Bits and Pieces About Movies Trivia Quiz

Answer: Mae West

The 1933 movie "I'm no Angel" was the third movie that the hilarious and very saucy Mae West made. She wrote the screenplay as well. With a young Cary Grant as her co-star, this film was made at a time before US censorship rules kicked in. Otherwise, it would no doubt, like much of Mae's work, have felt the full force of this moral outrage.

In the film, Mae plays a singer and dancer at a side show where, at each performance, her pickpocket boyfriend works his trade in the audience. Eventually caught, and in order to hire a lawyer to defend him, Mae agrees to a loan shark's condition that she take part in a lion taming routine.

The movie becomes more and more convoluted from this point, with Cary Grant, the cousin of a rich upper class man who has fallen for Mae, in trying to put a halt to the relationship, falls in love with Mae himself. Beulah (Gertrude Howard) plays Mae's maid, after Mae has become wealthy from her lion-taming act.

Interestingly, when Gertrude died at a young age, the ever generous Mae paid for the funeral herself.

Answer: It shrank.

"Singin' in the Rain" starred Gene Kelly as a famous silent movie star, Donald O'Connor as his best friend, Debbie Reynolds as the film's talented ingénue, and Jean Hagen as Lina Lamont, the hilarious completely talentless leading lady of the silent screen.

She is SO funny! Contrary to popular belief, the shooting of this number was not accomplished in one day. Instead it took three days to complete. Kelly, who had a fever of 103 degrees over the entire period it was shot, was a sick as the proverbial, but still carried on.

His suit didn't fare so well either. Because it was made out of wool, it shrank considerably as a result of being constantly wet. Not a particular hit when it was first released, the film "Singin' in the Rain" is now considered one of the finest musicals ever made.

Answer: They were made from real old quilts.

This is another of the great musicals produced by Hollywood in the 1950s, and my personal favourite. It stars the delectable Howard Keel as Adam, the eldest of seven backwoodsmen, Jane Powell as Milly, his acquired in one day wife, and a host of other stars as the six brothers, the girls they kidnap, their families and their angry suitors.

The dance routines in this musical are perfection itself, as are all the songs. There isn't one I don't like. In the story presented to us, the kidnapped girls have no spare clothing to make, so Milly runs them up dresses from old quilts she finds in the house.

In reality these dresses were indeed made from old quilts. The movie's costume designer found them at the Salvation Army. Other facts about this wonderful film are that it was so popular that even President Eisenhower recommended all Americans watch it; one of the suggested titles was "A Bride for Seven Brothers" but the producers scrapped it as they thought it sounded too titillating; and, remarkably, the movie only took 48 days to complete.

Answer: True

How disgraceful is that? Women from the area of the world where the film was shot weren't allowed to even be photographed, so Christian women dressed in Arab clothing, in the few scenes where women are seen in the background, were used instead. "Lawrence of Arabia" stars Peter O'Toole and a host of other big name (male) stars. This is a movie I really dislike, not because of the gender issue, but because I've read the book. Both it and the subsequent movie repelled me. The film portrays the real life story of T.E. Lawrence and his involvement on the Arabian Peninsula during World War I.

Other facts from the shooting of this film include the following: King Hussein of Jordan lent a brigade of his soldiers to the producers to work as extras on the film. Peter O'Toole was almost killed during filming when he was thrown off his camel during the famous charging scene, but the other extras on camels kept right on charging. Fortunately O'Toole's repentant camel stood over the top of him to protect him. The film took longer to make than it did for the real life events portrayed on the screen to occur.

Answer: He said he didn't have the legs to wear a tunic.

The resounding epic "Ben-Hur" starred Charlton Heston as Judah Ben-Hur, a wealthy Jewish prince who is betrayed by his childhood friend Messala (played by Stephen Boyd), who has become an officer in the Roman army in his adult years. Sold as a galley slave, it is several years before Ben-Hur manages to find his way back home again and exact an indirect and terrible revenge on Messala by competing against him in the breathtaking chariot race part of the film. Paul Newman, who was offered the role of Judah Ben-Hur, turned it down because he'd already starred in another biblical type epic with his role in the 1954 "The Silver Chalice".

He stated, tongue in cheek, that the reason he refused the role of Ben-Hur was that, after seeing his performance in "The Silver Chalice", he realised he most definitely didn't have the legs to wear a tunic. "Ben-Hur" went on to win a staggering number of Academy Awards - 11 out of 12 nominations - legs and all.

Answer: Some Like it Hot

The 1959 film "Some Like it Hot", set in 1929, tells the story of two musicians fleeing from gangsters after witnessing the murders carried out on Saint Valentine's Day. Disguising themselves as women, they join an all girls band heading out of town. Marilyn Monroe stars as the band's vocalist and ukulele player.

