Easy Best Picture Oscar Winners (1927-1937) Trivia Quiz | Movies

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. It was in 1927 that the first films that were in the running to win Oscar nominations and awards were released, a "pilot" year if you will. In the award ceremony of 1928 which film, starring Clara Bow, became the first winner of the Best Picture Oscar?

Answer: Wings

Released in 1927, a mere nine years after the hostilities of World War I came to an end, 'Wings' became the first winner of the Oscar for Best Picture. The film was essentially a love story; the traditional notion of men and women vying for the affections of each other as well as the fraternal compassion of two male pilots who relied on each other in the skies throughout battle. 'Wings' did push the boundaries of what films were allowed to show. The exhibition of nudity, albeit brief in comparison to modern cinema, would have been quite shocking; an open demonstration of liberalism in a conservative world.

The film starred Clara Bow who is perhaps better known for appearing in 'It' which was also released in 1927. It was in this role that she came to be known as "The It Girl". The film is also well known in trivia circles for being the first winner of the Oscar for Best Picture as well as for being the first silent film to earn that designation.

2. The period 1928-1929 saw the first sound film to win the prestigious Best Picture Oscar. What was the name of the film, that featured many musical numbers, and scooped this award with a cast that included "the girl with the most beautiful face in Hollywood", Anita Page?

Answer: The Broadway Melody

'The Broadway Melody' could be seen as the best of the films that brought about the end of the dominance of silent film and signified the dawning of the era of sound. In quite amazing contrast to 'Wings', the silent film that won the Best Picture Oscar in 1927-1928, 'The Broadway Melody' was a musical.

Despite the musical nature of the film, silent versions of the production had to be created due to many theatres not having the technology available to play sound. Many critics look upon this musical unfavourably and are quick to point out that it is overly clich�d.

Other critics do not stop there and remark that this period of cinema wasn't particularly anything to be enthralled about.

3. The Best Picture Oscar of 1929-1930 was awarded to a film that starred Lew Ayres and Louis Wolheim. What was the name of this epic film with opening scenes documenting the life of the military in Germany?

Answer: All Quiet on the Western Front

'All Quiet on the Western Front' would become the second film with a war theme to win the Best Picture Oscar, the first being 'Wings' two years prior. Despite the theme of war connecting the two films, the differences between them could not be more pronounced. 'Wings' was a film of love and compassion that used war to push along the storyline whilst 'All Quiet on the Western Front' was more focused on the mechanics of the war and life in the trenches.

Unlike the winner of the Best Picture Oscar the year before, 'The Broadway Melody', receiving unfavourable reviews in more modern times, 'All Quiet on the Western Front' has been an immensely popular production and can still be seen in lists of historical film favourites.

4. In came the 1930s and all the trials and tribulations of living in the austere times of a depression. Such austerity seemingly didn't exist in the production of the film that won the Best Picture Oscar for 1930-1931 with a massive budget available to the filmmakers. What was the name of the film starring Richard Dix and Irene Dunne, where race was a major theme, that won the Best Picture Oscar for this year?

Answer: Cimarron

'Cimarron', simply by the fact it won three Oscars, was a great success but the economic conditions of the early 1930s battled against this film. Due to such a large budget and the economic situation, 'Cimarron' failed to make a profit for those who invested in it.

The film itself is known now for its interpretation of race and particularly for the stereotypical portrayal of racial minorities. However, it is precisely for reasons such as these that films are a great indication of general public opinion. The presence of such things as nudity and swearing would indicate that a society is becoming more liberal; a black protagonist who turns out to be a hero rather than always being the villain speaks volumes on the wider issues of race.

5. Greta Garbo, John Barrymore and Joan Crawford were a few of the stars who made the 1931-1932 Best Picture Oscar winning film such a success. What was the name of this film which featured the classic line "I want to be alone"?

Answer: Grand Hotel

Oscar winning film 'Grand Hotel' was responsible for a few catchy lines. As well as "I want to be alone" which was passionately uttered by Greta Garbo, Lewis Stone remarked "Grand Hotel. People come and go. Nothing ever happens". In 'Grand Hotel', Greta Garbo played a Russian but this would not be the only time that this would be the case as just three years later she acted in 'Anna Karenina' (1935) as the title character.

