British Cinema Trivia

1. In "Passport to Pimlico" (1949), the residents of Pimlico, a Central London neighborhood, are found to be legal citizens of the Duchy of Burgundy rather than Great Britain. To what advantage do the residents use their new found nationality?

From Quiz That Ealing Feeling

Answer: They declare themselves exempt from post war rationing.

"Passport to Pimlico" employs what was to become a popular theme in Ealing comedies; a small group of ordinary citizens subverting time honored British mores. In this particular plot, the much despised rationing system imposed on the citizenry during and after World War II is the subject of comic subversion.

From Quiz U.K Golden Oldies (Film)

Answer: Whistle Down the Wind

This 1961 lyrical film is set in the north of England in a more innocent age. Some young children find a wanted murderer hiding in a barn and ask him who he is. The criminal, realising he's been spotted, emits an expletive, "Jesus Christ". The children take this literally and from then on go to great lengths to look after and protect him. The idea sounds incredible in the modern age, but actually it's a beautifully directed, acted and most affecting film which is worth viewing even today.

From Quiz The Best of British Cinema

Answer: A Message From Mars

The BBC Arts and British Film Institute were behind the restoration of this film about a Martian sent to Earth to mend his selfish ways. With a plot that is reminiscent of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol", the film is based on a play written by Richard Ganthony.

From Quiz I Didn't Know They Were British

Answer: Apartment

Shot in London primarily in an apartment, "Repulsion" tells the story of a woman named Carol who slowly loses her mind while staying at her sister's apartment alone, even causing the death of two men. "Repulsion" is the second movie directed by Roman Polanski and his first English language movie. "Repulsion" is the first movie in Polanski's apartment trilogy, followed by "Rosemary's Baby" and "The Tenant".

From Quiz A Century of British Films

Answer: It was the first British talkie.

Alfred Hitchcock had already directed ten silent films, but "Blackmail" was his first film with sound. He went on to direct other British movie greats, such as "The Lady Vanishes" (1938) and "Jamaica Inn" (1939). "Blackmail" was based on a play by Charles Bennett and starred Anny Ondra, John Longden, and Cyril Ritchard. It told of a woman who killed a man after he tried to rape her. This was seen by another man who then went on to blackmail her.

From Quiz British Film in the 1970s

Answer: Lionel Jeffries

The film was adapted by Lionel Jeffries from the book of the same name, written by Edith Nesbit and published in 1906. It starred Jenny Agutter, Sally Thomsett and Gary Warren as the three children of the title, while Bernard Cribbins played the porter at the railway station. It was the first film to be directed by Jeffries, who also directed 'Baxter!' (1972) and 'The Water Babies' (1978). His acting career lasted from 1950 until 2001 and included roles in 'Lust for Life' (1957), 'The Secret of My Success' (1965) and 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' (1968) among many others.

From Quiz Haha! Very Funny!

Answer: Will Hay

'Oh, Mr. Porter!' is among Hay's best known films and featured him as the stationmaster of an isolated railway station in Ireland. The plot, rather surprisingly for a comedy, involved a gang of gun runners taking weapons to what was then the Irish Free State. The film was based on a play written by Arnold Ridley, who later went on to star as Private Godfrey in the television hit 'Dad's Army'. Hay had a successful career in music hall, and many of the films he made incorporated aspects of the characters he had created in his act. Among his other films are 'The Goose Steps Out' (1942) and 'My Learned Friend' (1943). Hay died at the age of sixty in 1949.

From Quiz British Crime Cinema

Answer: The spiv cycle

A 'spiv' was the name given to a certain kind of brash character who thrived on the black market culture that grew up in the Second World War due to the scarcity of goods produced by the onset of rationing. They usually dressed very well, had plenty of money and were either directly or indirectly linked to criminal activity. The origins of the term are disputed. The spiv character was later played more for laughs, particularly in the "St Trinian's" series of films featuring George Cole as 'Flash Harry'. Comedies produced by Ealing studios were popular in the late 1940s/early 1950s, with melodramas, often set in the Regency period, being produced by Gainsborough studios throughout the 1940s. The so-called Kitchen Sink films were films set in the North of England in the early 1960s.

