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Welles Orson Quizzes, Trivia and Puzzles
Welles Orson Quizzes, Trivia

Orson Welles Trivia

Orson Welles Trivia Quizzes

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3 Orson Welles quizzes and 30 Orson Welles trivia questions.
1.
  Orson Welles: The Hollywood Years   best quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Having been given the best contract in Hollywood history, Orson Welles arrived in L.A. in 1939, with expectations high.
Average, 10 Qns, Snowman, May 15 10
Average
Snowman gold member
320 plays
2.
  The Film History of Orson Welles   great trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Orson Welles may well be the greatest and most influential film director of all-time. With that in mind, this quiz will cover only the films that Welles has directed. I hope you will play and enjoy this quiz.
Average, 10 Qns, thejazzkickazz, Jan 06 05
Average
thejazzkickazz gold member
518 plays
3.
  The Films Of Orson Welles    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Here are some questions about one of the greatest men associated with the making of classic movies.
Average, 10 Qns, buckmanboston, Apr 08 14
Average
buckmanboston
709 plays

Orson Welles Trivia Questions
1. What film marked Orson Welles' debut as film actor, director, producer, and screenplay writer?

From Quiz The Films Of Orson Welles

Answer: Citizen Kane

In 1941, at age 25. What a debut. The film won an Acadamy Award for Best Screenplay, and was nominated for 8 others, including Welles for Best Actor and Director, and Best Picture.

2. As a follow-up to 'Kane', Orson Welles directed which film, based on a Booth Tarkington novel about the difficulties faced by a family of upper crust unfortunates?

From Quiz The Film History of Orson Welles

Answer: The Magnificent Ambersons

Orson Welles' 'The Magnificent Ambersons' was released in 1942. The version of this film currently extant is missing approximately 50 minutes from Welles' original cut (and contains a happy ending not approved of by Welles), as RKO decided to remove his total creative license following the controversy caused by 'Citizen Kane'. Another interesting tidbit...there is a rumor that Booth Tarkington based the character George from the book on Welles himself, being the recalcitrant child that he was. Apparently, Tarkington was a Welles family friend.

3. In 1948, Orson Welles directed, produced, wrote the screenplay for, and played the lead role in what Shakespearean movie?

From Quiz The Films Of Orson Welles

Answer: Macbeth

He also played Othello in 1952. Lawrence Olivier directed, produced, and starred in Hamlet in 1948(Best Picture and Best Actor, well deserved) and Marlon Brando was nominated for Best Actor in 1953's Julius Caesar.

4. In what 1946 film does Orson Welles play Franz Kindler, a Nazi war criminal hiding out as a professor with a clock obsession in a Connecticut college town?

From Quiz The Films Of Orson Welles

Answer: The Stranger

He also directed this thriller with Edward G Robinson tracking Welles down.

5. In 1947, Welles created the film-noir 'The Lady from Shanghai', which featured Welles, several of Welles' Mercury Theater actors, and what Hollywood leading lady?

From Quiz The Film History of Orson Welles

Answer: Rita Hayworth

Now working for Columbia Pictures, Orson Welles was able to create this marvelous film using many of his personal favorite actors, and Rita Hayworth to boot! As with 'Ambersons', this film was manipulated quite a lot by the producers, who made several film edits, and forced Welles to include more close-up shots of Hayworth. Regardless, the final product is still enjoyable to behold.

6. In what 1948 classic does Orson Welles play an Irish sailor framed for murder by his then wife Rita Hayworth?

From Quiz The Films Of Orson Welles

Answer: The Lady From Shanghai

He also produced, directed, and wrote the screenplay.

7. The first of Orson Welles' magnificent films based on Shakespeare's works was his 'Macbeth', created in 1948. Who played Macbeth in this work of cinematic art?

From Quiz The Film History of Orson Welles

Answer: Orson Welles

Roddy McDowall also appeared in the film as Malcolm, while Erskine Sanford, a regular player in Welles' films, played Duncan (Another Welles regular, Cotten did not appear). Welles' himself took the challenge of playing the Scottish nobleman Macbeth and did so triumphantly. People forget that Welles was an excellent actor along with being an almost unparalleled auteur.

8. In what film does Orson Welles play Jonathan Wilk, based on Clarence Darrow, attorney for murderers Stiener and Straus, taken from the notorious 1924 Leopold and Loeb murder case?

From Quiz The Films Of Orson Welles

Answer: Compulsion

This 1959 film was taken almost entirely from fact, with only the names changed, which makes it even more fascinating.

9. To what does the word 'Rosebud' refer in Citizen Kane?

From Quiz The Films Of Orson Welles

Answer: Kane's childhood sled

This is revealed in the final scene, bringing the story full circle.

10. What is the name of the 1955 Welles-directed film that was based on a novel written by Welles himself?

From Quiz The Film History of Orson Welles

Answer: Mr. Arkadin

Filmed entirely in Europe, where Welles worked for most of the 1950s, Mr. Arkadin was funded by French and Spanish donors. Based on a novel written by Welles, it tells the story of an American ex-pat in Europe who is hired to investigate the life of a mysterious and very wealthy man named Arkadin. In some ways, the story has parellels with 'Kane'. Again, Welles appears in the title role, this time as the eccentric Arkadin.

11. In what 1950 film does Orson Welles play the enigmatic Harry Lime, whose attempt to fake his own death is foiled by Joseph Cotton in the streets of postwar Vienna?

From Quiz The Films Of Orson Welles

Answer: The Third Man

Another great film, from David O Selznick and Carol Reed.

12. Which movie did Orson Welles not lend his voice to as narrator?

From Quiz The Films Of Orson Welles

Answer: Moby Dick

In the 1956 movie, he played Father Mapple. He narrated King Of Kings in 1961, Bugs Bunny Superstar in 1975, and History Of The World, Part 1 in 1981.

13. In 1962, Welles, back in Europe, directed a film called 'Le Procès', otherwise known as 'The Trial'. Upon whose novel was this work of surrealistic extravagance based?

From Quiz The Film History of Orson Welles

Answer: Franz Kafka

If you haven't seen 'The Trial', a film based on the hauntingly brilliant work by Kafka, you must. Starring Anthony Hopkins as Josef K. and Orson Welles as Hastler, it tells the tale of a man accused of and put on trial for a crime he has not committed...in fact, he is never even told what the crime is! This film is a work of cinematic surrealism that must be seen to be believed. Welles himself considered 'The Trial' to be his masterpiece.

14. In which 1957 movie does Orson Welles play a powerful rancher, his only western role, whose property was called Xanadu, the same name as the estate of Charles Foster Kane?

From Quiz The Films Of Orson Welles

Answer: Man In The Shadow

15. Orson Welles directed, wrote the screenplay, and co-starred in what 1958 bizarre thriller that starred Charlton Heston as a Mexican narcotics agent and Janet Leigh as his wife?

From Quiz The Films Of Orson Welles

Answer: Touch Of Evil

The directors cut was released in 1998.

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