And the Oscar Goes to... (1936) Quiz

Answer: Frank Capra

Capra was born in 1897 in Italy and emigrated to the United States in 1903. He served briefly with the US military at the end of World War I without seeing action. Following the war, he began to work in the film industry that he had been briefly introduced to in 1915 while attending Manual Arts High School in Los Angeles.

Capra's career as a director began in the early 1920s and over the next decade he developed into one of the best in the business. In the 1930s, six of Capra's films garnered 39 Oscar nominations and 11 wins. He won the Oscar for Best Director for three of those six films: "It Happened One Night" (1934), "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town" (1936), and "You Can't Take It With You" (1938).

During the Second World War, Capra was commissioned as a Major and served with the US military as a propaganda filmmaker. Following the war, Capra continued directing until the mid 1960s, after which he retired. He passed away in 1991 in his sleep at the age of 94.

Answer: Victor McLaglen

Victor McLaglen (1886-1959) acted in 121 film and television roles over his nearly 40-year career. He received only one other Oscar nomination later in life, this time for Best Supporting Actor in another John Ford film, "The Quiet Man" (1952). Unfortunately, he did not win that second nomination, losing out to Anthony Quinn.

"The Informer" tells the story of a man who informs the authorities about his best friend's involvement with the Irish Republican Army in order to earn the money needed to sail to America. Eventually, McLaglen's character lets his conscience get the better of him, and he ends up giving himself away.

Answer: Bette Davis

Bette Davis (1908-1989) began her career in theater, and after appearing on Broadway, made the move to cinema. After a couple of unsuccessful years at Universal Studios, she joined Warner Bros. and her career took off. Davis won two Best Actress Oscars in her career, and was the first person to receive 10 Oscar nominations for acting. "Bette Davis Eyes" was written by Donna Weiss and Jackie DeShannon in 1974, but the 1981 cover by Kim Carnes was the chart topper, spending nine non-consecutive weeks on top of the US Billboard Hot 100.

"Dangerous" followed the story of a former rising Broadway star down on her luck. When architect Don Bellows, played by Franchot Tone, meets her, he is moved to try to bring her back to her glory. Throw in some romantic twists and perhaps unexpected resolutions to those relationships and you have an Oscar-winning performance.

Answer: The Broadway Melody of 1936

Ostensibly, "The Broadway Melody of 1936" was supposed to be a followup to "The Broadway Melody" (1929), but apart from some music and the title, there was no correlation.

"Folies-Bergère" was a story based around the Paris music hall established in 1869 and extremely popular in French society from the 1890s to the 1920s.

Dave Gould (1899-1969) was a Hungarian-born choreographer and dance director who worked on 36 films from 1932 to 1949 in that field, as well as 28 shorts as a director.

Answer: RKO Radio Studio Music Department

RKO (Radio-Keith-Orpheum) Pictures was best-known for its Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musicals, but the company also provided Katharine Hepburn and Robert Mitchum early career successes. After a controlling interest in the company was acquired by Howard Hughes in 1948, RKO began a steady decline in production and made a number of expensive flops. Hughes sold his interest by 1952 to a syndicate, but reacquired his stock within a year.

His renewed interest in the company ended in 1955 with the sale of RKO to the General Tire and Rubber Company for $25 million.

A lack of any success led to the shutdown of production by 1957, and the last RKO film, "Verboten!" was released by Columbia Pictures in 1959.

Answer: Gold Diggers of 1935

"Gold Diggers of 1935" was the fourth in a series of "Gold Diggers" films, the first being a silent film entitled simply "The Gold Diggers" (1923). This was followed in the sound era as musicals, beginning with "Gold Diggers of Broadway" (1929), and a third offering, "Gold Diggers of 1933."

A highly successful series, two more films were produced after the 1935 version: "Gold Diggers of 1937" and "Gold Diggers in Paris" (1938).

The film's story takes place at the Wentworth Plaza in the resort of Lake Waxapahachie, where the rich and powerful congregate during the summer. It's all about the money...

Answer: The Scoundrel

"The Scoundrel" gave actor Noël Coward his film debut as he played nasty publisher Anthony Mallare. Spitting poison with every word, Mallare seemed fit to ruin the life of everyone around him. After dying in a plane crash, Mallare is sent back to his life to try to find someone who will mourn for him.

Ben Hecht (1894-1964) was called the "Shakespeare of Hollywood," credited with over 70 screenplays, and also authoring 35 books.

Charles MacArthur (1895-1956), while not as prolific as Hecht, worked almost exclusively with him. MacArthur was portrayed in the 1994 film "Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle" by Matthew Broderick.