From Quiz The Return of '60s British Cinema - part II

Answer: Borstal

The first line of the short story by Alan Sillitoe, on which the film is based, states: "As soon as I got to Borstal they made me a long-distance cross-country runner." Colin, the long distance runner of the title, is caught stealing and goes to Borstal, a young offenders' institution. His ability as an athlete is spotted by the Governor, played by Michael Redgrave. He is chosen to run in the annual cross-country championship against Ranley, the local public school, and its privileged students from wealthy, upper-class families. Colin is clearly going to win, but he deliberately loses to Ranley's champion (played by James Fox) to annoy the Governor, thereby maintaining his sense of independence in his battle against the system.

From Quiz British '60s Cinema

Answer: Unplanned pregnancies

One of the main social changes in the 1960s was the development of the Pill. 'Saturday Night and Sunday Morning', 'Alfie' and 'Up the Junction' all feature abortions (illegal until 1967) whilst Jo in 'A Taste of Honey' decides to have her baby. Racial tension feature in films such as 'Sapphire' and 'Flame in the Streets' (made not long after the Notting Hill riots), and one of the most underrated films in the '60s, 'The Angry Silence', examines the aftermath of a wildcat strike. The generation gap features in some fashion in too many '60s films to mention.

From Quiz British Film Mix

Answer: Joseph Losey

Joseph Losey was an expatriate American director who fled the Communists hunts of the 50's to work in England. (His American films include 'The Boy With Green Hair', best known for the song 'Nature Boy'.) All the others are native-born Brits.

From Quiz That Ealing Feeling

Answer: Joan Greenwood

Joan Greenwood also lent her talents to Ealing's productions of "Kind Hearts and Coronets" (1949), and "The Man in the White Suit" (1951). She is, however, best remembered as Gwendolyn in Anthony Asquith's 1952 film adaptation of Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest".

From Quiz U.K Golden Oldies (Film)

Answer: The Man in the White Suit

In this Ealing studios comedy film Alec Guinness plays Sydney Stratton, a chemist who invents an indestructible suit that never gets dirty. It's white because the material won't take dye. Unions and mill owners alike are fearful of the consequences and all does not go smoothly for Sydney. At the end of the film there's a surprise for all parties.

From Quiz I Didn't Know They Were British

Answer: Stanley Kubrick & Kubrick

Stanley Kubrick was an American director who worked mainly in the United Kingdom. "A Clockwork Orange" was released in the United Kingdom in 1972. The movie premise follows a young man and his gang as they commit felonies and murder around the city of London. As Alex is captured and sent to an institution to be "cured", the movie asks the question, "Can a criminal be cured?" Stanley Kubrick filmed "A Clockwork Orange" on a budget of over two million dollars. The movie made ten times Kubrick's budget in the United States.

From Quiz A Century of British Films

Answer: Goodbye, Mr Chips

Robert Donat won the Best Actor award in 1939, beating two acting greats, Clark Gable as Rhett Butler in "Gone With the Wind" and Laurence Olivier as Heathcliff in "Wuthering Heights". Donat had already appeared four years earlier as Richard Hannay in Alfred Hitchcock's "The 39 Steps". "Goodbye, Mr Chips" was a film about fictional Mr Chipping, a schoolteacher at a public boarding school for boys. It told of his private life, having to deal with the death of his wife and baby during childbirth, and the wonderful relationship he had with his pupils, who fondly called him Mr Chips.

From Quiz "Memoirs.... My Memoirs" - The Ealing Comedies

Answer: S.S. Politician

On the 3rd of January 1941, the S.S. Politician departed Liverpool bound for Jamaica. Its cargo included a quarter of a million bottles of Whisky and the modern equivalent of several million pounds in hard cash! The vessel ran aground on the Hebridean island of Eriskay and this very funny film recounts the attempts by the islanders to salvage as much of the vessels cargo as they could before it sank, in spite of the efforts of the authorities to prevent them from doing so. The film was actually shot on the island of Barra during the summer of 1948 and went seriously over budget due to delays incurred through the atrocious weather that summer. Bottles of whisky from the wreck are occasionally washed up on the beaches in the surrounding area today. The locals must have been unaware of the huge amount of cash on board as most of it was later recovered... But not all of it!

