humphrey Bogart. The movie is set in Africa at the beginning of WWI. Kathrine Hepburn plays a missionary. To avoid capture by the Germans, Bogart, a little rough around the edges, agrees to take the prim and proper Hepburn to safety aboard The African Queen.

Kathrine Hepburn says the above quote to Humphrey Bogart. The missing part of the quote is, "Mr. Allnut" (Bogart's name in the film). She says this to Bogart after he mimics a monkey in an attempt to amuse her. She is very straightlaced and not amused at his mimicry. This movie has been a must see for generations. Bogart won an Oscar for Best Actor.

Answer: Citizen Kane (1941)

Mr. Bernstein is a friend and employee of Kane's. He is discussing the death of Kane with reporter Jerry Thompson. Thompson is sent by his editor to discover the meaning of Kane's last word, "Rosebud". "Rosebud" was the name Kane gave to his sled when he was a child.

Kane was a wealthy newspaper owner. The character was loosely based on William Randolph Hearst, who disallowed any mention of the film in his newspapers.

Answer: The Searchers (1956)

"The Searchers" is directed by John Ford. The film contains some beautiful shots of Monument Valley. Wayne plays a unapologetic racist whose family is wiped out by the Comanches. Wayne becomes obsessed with his quest to find his niece, who has been kidnapped by the Comanches. It takes him 5 years to finally find her, but he doesn't want to save her, he wants to kill her. He reasons that she's now more Indian than white. Wayne's niece is played by a young Natalie Wood.

John Wayne says, "That'll be the day." (he actually says it several times) when asked if he's ready to quit looking for his niece. He uses it as a sort of catchphrase throughout the film.

Some surmise that Buddy Holly's title for the song "That'll Be The Day" was taken from this quote in "The Searchers".

Answer: Casablanca (1942)

Humphrey Bogart is a saloon owner in Casablanca, Morocco. Before Paris fell to the Germans in WWII, he and Ingrid Bergman (Elsa) were an item. They had arranged to escape Paris together, but Elsa stood him up. Sometime later, she shows up in his saloon with her husband.

Bogart, speaking to himself, wonders why, out of all places in the world, did Elsa have to show up in his bar after she stood him up in Paris. He wonders why because he still loves her and seeing her brings back all those wonderful moments in Paris. There are so many great lines from this movie. It's hard to pick just one.

Answer: Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)

Cary Grant says the above line to his bride. A sworn bachelor, Mortimer Brewster (Cary Grant) gets married and now has to tell his sweet little ol' aunts. Only he discovers they aren't so sweet after all. They have been luring old men to the house, killing them and keeping them in the basement.

Answer: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)

Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe play two best friends and showgirls looking for husbands. Lorelei (Monroe) sings the quoted song. She is a gold-digger, meaning her priorities are riches and money. Dorothy (Russell) is more down to earth and prefers the tall, dark, and handsome type regardless of wealth.

Answer: North by Northwest (1959)

Cary Grant plays a advertising executive who goes on the run after being mistaken for a government agent by a group of foreign spies. The film concludes with a fight between Grant and the foreign agents on top of Mount Rushmore.

Cary Grant is at Grand Central Station in New York, attempting to buy a ticket on the 20th Century Limited bound for Chicago. He is confused and upset by his recent misadventures when he is questioned at length by the ticket booth operator, regarding his ticket purchase. The movie is a spy thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The film is often listed as one of the greatest movies of all time.

Answer: Key Largo (1941)

Humphrey Bogart is invited to the hotel to honor the passing of an old friend. Bogart says the above quote to Edward G. Robinson who, along with his gang, are trapped in the hotel in Key Largo as a hurricane approaches. Robinson plays Johnny Rocco, an infamous gangster. Frank (Bogart) refuses to duel with Rocco because he isn't worth dying for.

Answer: The Maltese Falcon (1941)

The movie is based on a book of the same name by Dashiell Hammett. This film was John Huston's directorial debut. Bogart was a last-minute replacement for George Raft and it made Bogie a star.

Bogart (Sam Spade) is a hard-nosed private detective. When he learns that his partner has been murdered, he doesn't blink an eye. He didn't like the guy. Even if he didn't like his partner, Spade observes a sort of code. "When a man's partner is killed," he tells the femme fatale (played by Mary Astor), "he's supposed to do something about it." There are a number of other killings in the film, all of which revolve around the Maltese Falcon.

The atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima was named "Fat Man" by a Manhattan Project physicist after watching the film and is what Spade (Bogart) and others call Kasper Gutman (Sydney Greenstreet).

The quote is the last line of the movie, spoken by Bogart to the Maltese Falcon and its potential value.

Answer: On the Waterfront (1954)

Marlon Brando's character says the above quote to his brother, played by Rod Steiger. Brando plays Terry Malloy who had dreams of becoming a great prize fighter until he threw a fight on the orders of the corrupt boss of the longshoremen's union. He laments to his brother that he could have been a contender, instead of a bum.
The movie won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor (Brando).

Answer: The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)

This film is Alfred Hitchcock's remake of his 1938 film of the same name. An American family on vacation in North Africa gets inadvertently involved in a plot to assassinate the British Prime Minister. James Stewart is questioned by the Moroccan Police after a foreign agent with knowledge of the plot is killed. Stewart says the above quote to the investigating detective because he is frustrated at being questioned.

Answer: Rear Window (1954)

Stella (Thelma Ritter) says the above to Jeff (James Stewart). Stella is a nurse who is helping to take care of Stewart. Stewart plays a temporarily wheelchair-bound photographer, who entertains himself by looking out his rear picture window at the goings-on in his apartment complex. He comes to believe that a murder has been committed. He tries to convince the police and his high society girlfriend, played by Grace Kelly, of this. Stella says the line in response to Stewart's claim that there is an intelligent approach to marriage.

"Rear Window" is another Alfred Hitchcock classic thriller.

Answer: High Noon (1952)

The plot revolves around a newly retired and newly married (to Grace Kelly) town marshal (Gary Cooper). A man he sent to prison is coming on the noon train, along with his gang, to exact revenge. The marshal tries to enlist the help of the townspeople, to no avail. So the marshal must stand alone. Kelly implores him not to be a hero.

Answer: Adam's Rib (1949)

I had to include a Tracy/Hepburn movie. They are at their comedic best as two lawyers married to each other. The movie is about marriage and the "men are from Mars, women are from Venus" whole thing. This classic is full of wonderful "tit for tat" between the sexes. Tracy and Hepburn play lawyers who are constantly throwing barbs at each other. The quote is from Hepburn's character who is a firm believer in equality between the sexes.