Once Upon a Time in America Trivia

1. The events in 'Once Upon a Time in America' are based upon an autobiographical novel entitled 'The Hoods'. This tale was conceived by which former gangster-cum-novelist?

From Quiz US Cinema - 'Once Upon a Time in America' - Part 2

Answer: Harry Grey

The leading role, that of David 'Noodles' Aaronson, is based on the life of the former prohibition era gangster turned police informant, Herschel Goldberg. Goldberg adopted the pseudonym Harry Grey in order to protect himself and his family from any reprisals by the crime syndicates that he had written about in the novel. Herschel 'Harry' Goldberg was born in 1901 in either Odessa or Kiev, in what was then Russia, his family emigrating to the United States in 1905. This novel, believed to have been written whilst Goldberg was incarcerated in prison, was published in 1952. Although most of Grey's novels could be considered best-sellers, 'The Hoods' was by far the most successful of them. Prior to filming, Leone and Grey had met on a number of occasions and those scenes that were set in the bar owned by Moe Gelly as an adult were based on the bar in which the director and Grey had met on order to discuss ideas for the film. Harry Grey passed away during October 1980; his cause of death was undisclosed.

From Quiz US Cinema - 'Once Upon a Time in America' - Part 1

Answer: Ennio Morricone

With over 500 soundtrack credits to his name, Ennio Morricone is one of the most prolific providers of film music of all time. This was the last soundtrack that Morricone provided for a Sergio Leone film and it was, ironically, Leone's last film. Morricone can also be credited with providing the soundtracks to such epics as 'Once Upon a Time in the West', all three of the soundtracks to the 'Dollars Trilogy' and 'The Mission' amongst many, many others.

From Quiz Once Upon A Time In America

Answer: Miami

It is on the beach in Miami that Max tells Noodles of his plan to rob New York's Federal Reserve Bank.

From Quiz US Cinema - 'Once Upon a Time in America' - Part 2

Answer: The receipt of a mysterious invitation.

Fat Moe had received the same letter some months prior to Aaronson; the letter had been sent out by a nearby synagogue to request that families claim the remains of any loved ones from a cemetery that was due to be developed. However, Aaronson considered the letter to be a warning from those who had wished to kill him some 30 years earlier. He believed that they had always known where he had been hiding and that this letter was a warning that his return to New York would have serious consequences for him.

From Quiz US Cinema - 'Once Upon a Time in America' - Part 1

Answer: Jewish

Unusually for a gangster movie, the story is set within and around the Jewish community of Manhattan's Lower East Side. In contrast to the way that the area was depicted in this film as a poor or working class ghetto, the Lower East Side of Manhattan has, since the early years of the 21st Century, undergone considerable regeneration and now possesses a vibrant nightlife, a number of live music venues and a burgeoning arts scene.

From Quiz Once Upon A Time In America

Answer: Fat Moe

Fat Moe is a childhood friend of Noodles and the gang but does not join them in their criminal activities. He is the first person Noodles goes to see after returning to New York after 35 years. Larry Rapp, who played Fat Moe as an adult, has only appeared in three other films, while the actor who played him as a youth, Mike Monetti, has never appeared in another film.

From Quiz US Cinema - 'Once Upon a Time in America' - Part 2

Answer: Mausoleum

Aaronson visited the mausoleum in which the deceased gang members were supposedly interred. Whilst contemplating, he had noticed a locker key hanging from a hook fixed to a plaque on the wall. The plaque stated that the mausoleum had been erected by Aaronson, which came as something of a surprise to him. Aaronson later traced the related locker and inside he had found a leather suitcase packed with a huge quantity of one hundred dollar bills and a note which read 'advance payment for your next job'.

From Quiz US Cinema - 'Once Upon a Time in America' - Part 1

Answer: Noodles

It is never revealed from where Aaronson's nickname came from. The other gang members monickers are more straightforward; the vicious, cool and merciless killer Patrick Goldberg's name 'Patsy' was just an informal version of Patrick, Philip 'Cockeye' Stein possessed a lazy eye and 'Max' was simply a contraction of his full name, Maximilian Bercowicz. The youngest gang member, Dominic, was the only one who didn't possess a nickname. Dominic met his fate at a very young age, losing his life during an incident involving Bugsy, the leader of the gang that dominated criminal activity in the Lower East Side.

From Quiz Once Upon A Time In America

Answer: God Bless America

"God Bless America" can be heard playing over the opening credits and during the opening scene. As Eve enters her bedroom it is playing over the radio. Written by Irving Berlin, "God Bless America" is the unofficial second National Anthem of the United States of America.

From Quiz US Cinema - 'Once Upon a Time in America' - Part 1

Answer: An opium den

The story begins with a team of mob assassins searching for Aaronson. They murder his girlfriend in the apartment that they shared before descending on the home of one of his best friends, severely beating him and extracting the information that he, Aaronson, is likely to be found in an opium den. Fortunately for Aaronson, the proprietor warns him of their arrival and he makes good his escape through a side exit to the building.