From Quiz Haha! Very Funny!

Answer: Whisky

The film and book were both called 'Whisky Galore!' in the UK, although in America they were entitled 'Tight Little Island' to avoid the reference to alcohol. The film starred Basil Radford, Gordon Jackson and James Robertson Justice, and was based on a real incident which took place in 1941. In the film the ship was carrying 50,000 cases of whisky, which the islanders were intent on 'liberating' while Basil Radford's (English) character tried to prevent them.

From Quiz British Crime Cinema

Answer: Half way through the film

The fatal shooting takes place after 40 minutes, in a film that is only 1 hour and 20 minutes long. Dixon is the central figure in the film, and his death casts a shadow over the rest of the film. There is an urban myth that the shooting takes place after only 20 minutes of the film, which any viewing of the film quickly dispels. The character of George Dixon was famously brought back to life, still played by Jack Warner, in the BBC TV series 'Dixon of Dock Green' which started in 1955 and ran for over 20 years.

From Quiz British '60s Cinema

Answer: Motorcycling

The film title refers to the leathers they wear whilst riding their bikes. The Ace Cafe is on the North Circular Road in north-west London; it opened just before the Second World War but had its heyday in the 1950s/early 1960s when it became a meeting place for bikers. It closed in 1969 but reopened in 1997. Strangely, in the book Pete (called 'Dick' in the book) does not even have a bike at the start of the book and only becomes involved with the Ace Cafe due to Reggie's influence, whilst in the film both are serious enthusiasts from the start. Clips from 'The Leather Boys' feature in the background of the video of The Smiths' 'Girlfriend in a Coma'; Morrissey is a notable fan of many of the so-called 'Kitchen Sink' films.

From Quiz British Film Mix

Answer: Gainsborough

Gainsborough studios were noted for their costume dramas, as befitting the painter who inspired their name and logo of the pretty girl in costume. (Gainsborough himself is best known for his 'Blue Boy')

From Quiz That Ealing Feeling

Answer: Nine

Sir Alec not only plays Ethelred, the 8th Duke of Chalfont, but also his four brothers, one sister, two nephews and, in a flashback, his father. The story involves multiple homicides in the name of social advancement and is considered one of the great dark comedies of all time.

From Quiz The Best of British Cinema

Answer: The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

The film is based on a novel by Muriel Spark. Miss Jean Brodie has the task of teaching 12-year-old girls in her charge. Her unorthodox ideas are at odds with the school's headmistress as well as her inappropriate relationships with male teachers at the school, one of whom is married. At the end of the film she is betrayed by one of her students and is asked to leave the school. One interesting fact about the movie is Robert Stephens, who played the role of art teacher and Brodie's lover Teddy Lloyd, was Maggie Smith's real-life husband at the time.

From Quiz I Didn't Know They Were British

Answer: Alfred Hitchcock

"Blackmail" is just one of many Hitchcock films directed in 1929. "Blackmail" was distributed by British International Pictures as a silent film, but was found to be more suspenseful as a sound picture. A few theaters without sound capabilities showed "Blackmail". Alfred Hitchcock's first "talkie" was considered to be "Blackmail".

From Quiz A Century of British Films

Answer: Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard

Based on a screenplay written by Noel Coward, the film "Brief Encounter" was a final goodbye between a man and woman at a train station. Although married to other people, they started an emotional love affair which was doomed from the beginning. The couple were played by Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard. Celia Johnson later went on to star in many films including "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" (1969) with Maggie Smith. Trevor Howard was a stalwart British actor who was active for over fifty years. His film credits included "Mutiny on the Bounty" (1962), "Von Ryan's Express" (1965), and "Superman" (1978).

From Quiz British Film in the 1970s

Answer: Anthony Shaffer

The film starred Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine and was directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. The plot involved a complicated game of bluff and counter bluff between the two characters, with the younger man (Caine) being the lover of the older man's (Olivier) wife. The film was remade in 2007 with Caine playing the senior man and Jude Law as the young man. The plot was changed considerably, too. Anthony Shaffer was born in Liverpool in 1926. His identical twin, Peter, was also a writer and playwright. As well as 'Sleuth', Anthony Shaffer wrote the screenplays for 'The Wicker Man' (1973) and 'Evil Under the Sun' (1982).

