Quotes From Various Movies Trivia Quiz

Answer: Dead Poets Society

"Dead Poets Society" was a 1989 movie directed by Peter Weir, and written by Tom Schulman. Robin Williams stars as John Keating, an unorthodox and inspirational English teacher at a boys' boarding school in the late 1950s. Tragedy and betrayal occur. Critics were divided about the movie, but Schulman's script won an Oscar.

The quotation comes from a scene where Keating gets one of his class to read from "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time" by Robert Herrick. "Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, Old Time is still a-flying; And this same flower that smiles today, Tomorrow will be dying." He tells the boys to look at photographs of school alumni of yesteryear, and tells them those boys are now daffodil fertiliser. He concludes his lecture by telling them "Carpe diem..." in a whisper.

The photo shows a plaque commemorating William Wordsworth's stay at a German house. Wordsworth is one of my favourite dead English poets.

Answer: Singin' in the Rain

"Singin' in the Rain" was a 1952 musical movie built around the back catalogue of songs of its producer, Arthur Freed, and his song-writing partner Nacio Herb Brown. The movie is set in the late 1920s, and shows the impact of Warner Brothers' "talkie" picture, "The Jazz Singer" on a rival studio. Gene Kelly and Jean Hagen play Don Lockwood and Lina Lamont, massive stars of silent movies, but whose initial attempt to make a "talkie", "The Duelling Cavalier", fails at a test screening - Lockwood is a ham, Lamont's speaking voice isn't as beautiful as she is, and the technology lets them down. Lockwood, his friend and musical partner Cosmo Brown (Donald O'Connor), and Lockwood's girlfriend Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds) hatch a scheme - make it into a musical, "The Dancing Cavalier" and use Kathy's voice for Lina's dialogue and singing. But Lina mustn't know!

In one of those ironies I love about the magic of the movies, in reality Jean Hagen's normal voice was beautiful and rich, and was used for her dialogue in "The Dancing Cavalier". Additionally, Betty Noyes was used for two of Debbie Reynolds's songs in the movie, including one where Selden was singing for Lamont. Jean Hagen was Oscar nominated for her hilarious performance as the vain and manipulative Lina Lamont, including the quotation in the question, given by her in a conversation with the studio head, to show that she is no pushover.

Answer: Mallrats

"Mallrats" is a 1995 movie directed and written by Kevin Smith, in which he also appears as Silent Bob. The second movie in Smith's "View Askewniverse" after "Clerks", it is a prequel to that movie. Jeremy London plays T.S., whose insensitivity causes a break with his girlfriend Brandie (Claire Forlani). He hangs around the mall with his friend, Brodie (Jason Lee), and they have some scrapes and strange encounters. Brodie takes exception to a young child on the escalator, which is where the outraged quote in the question comes from. T.S. and Brandi eventually marry. Also starring are Ben Affleck and Shannon Doherty, with a cameo from Stan Lee.

The photo shows a 19th century case from Japan depicting rats.

Answer: Blade Runner

"Blade Runner" is a 1982 movie directed by Ridley Scott, and based on the Philip K. Dick novel, "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?". Harrison Ford plays Rick Deckard, whose job is to track down and kill androids, known as replicants, who have gone rogue and escaped.

Rutger Hauer and Darryl Hannah play two of the replicants he is tasked with "retiring". Hauer, plays Roy Batty, built for combat, with a built-in 4-year life span, and the most formidable of the replicants. After a brutal fight with Deckard, Batty rescues Deckard when he is at his mercy, hanging from a beam at the top of a building. "Quite an experience to live in fear, isn't it?". Batty thinks and feels, just like a human, with unique experiences and memories, and has dignity and nobility, but is treated like a disposable machine that doesn't count anyway. He delivers the soliloquy (partly written by Hauer himself), releases a dove and bows his head, as his body fails due to his built-in lifespan.

Several versions of the movie exist. The version with Ford's voiceover is to be avoided. The movie was highly influential on the visuals used in sci-fi movies, and there was a belated sequel, "Blade Runner 2049" in 2017.

The photograph shows runner beans.