From Quiz Once Upon A Time In America

Answer: Jennifer Connelly

Jennifer Connelly won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 2002 for her role in "A Beautiful Mind".

From Quiz US Cinema - 'Once Upon a Time in America' - Part 2

Answer: Jimmy 'Clean Hands' O'Donnell

Jimmy Conway O'Donnell, known as 'Clean Hands' because of his absolute refusal to be bribed or intimidated, was a trades union leader whose members were in dispute with their employers. Chicken Joe and an accomplice had abducted O'Donnell and taken him to an industrial unit where they had strapped him to a table and doused him in gasoline. O'Donnell, who had still refused to call off the strike, was about to be burned alive when Max and the gang arrived and bargained for O'Donnell's life; they had also abducted Chicken Joe's boss earlier in the evening. "This country is still growing up. Certain diseases it's better to have while you're still young," said Max to the petrol soaked O'Donnell. "You boys ain't a mild case of the measles, you're the plague!" retorted O'Donnell angrily before he screwed up his shirt and threw it at Chicken Joe's boss.

From Quiz US Cinema - 'Once Upon a Time in America' - Part 1

Answer: Buffalo

Aaronson's ticket to Buffalo costs $1.20, but it is never confirmed as to which of the numerous cities of that name that Aaronson will be travelling to. As he pays the vendor he turns around and his eye is caught by a wall carrying an advertisement for Coney Island, the scene of an recent incident involving himself and the love of his life. The scene ends with Aaronson passing through a door in the wall, symbolically leaving his old life behind as he embarks on a new life away from his home. It was once believed that the ticket vendor was played by Sergio Leone in a rare cameo appearance however this has been proved to be false; this role was played by Joey Faye.

From Quiz Once Upon A Time In America

Answer: "Been going to bed early."

This is about all the information Noodles gives Moe (and the viewer) concerning his life between 1933 and 1968.

From Quiz US Cinema - 'Once Upon a Time in America' - Part 2

Answer: They both died under suspicious circumstances.

As witnesses in the case that had become known as the Bailey Scandal, both men were high on the criminal underworld's hit list. The first to have met his mysterious end was Under Secretary for Commerce Thomas Finney, who had died after plunging from his office on the 15th floor of an office building. The second to die, District Attorney James Lister, was killed instantly in a blast as he had climbed into a car belonging to Secretary Bailey during a visit to his Long Island residence.

From Quiz US Cinema - 'Once Upon a Time in America' - Part 1

Answer: Actress

Aaronson and Deborah, played in her youth by Jennifer Connolly, care for each other very much, even if she does refer to Aaronson as a cockroach. As a young man, Aaronson often watched her practicing dancing and acting skills in the storeroom of her parent's restaurant. In an adjoining restroom a small section of wall had been removed which allowed him to do this but Aaronson didn't know that Deborah was aware of his voyeurism. On one occasion she strips to change and almost causes Aaronson to fall from the toilet on which he is standing! Many years later, after returning to New York, Aaronson revisits the restroom in Moe's bar only to find that the opening is still there. Peering through for posterity, Aaronson is transported back to his teenage years and at this point the tale returns to a time where the events of his early life begin to unfold.

From Quiz Once Upon A Time In America

Answer: Dominic

Dominic, the youngest member of the gang, is shot by Bugsy (James Russo). His dying words are "Noodles, I slipped".

From Quiz US Cinema - 'Once Upon a Time in America' - Part 2

Answer: Nowhere; it had been disposed of.

Goldberg informed his accomplices that he had lost the switch list. He had probably ditched it with his doctor's coat after they had left the maternity ward. Patsy remembered that the boys' numbers were even and that the girls' numbers were odd. Not knowing what to do next, the gang decided to just pick a number, eventually settling on the number '8'!

From Quiz Once Upon A Time In America

Answer: Buffalo

After seeing the dead bodies of his friends and then finding that the gang's money has been stolen a devastated Noodles realises that he has to leave New York immediately. At the station a ticket-seller asks him where he wants to go, Noodles replies, "Anywhere. First bus." The ticket-seller says, "Buffalo?" and Noodles nods his head ruefully and says, "One-way." Whether he stayed there for the next 35 years or moved elsewhere is never stated but the implication is that he moved somewhere duller than New York City and lived a quiet, unexciting life thereafter.

From Quiz US Cinema - 'Once Upon a Time in America' - Part 1

Answer: Photographed 'in flagrante' with a minor

The character Peggy was played by actress Julie Cohen as a young woman and as an adult by Amy Ryder. Peggy is a teenager of dubious morals who will do anything for a Charlotte Russe with Cream! Officer Whitey is spotted meeting Peggy on the roof of her tenement where they engage in sexual intercourse. Max, Noodles and Patsy set up a camera and photograph the pair and whilst the photographic plate is rushed away for safekeeping by Patsy, Max and Aaronson make it clear that they expect the officer to turn a blind eye to their criminal activities from that point onward.