Answer: False

Nichols did win and refuse the Oscar, but the literary work that he adapted was Liam O'Flaherty's novel "The Informer," a story taking place in the aftermath of the Irish Civil War, and dealing with betrayed loyalties.

Dudley Nichols (1895-1960) refused the Oscar due to the fact that the Screen Writers Guild was on strike at the time. He received three more Oscar nominations during his career, but no other wins.

Answer: "The Dark Angel" (Richard Day)

The three main characters, Kitty Vane (Merle Oberon), Alan Trent (Fredric March), and Gerald Shannon (Herbert Marshall) are inseparable childhood friends, but then Kitty chooses Alan just as the First World War begins. Jealousy drives Gerald to send Alan on a dangerous mission that changes their lives.

Richard Day (1896-1972) worked as an art director on over 260 titles over his nearly 50-year career. In all, he received 18 Oscar nominations, taking seven of them home.

Answer: "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (Hal Mohr)

This 1935 rendition of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" starred Ian Hunter, James Cagney, Mickey Rooney, Olivia de Havilland, Joe E. Brown, Dick Powell, and Victor Jory. It also featured music by Felix Mendelssohn, albeit re-orchestrated by Erich Wolfgang Korngold.

Hal Mohr (1894-1974) is one of only six cinematographers to receive a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame in the 20th century. In his better than 70-year career, he worked on over 130 titles as cinematographer, winning two Oscars of three nominations. Notably, his nomination came as a write-in campaign. Mohr was the only person to win the Oscar after such a campaign before the practice was discontinued.

Answer: A Midsummer Night's Dream

"A Midsummer Night's Dream" was Olivia de Havilland's screen debut, as she played the role of Hermia in love with Lysander (played by Dick Powell). Many of the performers in this movie had not acted in a Shakespearean play beforehand, nor again afterwards.

Ralph Dawson (1897-1962) was editor for 77 titles over his 30-year career, garnering three Oscars out of four nominations.

Answer: D.W. Griffith

David Llewelyn Wark Griffith (1875-1948) aspired to be a playwright early in his career, but never achieved more than one performed play. When he tried to sell a script to Edison Studios producer Edwin Porter, it was rejected. Porter did, however, give him an acting role in another production. Soon thereafter, Griffith accepted acting work with Biograph, a position that would lead to the role of Biograph's main director. Griffith made his first film there: "The Adventures of Dollie" (1908), as well as the first movie filmed in Hollywood: "In Old California" (1910).

Griffith moved on from Biograph, and in 1915 directed what is considered to be one of the first feature-length films through Reliance-Majestic Studios: "The Clansman." It later became known as "The Birth of a Nation" (1915).

D.W. Griffith directed over 500 films in his 40-year career.

Answer: The Lives of a Bengal Lancer

Starring Gary Cooper, Franchot Tone and Richard Cromwell as officers within the British army, the adventure story tells one officer's capture by insurrectionist Mohammed Khan and the other two's attempt to rescue him.

Clem Beauchamp (1898-1992) had a varied career, not only working as an assistant director on 22 titles, but also as an actor (40 titles), writer (2 titles), director (8 titles), producer (7 titles), and production manager (31 titles).

Paul Wing (1892-1957) worked primarily as a line producer during his career with Paramount Studios, receiving very few screen credits. Wing participated in both World Wars, and was captured by the Japanese as a major, remaining a prisoner of war until a daring raid by US forces on January 30th, 1945.

Answer: John Ford

Ford won for "The Informer." Based on the 1925 novel of the same name by Liam O'Flaherty, the story takes place in the aftermath of the Irish Civil War. One man rats out his friend to the authorities, and then is hunted by his friend's revolutionary comrades. The novel had already been made into a British film in 1929, with Lars Hanson in the role of Gypo Nolan (the informer).

John Ford (1894-1973) directed more than 140 films over his 50-year career. He entered the field following in the footsteps of his elder brother Francis, working as his assistant and cameraman for a number of years before making a name for himself.

Answer: Mutiny on the Bounty

Despite receiving seven nominations, "Mutiny on the Bounty" only took home one Oscar. That said, it DID take home Best Picture. This marked the last time in the century that a film won Best Picture and nothing else.

"Mutiny on the Bounty" was based on the novel of the same name written in 1932 by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall. It was the first of a trilogy that included "Men Against the Sea" (1933) and "Pitcairn's Island" (1934). Both the novel and the movie include a fictional character named Roger Byam (played by Franchot Tone) from whose point of view the story is told in the novel. Charles Laughton and Clark Gable played Bligh and Christian respectively.