Librarians Gone Mild; TV and Movie Images Quiz

Answer: "Cleopatra"

Cleo's ire was directed at Julius Caesar (Rex Harrison) who supposedly torched the Library at Alexandria. This 1963, $44 million dollar dud almost bankrupted 20th Century Fox.
Trivia note: Susan Hayward was the studio's first choice to play the Queen of the Nile.

Answer: Rupert Giles, as played by Anthony Stewart Head

Despite his often fussy Victorian mannerisms, many librarians felt Giles on "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer" was one of the best portrayals of contemporary librarians. Buffy and the rest of the Scooby Gang respected him for his intimate knowledge of Watchers and Slayers.

Answer: Newhart

Ms. Kinney was probably better remembered as the vicious Mimi Bobeck on "The Drew Carey Show". As Ms. Goddard, Kinney created an unforgetable character who was anything but a buttoned-up old maid.

Answer: "It's A Wonderful Life" (1946)

In this perennial Christmas favorite, Jimmy Stewart's wife, played by Donna Reed, was pictured as a lonely old maid who was "just about to close up the library." Ironically, there was a librarian in the Multnomah County (Oregon) library system named Donna Reed who had a wonderful time explaining that she was not the actress, not a spinster and was very happy being a librarian.

Answer: Her Polish accent was so thick he couldn't understand her

Sophie Zawistowska loved the poetry of Emily Dickinson and asked the librarian for copies of her books. Unfortunately, her pronunciation of the name sounded like 'Emile Dickins" and the snooty librarian thought she meant Charles Dickens. In a haughty tone, he informed her that Charles Dickens was NOT an American writer and that he did NOT write poetry. She fainted from embarassment.

Answer: Kotzebue removed her clothes in order to prove she was a woman

Not only did Kotzebue perform a strip tease, she also began mistreating the books. Roswitha called the police and when they took Kotz away she hissed "the handcuff's will say 'click' and the books will be safe again from you and your kind." Later in the film, the two women became best friends and Kotz helped Roswitha with a family problem in Germany.

Answer: She was accused of promoting Communist literature

Ruth Brown became known as one of the defenders of a library's right to provide the public with materials that might be objectionable to some. In 1950, just as McCarthyism was slithering across America, some citizens of Bartlesville complained that Miss Brown was promoting Communism by subscribing to magazines like "The Nation" and "New Republic" as well as purchasing books on the Soviet Union. Before the war, she had antagonized these members of the community by encouraging African Americans to use the library.

She was eventually fired from her position as librarian and became a vocal supporter of civil liberties. In 1956, Bette Davis played a librarian loosely based on Ruth Brown in the film "Storm Center", described as the first anti-McCarthy movie produced by a major Hollywood studio (Columbia).

Answer: He suspected that Beckett had AIDS and did not want to disturb other patrons

The library scene was one of the most poignant in this Oscar-winning film. It showed how the fear of AIDS had affected virtually every public place. While some viewers thought the scene was evidence of discrimination, others felt that the librarian was aware of Andrew's condition and sincerely wanted to protect him from patrons who might not be so understanding.

Answer: Balzac, Shakespeare, and all them other high falutin' Greeks

St. Pat and Noah Webster were mentioned, but it was Paul Bunyon, Beethoven, who completed the impossible dream. The ladies of the dance society accused Marian of 'advocating dirty books' by having the works of Chaucer, Rabelais, and Balzac in the library.

Answer: Frances was a racist and Christine was a drug dealer

In 2007, ABC-TV and Australia's Gristmill Studios presented a program that was as daring and sharp as "Weeds" or "Entourage" was in the United States. The show did not make fun of librarians, but presented them as real people with real problems.