Best Picture Oscar Anagrams 1950-1959 Quiz

Answer: Charlton Heston

Charlton Heston starred as Judah Ben-Hur, a Jewish prince in Judea. His childhood friend and he had grown apart due to differing political viewpoints and treachery. Malice saw Ben-Hur turned into a slave. An act of bravery gave him his freedom after three years of servitude. He then sought to be reunited with his family in his homeland.

"Ben-Hur" won eleven Oscars and was nominated for one more. Oscars won included Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role (Charlton Heston), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Hugh Griffith), Best Director (William Wyler) and seven others.

"Ben-Hur" was also nominated for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Source.

Answer: Vincente Minnelli

"Gigi" was the story of a young girl (Leslie Caron) being trained as a courtesan for the elite men of Paris in the early 1900s. Her grandmother was a courtesan and hoped Gigi would follow in her footsteps. Through her grandmother Gigi met Gaston (Louis Jourdan) who saw her as little more than a child. As she matured though, he wanted to establish her as his courtesan. She refused as she had fallen in love with him and hoped for marriage.

"Gigi" won all nine Oscars it was nominated for. They included Best Motion Picture, Best Director (Vincente Minnelli), Best Original Song and Best Original Score.

Answer: on the River Kwai

"The Bridge on the River Kwai" was set in a Prisoner of War camp. Allied soliders were ordered by their Japanese captors to build a bridge along the Burma railway. Alec Guinness was the British commanding officer in the camp and wanted the bridge built to exemplify British craftsmanship and endeavour. He didn't know that Allied command planned to blow up the bridge to thwart the Japanese military effort...

"The Bridge on the River Kwai" won seven Oscars and was nominated for one more. Oscars won were included Best Motion Picture, Best Director (David Lean), Best Actor in a Leading Role (Alec Guinness) and four others. It was also nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Sessue Hayakawa). Sir Alec Guinness was knighted in 1959.

Answer: Around the World

"Around the World in 80 Days" was inspired by Jules Verne's novel "From the Earth to the Moon". Set in the 1870s, Phileas Fogg (David Niven) made a bet in London that he could travel around the world in exactly 80 days. He wagered the vast sum of twenty thousand pounds, equal to over a million pounds in today's money! The trip was made by various forms of travel including boat, train and hot air balloon.

"Around the World in 80 Days" won five of the eight Oscars for which it was nominated. Oscars won included Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and three others. Nominations included one for Best Director (Michael Anderson).

Answer: Marty

Marty Piletti (Ernest Borgnine) was a butcher who had never had much luck with the ladies. Clara (Betsy Blair) was a teacher who was uncomfortable dealing with brash men. They had given up on finding love but when they met they recognised a kindred lonely spirit. Despite the objections of his mother (with whom he lived) and his friends (who felt Clara wasn't pretty enough) Marty realised that Clara was the woman he wanted to be with.

"Marty" won four Oscars and was nominated for four more. Oscars won were for Best Motion Picture, Best Director (Delbert Mann), Best Screenplay and Best Actor in a Lead Role (Ernest Borgnine). "Marty" was also nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Joe Mantell), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Betsy Blair) and two other Oscars.

Answer: On the Waterfront

Marlon Brando played Terry Malloy who "could have been a contender" for major boxing acclaim until he threw a fight on the orders of his boss. Terry worked on the docks where numerous mob murders had taken place but the police couldn't get witnesses to talk. Terry saw a murder and like everybody else he played dumb with the cops until he met and fell for the victim's sister.

"On the Waterfront" won eight Oscars and was nominated for four more. Oscars won included Best Picture, Best Director (Elia Kazan), Best Actor in a Leading Role (Marlon Brando), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Eva Marie Saint), Best Screenplay and three others.

"On the Waterfront" was also nominated for Best Music. Lee J. Cobb, Karl Malden and Rod Steiger were all nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.

Answer: From Here to Eternity

"From Here to Eternity" was set on an army base in Hawaii prior to the Pearl Harbor attacks of 1941. The plot included the army trying to make naturally rebellious soldiers conform to army regulations, an adulterous captain's wife, a prostitute, a knife fight and a former boxing champ who didn't want to fight any more after blinding an opponent in a boxing match.

"From Here to Eternity" won eight Oscar and was nominated for five more. Oscars won included Best Motion Picture, Best Director (Fred Zinnemann), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Frank Sinatra), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Donna Reed), Best Screenplay and three others.

Deborah Kerr, Montgomery Clift and Burt Lancaster were all nominated for leading Actor/Actress Oscars but didn't win.

Answer: The Greatest Show on Earth

The clown never revealed his face. Was he the doctor who "mercy killed" his wife and disappeared? The clown's medical skills when there were injuries indicated knowledge superior to general first aid. Did the female trapeze artist fall for the cold hearted manager or her rival aerialist? Did Angel who performed in the elephant act rekindle a romance with the aerialist? All was revealed when two circus trains were in a premeditated crash leading to injuries...

"The Greatest Show on Earth" was nominated for five Oscars, winning two of them. Oscars won were for Best Motion Picture and Best Writing. Cecil B. DeMille was nominated for Best Director.

Answer: An American in Paris

Gene Kelly was Jerry, an American veteran soldier who lived in Paris after WW II. He hoped to become an artist. He fell for Lise but while she loved him, she was engaged to Henri who helped her family during the war. Meanwhile Jerry's society patron had an eye on him rather than his art...

"An American in Paris" won six Oscars and was nominated for another two. Oscars won included Best Motion Picture, Best Writing, Best Music and three others. Vincente Minnelli was nominated for the Best Director Oscar.

Answer: All About Eve

Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter) was an aspiring actress who used people to climb the ladder of success. Bette Davis starred as Margo Channing, a very successful but aging stage actress. Along came Eve who manipulated her way into Margo's life, initially as her assistant. Eve connived to become Margo's understudy and then to become a famous actress herself.

"All About Eve" was nominated for fourteen Oscars, winning six. Oscars won included Best Motion Picture, Best Director (Joseph L. Mankiewicz), Best Screenplay, Best Actor in a Supporting Role (George Sanders) and two others.

"All About Eve" was the first movie for which four women from the same movie were nominated for acting Oscars. Best Actress in a Lead Role Oscar nominations went to Bette Davis and Anne Baxter. Celeste Holm and and Thelma Ritter were nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role Oscars. The movie received another four nominations.