Actors Appearing in Films Made in the 1950s Quiz

Answer: Charlton Heston

Charlton Heston was born John Charles Carter in 1923 and died in 2008. In the 1956 film "The Ten Commandments" he played Moses. The film was directed by Cecil B. DeMille and tells the story of the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. In the 1952 "The Greatest Show on Earth" he portrayed Brad Braden the manger of the circus.

The film was also directed by Cecil B. DeMille and it is set in the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. In the 1958 film "Touch of Evil" he appeared as drug enforcement official Mike Vargas.

The film was directed by Orson Welles and deals with drug trafficking and police corruption in a town on the USA Mexico border.

Answer: Grace Kelly

Grace Patricia Kelly was born in 1929 and died in 1982. In the 1956 film "High Noon", directed by Fred Zinnemann, she played Amy Fowler Kane wife of Marshall Will Kane, played by Gary Cooper, who had to face a gang of outlaws alone at high noon. In the 1954 film "Dial M for Murder" directed by Alfred Hitchcock she portrayed Margot Wendice, wife of ex tennis player Tony Wendice who wanted to have his wife murdered in order to inherit her fortune.

In the 1954 film "Rear Window", again directed by Alfred Hitchcock, she appeared as Lisa Carol Fremont, girlfriend of professional photographer Jeff Jeffries, portrayed by James Steward.

Answer: Henry Fonda

Henry Jaynes Fonda was born in 1905 and died in 1982. In the 1955 film "Mister Roberts", directed by John Ford and Mervyn LeRoy, he played Lt. JG Douglas A. 'Doug' Roberts, a lieutenant on a cargo ship who is dissatisfied with his work and would rather be fighting in the war.

In the 1957 film "12 Angry Men", directed by Sidney Lumet, he portrayed Juror 8 as the jury of a murder trial deliberate whether the accused is guilty or not. In the in the 1957 film "Tin Star", directed by Anthony Mann, he was veteran bounty hunter Morgan 'Morg' Hickman who agreed to teach an inexperienced replacement sheriff how to deal with people.

Answer: Marlon Brando

Marlon Brando Jr was born in 1924 and died in 2004. In the 1954 film "On the Waterfront", directed by Elias Kazan, he played Terry Malloy, whose dream was to become a champion boxer. In the 1956 film "The Teahouse of the August Moon", directed by Daniel Mann, he portrayed Sakini, an interpreter to Captain Fisby, played by Glenn Ford, who was charged with the task to Americanize a village on the island of Okinawa.

In the 1955 musical "Guys and Dolls", directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, he is one of the gamblers trying to set up an illegal craps game.

Answer: Burt Lancaster

Burton Stephen Lancaster was born in 1913 and died in 1994. In the 1957 film "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral", directed by John Sturges, he portrayed Wyatt Earp, brother of the sheriff of Tombstone, who gets involved in the feud with the Clantons. In The 1958 film "Separate Tables", directed by Delbert Mann, he played John Malcolm, one of the guests in a seaside hotel.

In the 1956 film "Trapeze", directed by Carol Reed, he was Mike Ribble, an ex great trapeze artist who was trying to teach a young artist how to perform the triple somersault.

Answer: Anne Baxter

Anne Baxter was born in 1923 and died in 1985. In the 1950 film "All About Eve", directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, she was Eve who devised a plan to take the parts of an aging theatre star and steal her boy-friend as well. In the 1953 film "I Confess", directed by Alfred Hitchcock, she portrayed Ruth Grandfort who was, in the past, in love with a priest who is falsely accused of murder.

In the 1956 film "Three Violent People", directed by Rudolph Mate, she played Lorna Hunter Saunders, an ex dance girl who married a rich Texan rancher and ex Confederate officer.

Answer: Deborah Kerr

Deborah Kerr was born in 1921 and died in 2007. In the 1958 film "Separate Tables", directed by Delbert Mann, she played Sibyl Railton-Bell, one of the guests in a seaside hotel. In the 1953 film "From Here to Eternity", directed by Fred Zinnemann, she portrayed Karen Holmes, who had an extra-marital affair with sergeant Milton Warden.

In the 1956 musical "The King and I", she was Anna Leonowens, who was hired to teach English to the young Royal children.

Answer: David Niven

James David Graham Niven was born in 1910 and died in 1983. In the 1958 film "Separate Tables", directed by Delbert Mann, he portrayed Major Angus Pollock, another of the guests in an English seaside hotel. In the film 1956 "Around the World in 80 Days", directed by Michael Anderson and John Farrow, he played Phileas Fogg, who took part in a bet about travelling around the world in 80 days.

In the 1957 film "My Man Godfrey", directed by Henry Koster, he was Godfrey Smith, butler to the Bullock household.

Answer: John Wayne

Marion Mitchell Morrison was born in 1907 and died in 1979. In the 1953 film "Hondo", directed by John Farrow, he was Hondo Lane, an army scout who took under his protection a young woman and her son. In the 1954 film "The High and the Mighty", directed by William A. Wellman, he played Dan Roman, a co-pilot on a commercial airliner that had engine problems.

In the 1956 film "The Searchers", directed by John Ford, he portrayed Ethan Edwards, who was searching for his kidnapped niece.

Answer: Paul Newman

Paul Leonard Newman was born in 1925 and died in 2008. In the film 1958 film "The Left Handed Gun", directed by Arthur Penn, he portrayed Billy the Kid, who went on a revenge mission following his bosses' murder. In the film 1956 "Somebody Up There Likes Me", directed by Robert Wise, he played Rocky, who discovered that he had a natural talent in boxing.

In the 1958 film "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" he was Brick Pollitt, an ex football player with a drink problem.