This is one very funny film, still a big hit even all these years later. It has romance, mistaken identities, music, more murders, hilarious dialogue, the works. A little like an Irish stew with all its ingredients, but well and truly worth the consumption.

Other interesting facts from the production of this movie include the following: Poor sad Marilyn needed 59 takes before she got the line "Where's the bourbon?" right. When first released, the film was banned in Kansas because cross-dressing was considered "too disturbing for Kansans". Marilyn was sewn into the little black dress she wore in one scene of the movie. Jerry Lewis turned down the chance to star in this comedy because he didn't want to wear a dress. And Tony Curtis based his interpretation of his character on his mother. Oh dear.

Answer: Bob Hope

In the 1961 movie "Bachelor in Paradise", starring Bob Hope, he plays the role of a famous writer, A. J. Niles who finds out, because his bookkeeper has fiddled the books and took his money, that he now owes a large sum of money to the IRS. He consequently moves to live, under an alias, in a Californian community, where he plans to write a new book about the wives living there.

After moving in, however, he is pursued relentlessly by a smitten married woman. You can imagine, I'm sure, Bob Hope at his best during this harrowing experience.

At the end of the movie, every husband in the community, believing his wife was the one in love with Bob, files for divorce. This is a comedy though, so you'll be pleased to know that it ends happily. One of the funniest lines in the movie (for me) is when Bob finds out about his crooked bookkeeper, Herman Wappinger.

He exclaims in astonishment, "I just can't believe Herman Wappinger is dishonest! Why, that man wears piping on his vest!"

Answer: Diamonds are Forever

"Never Say Never Again" sees Bond in a health clinic trying to get into shape, when he witnesses a fellow patient scanning his eye after a mutually enjoyable beating by a nurse. As the plot unfolds, it is revealed the patient - an evil spy of course - has had his eye operated on so that it matches the retinal image of the US. President's eye. Throw in a couple of nuclear warheads and you have your typical action packed Bond movie.

The 1971 "Diamonds are Forever" sees our champion pursuing another evil spy. Bond eventually finds him at an establishment where look-alikes of the spy are being moulded.

This movie's plot centres around the smuggling of South African diamonds, a laser satellite being constructed from same, the usual scantily clad beautiful girl, planned world domination through the auction of nuclear supremacy and Zzzzzz. No wonder Connery said he wouldn't make another Bond movie.

By the way, did you know that Sean Connery wore a toupee in every Bond movie he made? He began losing his hair at the age of 21.

Answer: His own horse

"Star Trek Generations" is the linking movie which finally says goodbye to the original "Star Trek" characters and their series of films, and introduces the cast of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" in the first of their several movies. For this reason this gives the film a bittersweet feel. That, and the fact that the much loved Captain James T. Kirk finally dies. I felt like crying. The film tells the story of the two captains, James Kirk from the first series and Jean-Luc Picard from the second, as they join forces to stop a villainous character from destroying a world. The beautiful horse, Great Bells of Fire, that William Shatner rides in one sequence in the film was indeed his. His own farm and home were also used in these sequences. Shatner is quite the horse expert and breeds and shows saddlebreds and quarter horses, rides himself and, since 1990, has run a charity horse year every year to raise funds for children's charities.

Other interesting facts from this movie: Kirk was originally shot in the back by the villain of the piece, but preview audiences objected very strongly at such a common death for the heroic Kirk. The studio subsequently re-shot the death scene at a cost of five million dollars, which was one-sixth of the film's budget. Malcolm McDowell, who played the character responsible for Captain Kirk's death, received death threats from fanatical Trekkies after the movie was released. Here, here! And finally, during one of the battle scenes with the Klingons, Deanna Troy (played by Martina Sirtis) accidentally sat on some burning debris and burned her backside. That piece of wood boldly went where no man had gone before.

Answer: John Wayne

The 1966 "El Dorado" stars John Wayne ("Howdy, Pilgrim") and Robert Mitchum. This western relates the story of a gunslinger for hire (John Wayne) who helps out an old friend of his. The friend, played by Mitchum, is a local sheriff who has taken to alcohol, but who is trying to defend one local rancher against another in a war over water. Mitchum and Wayne respected each other professionally but didn't develop a personal friendship of any kind. They had entirely different personalities, and different approaches to acting. Whereas Wayne took the job seriously, Mitchum was dismissive of westerns in particular, and remarked of them in an interview that "Look, I have two kinds of acting. One on a horse and one off a horse. That's it." During the filming of "El Dorado" Mitchum was amused at Wayne's carrying over his screen persona into real life. He remarked that Wayne had the roof of his car raised so he could keep wearing his Stetson in public.

Incidentally, although the list of John Wayne's many famous quotes includes "Howdy, Pilgrim", he never actually said that. He did use "Pilgrim" quite a few times, but not "Howdy Pilgrim".