From Quiz Once Upon A Time In America

Answer: Christopher Bailey

After faking his death in 1933 and stealing the gang's money Max, at some unspecified time later, reappears as Christopher Bailey and with his mob connections has a successful career in politics becoming Secretary of Commerce. The other three names are Cabinet members in the 1945 UK Labour government.

From Quiz US Cinema - 'Once Upon a Time in America' - Part 2

Answer: A throne

The chair in which Max was sitting had been a gift to a Pope as opposed to an actual papal throne. Bemused by this, Aaronson asked, "What's this?" "A throne, a gift to a Pope" responded Max adding, "It cost me eight hundred bucks." "It's from the 17th century," added his lover, Carol. "So, what are you doing with it?" asked Aaronson. "I'm sitting in it," said Max, an almost imperceptible grin flashing across his lips.

From Quiz US Cinema - 'Once Upon a Time in America' - Part 1

Answer: Salt

Valuable contraband coming in by boat would often be thrown overboard to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Coastguard. Unfortunately, this meant that the consignment was lost but Max and Noodles have an idea that will prevent this. The contraband is attached to a large bag of salt and a buoy. After the cases are jettisoned over the side of a boat and had sunk, the salt dissolves and the cases of contraband, now much lighter, rise to the surface with the buoy. This prevents the loss of the consignment. After the gang retrieves the contraband, they secrete their share of the proceeds in a locker at the railway station inside a brown leather suitcase.

From Quiz Once Upon A Time In America

Answer: Newsstand

At this early stage of their criminal careers the gang are doing jobs for Bugsy. For setting light to the newsstand the gang are given the option of receiving one dollar or rolling the drunk. They choose the latter and that is how they first meet Max who beats them to the drunk and his watch.

From Quiz US Cinema - 'Once Upon a Time in America' - Part 2

Answer: Gheorghe Zamfir

Zamfir is a Romanian composer, musician and former conductor. He was born in Gaiesti, Romania on 6th April 1941 and began playing the Pan Flute, also known as Pan Pipes, at the age of 14 years, although he had originally wished to become an accordion player. Zamfir began his recording career in 1966 with an album of self penned compositions played in an authentic Romanian folk style and he has, during the past five decades or so, sold over 120 million records. In addition to providing the haunting pipe music featured in 'Once Upon a Time in America', Zamfir has also contributed music which has featured in the films 'Picnic at Hanging Rock', 'Kill Bill Vol. 1' and 'The Karate Kid'.

From Quiz Once Upon A Time In America

Answer: "An uncle."

Noodles is referred to as Max's uncle several times in the film. The first time is when the corrupt cop confiscates the stolen watch. Max claims that Noodles is his uncle and he was giving the watch to him.

From Quiz US Cinema - 'Once Upon a Time in America' - Part 2

Answer: Crazy

It is revealed in the story that Max's father had died in a mental institution and that Max was terrified of meeting this same fate. There are a small number of occasions during the story in which Max's erratic behaviour manifests itself but none more so than on the two occasions in which Aaronson referred to him as 'crazy'!

From Quiz US Cinema - 'Once Upon a Time in America' - Part 1

Answer: Joe Pesci

Pesci had originally auditioned for the part of Max, but Sergio Leone was convinced that the role was not for him. Joe Pesci was born in Newark, New Jersey in February 1943. He is probably best known for the role for which he won the Academy Award for the Best Supporting Actor that of the menacing and truly frightening mafia psychopath Tommy DeVito in 'Goodfellas'. Pesci announced his retirement in 1999 but has, since 2006, appeared only occasionally in film.

From Quiz US Cinema - 'Once Upon a Time in America' - Part 1

Answer: Diamond agents

Max and the gang agree to carry out a raid on a diamond agent as a favour to Detroit mafia boss Frankie Manoldi. However, all was not what it seemed. At the delivery of the merchandise to Manoldi's henchmen, Patsy shoots and kills the thug inspecting the diamonds just moments before the remainder of the gang drive up and spray the car with machine gun fire killing those remaining inside. One of the Manoldi gang had already escaped death by leaping from the car but is chased down by Noodles and shot dead in a nearby factory unit.

From Quiz US Cinema - 'Once Upon a Time in America' - Part 2

Answer: Cleopatra

"Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale her infinite variety." So read the poster advertising the play in which she was performing, a production of 'Anthony and Cleopatra'. In this scene, a poster clearly showing Deborah's face can be seen on the wall in her dressing room. Deborah pleaded with Aaronson not to attend the reception but to leave through the door to the rear of her dressing room, never to return. Suddenly, a voice at the dressing room door threw Deborah into a panic. It was her son, David, whom she asked to wait outside. As Aaronson left he saw David and realised, at that moment, that he knew exactly who Secretary Bailey was... His childhood friend Maximilian Bercowicz.

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