Bring on the Empty Horses: Films of Michael Curtiz Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. This historic, oceanic epic, which catapaulted the then-little-known Australian Errol Flynn to fame, also starred Olivia de Havilland. It was based on a novel by Rafael Sabatini.

Answer: Captain Blood

Robert Donat was signed to play the title role in this film, but Flynn got his chance when Donat simply didn't show up for work. Although Flynn was one of the few actors in Hollywood who was billed under his real name, the Warner Brothers' publicity machine inexplicably churned out fallacious press reports regarding his nationality: he was supposed to be Irish.

2. This film teamed - amongst others - Humphrey Bogart, Claude Rains, Peter Lorre and Dooley Wilson. The cast never knew from one day to the next how the story would end, and so had to play every moment ambiguously. Nonetheless it is one of the most famous films of all time.

Answer: Casablanca

Of the two most famous lines 'from' 'Casablanca', only one of them was ever spoken: 'I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.' Bogie never asks Dooley Wilson to 'Play it again, Sam', although Rick does say 'Play it, Sam. You played for her; you can play it for me'. The famous line was actually spoken by Groucho Marx in 'A Night in Casablanca'.

3. 'A mother's love leads to murder!' screamed the tagline. When Bette Davis turned down the title role in this film, it went to Joan Crawford who won the Academy Award for it.

Answer: Mildred Pierce

The famous life-long feud between Davis and Crawford was seen on screens around the world when 'Baby Jane', with its terrific performances and phenomenal twist, finally was made. 'Sweet Charlotte' was intended as the follow-up and its working title was 'Whatever Happened to Cousin Charlotte?', but Crawford cried illness and was replaced by the still-beautiful and utterly formidable Olivia de Havilland.

4. This film once again teamed Flynn and de Havilland, this time with the inimitable David Niven. Hollywood in those days would blithely twist history in order to fit in with its requirements, so the setting was changed from the Russian Crimea to India. Complete the title: 'The ________'.

Answer: Charge of the Light Brigade

It was on the set of this film that Curtiz spoke the immortal words 'Bring on the empty horses!', signalling the entrance of a hundred riderless charges. The phrase sent Flynn and Niven into paroxysms of mirth and was later used by Niven as the title of a book on Hollywood. Flynn campaigned mercilessly against the ill-treatment of horses on the set and Congress passed legislation to protect animals used in filming, but shooting was subsequently moved to Mexico, where animal-anti-cruelty laws were considerably more lax.

5. 'Angels with Dirty Faces', one of five films Curtiz directed in 1938 told the tale of a gangster and a priest, childhood friends, both working in Hell's Kitchen. The star was James Cagney, but did Bogart appear in this film?

Answer: Yes

Although his break into the 'Bogie' mold came opposite Leslie Howard and Bette Davis in 'The Petrified Forest' (1936), Bogie was doomed to play tough, brainless henchmen to the likes of Cagney and Robinson until he hit pay dirt in John Huston's 'High Sierra' and 'The Maltese Falcon' (both 1941). Three years later he was finally teamed with his ultimate leading lady, Lauren 'Betty' Bacall in the superb 'To Have and Have Not'.

6. In the 1950s, Curtiz turned his hand to musicals. In addition to the 1953 remake of 'The Jazz Singer', which of the following did he direct?

Answer: White Christmas

'White Christmas' teamed Bing Crosby, Vera-Ellen, Rosemary Clooney and Danny Kaye. Kaye was cast as a last-minute replacement for Donald O'Connor (who starred in 'Singin' in the Rain'). 'Guys and Dolls' was directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 'Seven Brides for Seven Brothers' by Stanley Donen and 'Singin' in the Rain' by Donen and Gene Kelly.

7. Of which great Mark Twain novel did Michael Curtiz direct the film in 1960?

Answer: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

In this delightful adaptation, Buster Keaton played the Lion Tamer and professional boxer Archie Moore was cast as Jim.

8. In addition to 'Angels with Dirty Faces', which other 'angel' film did Curtiz direct?

Answer: We're No Angels

'We're No Angels', actually a story of three escaped convicts, had a near-perfect cast: Humphrey Bogart, Peter Ustinov, Joan Bennet, Leo G. Carroll and Basil Rathbone (the 'real' Sherlock Holmes).

9. Curtiz helmed a filmic vehicle for a well-known singer in the late 1950s - who?

Answer: Elvis Presley

Based on a Harold Robbins novel, 'King Creole' was one of the better Elvis films and also starred Walter Matthau. The lead role was intended for James Dean, but Dean's fatal crash in his Porsche Spider meant that 'The King's' draft was extended and he was allowed to play the role before being conscripted.

But wait - it gets weirder! 'Finian's Rainbow', the gawdawful 1968 showcase for Brits Petula Clark and Tommy Steele, which somehow managed to mix Irish pots of gold and leprechauns with deep-South racism and Civil Rights demonstrations, was directed by none other than 'The Godfather' himself: Francis Ford Coppola.

10. What was Michael Curtiz's last film?

Answer: The Comancheros

'Rich and Famous' was the last film directed by George Cukor, who had helmed 'Gone with the Wind'. 'Buddy Buddy' was Billy Wilder's final effort before retiring and 'Family Plot' was Alfred Hitchcock's last film. Curtiz's creativity waned after he left Warner Brothers, although some greatness was salvaged in the historically-incorrect John Wayne and Lee Marvin vehicle, 'The Comancheros'. Curtiz died in 1961 of cancer.

Source: Author alkmene

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor skunkee before going online.
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Hungarian director Michael Curtiz directed some of Hollywood's earliest blockbusters. I'll give you a few clues, you name the Curtiz masterpiece... OK?

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