Answer: Carry On Cleo

1964 movie "Carry on Cleo" was the tenth in the long-running British comedy series. It starred Kenneth Williams as Roman dictator Julius Caesar, Sid James as Mark Antony, and Amanda Barrie as Cleopatra, the Egyptian Queen. It was influenced somewhat by the 1963 Elizabeth Taylor movie "Cleopatra", and used some sets that had been intended for that movie. The action starts in Britain, with Antony fighting the weather as well as the natives. When he goes to Egypt to deal with trouble, he falls under Cleopatra's spell and plots with her against Caesar. Caesar escapes their machinations but ultimately is killed in Rome. The "Infamy, Infamy" quote is from when Caesar is attacked by his bodyguard before being rescued by a Briton, played by Jim Dale.

The photograph shows the pyramids of Giza in Egypt. Built around 2500 BC, they are further back in time from Cleopatra than she is to us!

Answer: Beetlejuice

"Beetlejuice" is a 1988 comedy horror movie directed by Tim Burton. Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin play a couple who die in a car crash and become ghosts. A couple, played by Catherine O'Hara and Jeffrey Jones, with their goth daughter, Winona Ryder, buy and move into the dead pair's house. The father loves the house and wants to relax, the daughter likes it because her mother doesn't. The artistic mother despises the lovely cosy country dwelling, much to the distress of the deceased couple. She and her stylist march through the house deciding how to redecorate, hence the quotation in the question.

The dead pair realise that if they want the newcomers to leave, they must drive them away themselves. Against advice they hire Beetlejuice, played by Michael Keaton, to perform a "bio-exorcism". Chaos and mayhem ensue before eventual reconciliation and harmony.

I hope the picture of beetles pointed you in the right direction.

Answer: Moonraker

"Moonraker" (1979) was the eleventh in the "James Bond" movie franchise. It starred Roger Moore, in his fourth outing as the British secret agent with a license to kill. At this stage, Moore was over 50, and played the part more for laughs, with a script rich in one-liners and double-entendres. Michael Lonsdale played the villain, Hugo Drax, who had a plot to wipe out most of the human race, with poison launched from space. Richard Kiel starred as his massive henchman, Jaws, and Lois Chiles was the "Bond girl", Holly Goodhead, a CIA agent.

The quote in the question was from the end when Bond and Goodhead were in space, getting amorous.

Answer: Goodfellas

"Goodfellas" is a 1990 movie directed by Martin Scorsese. It is based on "Wiseguys", a book by Nicholas Pileggi about a mafia associate who ended up becoming an informant, called Henry Hill. Pileggi and Scorsese worked on the screenplay together. Ray Liotta played Hill, and the cast included Robert de Niro and Lorraine Bracco. Joe Pesci won an Oscar playing the volatile and dangerous Tommy DeVito. The movie follows Hill's progress from being a youngster obsessed with the gangster life, to his work selling drugs, his imprisonment, his drug addiction and paranoia, and his move to become an informant. The quotation in the question is delivered by Liotta in a voiceover at the start of the movie.

The picture of a devout man with a cherub looking over his shoulder reminded me of Tom and Jerry when Tom would have a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other, symbolising his bad and good impulses. Hopefully it pointed you at "good".

Answer: Sixteen Candles

"Sixteen Candles" was legendary teen-movie creator John Hughes's 1984 directorial debut. He also wrote the screenplay. Molly Ringwald starred as Sam Baker, whose 16th birthday is overlooked because the upcoming wedding of her selfish sister, Ginny (Blanche Baker) takes all of her family's attention. She has a crush on Jake Ryan (Michael Schoeffling), and a geek with a crush on her, Ted Farmer (Anthony Michael Hall). Even a ridiculous foreign exchange student, Long Duk Dong (Gedde Watanabe) has more romantic success than her - hence the quote Sam delivers in exasperation. After some misadventures and embarrassments, Sam makes up with her neglectful family and gets the guy.

Candles on a cheesecake are unusual, but hopefully that helped point you in the right direction.

Answer: Monty Python and the Holy Grail

"Monty Python and the Holy Grail" was a 1975 comedy written by and starring, in multiple roles, the "Monty Python's Flying Circus" team. It was directed by two of the Pythons, Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam. The story is a spoof of the King Arthur legend, with Graham Chapman playing King Arthur. Funny set pieces on the knights' quest for the Holy Grail include a fight against the Black Knight (John Cleese), who taunts Arthur continually despite losing all his limbs, an encounter with a ferocious and murderous rabbit, and the need to answer difficult questions before they can cross the Bridge of Death. The movie ends surreally with modern day policemen invading the set.

The quote about the Lady of the Lake and Excalibur is said by Dennis (Michael Palin), an anarchist who doesn't believe in the rights of kings.

The photo shows a Polish medal called the Order of the Grail.