From Quiz British Films Through the Years

Answer: Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard

From their first meeting in the unlikely setting of a station's tea-room where Trevor Johnson's character, Alec, carefully removed a piece of grit from Celia Johnson's eye, the success of this film was assured. Told in flashbacks by Celia Johnson's Laura, the story was about two people who fell deeply in love but were unable to be together because each was already married and their ultimate, but painful, decision to separate. With doctor Alec having decided to relocate to South Africa, their final farewell in the same station tea-room where they first met and Laura's subsequent dash to the platform after Alec's departing train are moments of pure cinematic drama. This classic film, adapted from Noel Coward's play 'Still Life', earned Academy Award nominations for Best Actress for Celia Johnson, and Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay for David Lean. It has consistently been voted one of the top British films of all time. The memorable music was from Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No 2. Celia Johnson also starred in 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie' in 1969, for which she won a BAFTA Award for Best Actress. She was honoured with a Damehood in 1981. Trevor Howard also starred in 'The Third Man' in 1949, one of the most popular British films of all time, playing the character of Major Calloway to Orson Wells's Harry Lime. He appeared in many films during his long career, and was nominated for an Academy Award for his starring role in 'Sons and Lovers' (1960), based on D H Lawrence's novel.

From Quiz Haha! Very Funny!

Answer: Peter Sellers

The film was a parody of British industrial life, with incompetent management, lazy workers and corrupt officials. It was directed and produced by the Boulting Brothers, and Sellers won a BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) best actor award for his role. The title of the film came from the expression used to describe anyone who selfishly looks after only their own interests without caring about the effect on anyone else. Sellers had a successful career as a film actor, mainly, but not exclusively, in comedy roles, in particular in the 'Pink Panther' series.

From Quiz British Crime Cinema

Answer: Yield to the Night

Ruth Ellis was convicted of killing her ex-lover and was hanged on the 13th July 1955. 'Yield to the Night' was something of a challenge for Dors, who was known at that time as 'Britain's answer to Marilyn Monroe'; she gives an excellent performance in a film which was part of a campaign to abolish capital punishment. Diana Dors also featured in 'Tread Softly Stranger', another crime film, playing Calico, later turned into a song by Saint Etienne. 'Dance With a Stranger' was made in 1985 and was the first film to directly examine the Ruth Ellis case; Miranda Richardson played Ellis. 'Passport to Shame' is another Diana Dors film, this time about prostitution; unfortunately I've not seen this film, so if anyone has a copy...

From Quiz The Return of '60s British Cinema - part II

Answer: The Dave Clark Five

The title song from the film, 'Catch Us If You Can', got to number 5 in the UK charts. The film is very different from the Beatles' films, in that the group do not play themselves and are not musicians. In 'Catch Us If You Can' they are stunt men, one of whom runs off with a successful model, played by Barbara Ferris, who feels pressurised by company executives. The film's plot involves a chase to bring the couple back, but it is not played for comedy and indeed the film has a melancholic feel about it, with much to say on commerce vs art, and the commercialisation of youth.

From Quiz British '60s Cinema

Answer: Scriptwriter

Billy constantly makes up stories, or at least exaggerates wildly, and inevitably gets caught out in his fantasies. He makes everyone believe that he has secured a job as a scriptwriter to a TV comedian, Danny Boon, when in fact he doesn't even know him and the best he gets is a vague invite to pop in and see Boon when next in London. He works as a undertaker's clerk, but plans to leave to fulfil his dreams, although of course they never amount to anything. Liz (Julie Christie), whom he hasn't seen for a while, asks him how his book is coming along, to which Billy replies that it's all done and will be published "next Christmas". When she asks him to count to five and tell the truth, he admits that he hasn't even started writing it yet! One thing he has done though is co-write a song - 'Twisterella' - that is played at the local dance hall. In the original novel, he also has a weekly turn at a local pub as a stand up comedian, although in the film he hasn't reached these dizzy heights...

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