6. The Oscar for Best Picture for the period 1932-1933 went to an adaptation of a Noel Coward play of the same name. What was the name of this film directed by Frank Lloyd that was seen through the eyes of a family of Londoners?

Answer: Cavalcade

The Best Picture for 1932-1933 went to 'Cavalcade' which featured many famous historical events throughout the production. The film, which starred Englishwoman Diana Wynyard, invited the viewer to see the Boer War, the sinking of the RMS Titanic and other historical interests through the eyes of a family in London.

Despite Wynyard not winning the Best Actress Oscar for this year, her nomination was enough to create film history - the first English actress to receive a nomination for a Best Actress Oscar.

7. Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert were the stars of the Best Picture Oscar winning film of 1934. What film, which focused on the emotions of a young woman marrying despite her father's disapproval, starred this partnership?

Answer: It Happened One Night

Claudette Colbert was in three of the films nominated for the Best Picture Oscar in 1934. They were 'Cleopatra', 'Imitation of Life' and 'It Happened One Night' and it would be the latter that would go on to claim the award. Both Gable and Colbert picked up individual Oscars for Best Actor and Best Actress respectively.

The competition for this year was fierce with 'The Gay Divorc�e' and its iconic pair of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers missing out on the award.

8. The year 1935 saw Clark Gable find himself in his second successive film that would win the Best Picture Oscar. This time he starred along side Charles Laughton and Franchot Tone in which film with a naval theme?

Answer: Mutiny on the Bounty

Clark Gable had won the award for Best Actor in the previous year's Academy Awards for his performance in 'It Happened One Night'. He wasn't able to make it two in a row despite a good performance in 'Mutiny on the Bounty', the film that won the Best Picture Oscar that year.

In this film, based on a real historical event, Gable played Fletcher Christian who led the mutiny against the captain of the Bounty, William Bligh (Charles Laughton). Captain Bligh has been historically portrayed as villainous and this film is no different in its treatment of the sailor. Charles Laughton quite often played the villain in film; he famously portrayed a notorious British king in 'The Private Life of Henry VIII'.

9. The film that won the 1936 Oscar for Best Picture was a musical that featured the work of Irving Berlin. The film centred around an individual, played by William Powell, and his wish to break into the world of show business. What was the name of this Oscar winner?

Answer: The Great Ziegfeld

There are many examples of musicals about people aspiring to break into show business but very few can boast that they have achieved the status of Best Picture. 'The Great Ziegfeld' was the musical about musicals that did manage to win that award (1936).

In addition, Luise Rainer scooped a Best Actress Oscar for her performance in this film and the choreography for the song "A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody" picked up the award for Best Dance Direction (Seymour Felix).

10. The Best Picture Oscar of 1937 went to a film that was based around a writer's friendship with the artist Paul C�zanne and that writer's involvement in the Dreyfus affair. What was the name of this classic?

Answer: The Life of Emile Zola

This biographical film showed the life of a French writer in the politically turbulent times surrounding the Dreyfus affair. Dreyfus was a young, Jewish soldier in the French army who was accused, despite a lack evidence, of being a German spy. Writer Emile Zola wrote an open letter to the then French President criticising the government over the event and labelling them anti-Semites. The result was Zola's flee to England.

The documentation of his life in the format of film proved to be a great success with the 10th Oscar for Best Picture being awarded to the production, 'The Life of Emile Zola'. The Oscar for Best Supporting Actor was awarded to Joseph Schildkraut and the biographical film also picked up the award for Best Writing, Screenplay.

Source: Author jonnowales

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Nannanut before going online.
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Best Picture Oscar Winners (1927-1937) Quiz

Winning an Oscar for Best Picture has become one of the greatest honours in film. Do you know the first ten films that were tagged with such a designation? (The name of the award has changed over the decades but Best Picture has been used here).

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