Anthony Perkins Movies Quiz | Anthony Perkins

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Did Anthony Perkins make his movie debut in the Spencer Tracy and Jean Simmons film, "The Actress" (1953), which was about a young woman whose dream was to be a star on Broadway?

Answer: Yes

Anthony Perkins (1932-1992) made his movie debut in "The Actress", the story of Ruth Gordon Jones, a young woman from a poor Boston neighborhood, whose dream was to be a star on Broadway. "The Actress" was directed by George Cukor, and based on Ruth Gordon's play "Years Ago". Ruth Gordon Jones was played by Jean Simmons, Anthony Perkins was Fred Whitmarsh, and Ruth's parents were played by Spencer Tracy and Teresa Wright.

2. Based on Jessamyn West's novel, what was the name of the 1956 movie in which Anthony Perkins played Josh Birdwell, a young Quaker whose peaceful way of life was threatened by the Civil War?

Answer: Friendly Persuasion

"Friendly Persuasion" was the story of the Birdwells, a family of Indiana Quakers in 1862, who found their peaceful way of life threatened by the arrival of Confederate soldiers. The cast included Gary Cooper as Jess Birdwell, Dorothy McGuire as Eliza Birdwell, and Anthony Perkins as Josh Birdwell.

3. Anthony Perkins played Eben Cabot, a young man who had a passionate love affair with his young, sultry stepmother, in "Desire Under the Elms" (1958). What beautiful actress played the stepmother?

Answer: Sophia Loren

The trouble all began when the surprise that Ephraim Cabot (Burl Ives) brought home, was a much younger, beautiful wife named Anna (Sophia Loren). The star-crossed love of Anna and Eben led to heartbreak for all involved in this 1958 film. "Desire Under the Elms" was based on the play by Eugene O'Neill.

4. A boy's best friend isn't always his mother. What was the name of the oddball innkeeper that Anthony Perkins played in Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 thriller, "Psycho"?

Answer: Norman Bates

When Marion Crane and $40,000 vanished, her boyfriend, sister, and a private detective named Arbogast traced her to the Bates Motel. But who saw her last--Norman or his mother? Based on the novel by Robert Bloch, "Psycho" had a generation of moviegoers afraid to take a shower. Janet Leigh was Marion Crane, John Gavin was Sam Loomis, Vera Miles was Lila Crane, Martin Balsam was Arbogast, and Anthony Perkins was Norman Bates. Perkins played Norman in "Psycho II" (1983), and again in 1986 in "Psycho III". Perkins made his last appearance as Norman in the 1990 television film "Psycho IV: The Beginning", which he also directed.

5. In what 1970 WWII-era comedy did Alan Arkin play John Yossarian, a bomber pilot who was trying to get certified as insane, and Anthony Perkins play Chaplain A.T. Tappman?

Answer: Catch-22

Capt. Yossarian knew he could never meet the number of required bombing missions because his higher-ups kept raising the number. He decided the only way out was to get certified insane by asserting that anybody who would fly these missions had to be insane already. "Catch-22" was based on the novel by Joseph Heller.

The large ensemble cast included Alan Arkin, Anthony Perkins, Paula Prentiss, Jon Voight, Martin Balsam, Richard Benjamin, Bob Newhart, Art Garfunkel, and Orson Wells as Brig. Gen. Dreedle.

6. What was the name of the 1972 movie that featured Paul Newman as an unorthodox dispenser of Wild West justice, and Anthony Perkins as the Rev. Mr. La Salle?

Answer: The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean

Paul Newman starred as Judge Roy Bean, the only law west of the Pecos, in John Huston's "The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean". The movie was based on the life of the real Judge Roy Bean, a Texas justice of the peace during the late 1880s and early 1900s.

The real-life Roy Bean, like his film counterpart, knew next to nothing about the law and was smitten with actress Lillie Langtry. The real judge even fined a dead man $40 (all the money found on him) for carrying a concealed weapon. The real Judge Bean was no hanging judge.

Although he threatened many with the noose, there is no evidence that he actually hanged anybody. Directed by John Huston, the cast of "The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean" included, along with Newman and Perkins, Victoria Principal as Angel, and Ava Gardner as Miss Lillie Langtry.

7. Hercule Poirot woke up to find the train stopped in deep snow, and that a murder had been committed, in "Murder on the Orient Express" (1974). What was the name of the character that Anthony Perkins played in this clever mystery based on the book by Agatha Christie?

Answer: Hector Williard MacQueen

The famed Orient Express was stuck on the tracks in deep snow, and a notorious passenger was found dead in his bed. Could Hercule Poirot solve the murder when there was way too much evidence and too many suspects, in "Murder on the Orient Express"? Hercule Poirot, Agatha Christie's little Belgian detective, was played by Albert Finney, and Anthony Perkins was the murdered man's secretary.

Other members of the large ensemble cast included Lauren Bacall, Richard Widmark, Martin Balsam, Sean Connery, John Gielgud, Michael York, and Ingrid Bergman.

8. Anthony Perkins played Dr. Alex Durant in which 1979 Disney sci-fi thriller about a spaceship full of scientists who encountered a spacecraft which had a mad genius for a captain, and a strange humanoid crew?

Answer: The Black Hole

On the edge of an enormous black hole, the crew of the research ship Palamino encountered the U.S.S. Cygnus, a spaceship which had been missing for twenty years. Can they survive their encounter with the mad, obsessed genius, Dr. Hans Reinhardt and his eerie, humanoid crew? The cast of "The Black Hole" included Maximilian Schell as Reinhardt, Anthony Perkins as Dr. Alex Durant, Robert Forester as Capt. Dan Holland, Yvette Mimieux as Dr. Kate McCree, and Slim Pickens as Bob.

9. In what kinky 1984 movie did Anthony Perkins play Rev. Peter Shayne, a street preacher obsessed with a prostitute called China Blue?

Answer: Crimes of Passion

Joanna Crane had a secret. By day, she was a successful fashion designer, and by night, a prostitute called China Blue. Two men found out her true identity, and one was an obsessed street preacher, kinkier than the sinners he preached to, who decided to save Joanna at all costs. China Blue/Joanna Crane was played by Kathleen Turner. Anthony Perkins was Rev. Peter Shayne, and Bruce Davison was Donny Hopper.

10. What was the name of the shocking 1989 horror film in which Anthony Perkins played Henry Jekyll, a doctor whose drug experiments turned him into the murderous and perverted Jack Hyde?

Answer: Edge of Sanity

"Edge of Sanity" was a tale in which the Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde theme was combined with the Jack the Ripper story. "Edge of Sanity" showed once again that the reason Anthony Perkins played so many psychotic characters was that he was so darn good at it. Other cast members included Glynnis Barker as Elisabeth Jekyll, Sarah Maur as Susannah, and David Lodge as Underwood. Anthony Perkins had a career which spanned many decades.

He wrapped his final project, the television film "In the Deep Woods", only a couple of weeks before his death in 1992.

In the movie, he played Paul Miller, a private detective looking for the serial killer who murdered his daughter. Thank you for taking my quiz on the movies and roles of Anthony Perkins.

Source: Author LindaC007

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Polaris101 before going online.
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Anthony Perkins Movies Trivia Quiz

Anthony Perkins will always be remembered for "Psycho", but he played many roles. This quiz is on some of his movies and roles from 1953-1989. (Oh, yes, "Psycho" is here, too).

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