British Films Through the Years Quiz

Answer: Eille Norwood

Eille Norwood's amazing total of films playing the part of Holmes is the most times Holmes has been portrayed by any actor. In addition to the 45 'shorts', his two full-length films 'The Hound of the Baskervilles' and 'The Sign of Four' premiered in 1921 and 1923 respectively.

The part of Sherlock Holmes has been played by an astonishing seventy-plus actors in film alone, as well as several television, stage and radio productions, making him the world's 'most portrayed movie character' according to Guinness World Records.

Basil Rathbone (1892-1967)was one of the best-remembered; he played Holmes in fourteen films from 1939-46 opposite Nigel Bruce as Dr Watson. Arthur Wontner starred as Holmes in five films during the 1930s. Cedric Hardwicke never played him on film but did take the role in the BBC radio production of 'The Speckled Band' in 1945.

Answer: schoolteacher

Robert Donat starred in the title role of this memorable film, alongside Greer Garson in the role of his wife Katherine. The film relates Mr Chips's long career as a teacher, the obstacles he overcame, and his relationship with his wife, who died in childbirth along with their child, all against a backdrop of world events, notably World War I.

1939 was a good year for cinema; it was the same year 'Gone with the Wind' was released, which won eight Academy Awards. Up against such competition, 'Goodbye Mr Chips' was nominated for seven Academy awards and won one, for Robert Donat as Best Actor. Greer Garson was also nominated.

Author James Hilton (1900-1954) also wrote the book 'Lost Horizon', which was made into a film in 1937, starring Ronald Colman and Jane Wyatt.

Answer: Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard

From their first meeting in the unlikely setting of a station's tea-room where Trevor Johnson's character, Alec, carefully removed a piece of grit from Celia Johnson's eye, the success of this film was assured. Told in flashbacks by Celia Johnson's Laura, the story was about two people who fell deeply in love but were unable to be together because each was already married and their ultimate, but painful, decision to separate. With doctor Alec having decided to relocate to South Africa, their final farewell in the same station tea-room where they first met and Laura's subsequent dash to the platform after Alec's departing train are moments of pure cinematic drama.

This classic film, adapted from Noel Coward's play 'Still Life', earned Academy Award nominations for Best Actress for Celia Johnson, and Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay for David Lean. It has consistently been voted one of the top British films of all time. The memorable music was from Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No 2.

Celia Johnson also starred in 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie' in 1969, for which she won a BAFTA Award for Best Actress. She was honoured with a Damehood in 1981. Trevor Howard also starred in 'The Third Man' in 1949, one of the most popular British films of all time, playing the character of Major Calloway to Orson Wells's Harry Lime. He appeared in many films during his long career, and was nominated for an Academy Award for his starring role in 'Sons and Lovers' (1960), based on D H Lawrence's novel.

Answer: Ealing Comedies

All these great comedies were made at Ealing Studios, as well as such gems as 'The Man in the White Suit' and 'The Ladykillers' among others. Collectively they are known as the Ealing Comedies. The studios are still going strong today and are also used to shoot television scenes including some settings for 'Downton Abbey'. Some famous films in more recent times made by Ealing Studios include 'Notting Hill' in 1999, 'Shawn of the Dead' in 2004 and black comedy 'Burke and Hare' in 2010.

Answer: Hitchcock

Alfred Hitchcock was born in Leytonstone, London, on 13 August 1899. His gripping films made him one of the world's most prominent filmmakers and he was widely known as The Master of Suspense. His career in America, following his relocation at the end of the 1930s, was just as successful as his earlier British ventures. He was known for his love of making a cameo appearance in many of his films, which was very popular with his many fans.

Sir Alfred Hitchcock was honoured with a knighthood in 1980. He died in California on 29 April 1980, from renal failure. He had been married for over fifty years and had one daughter.

Answer: Mark Lester

The stage musical opened in the West End in 1960, telling the story of the orphaned Oliver, who escapes a wretched workhouse life to make his way to London. It enjoyed considerable success in the West End and on Broadway before being adapted as a film, released in 1968. Mark Lester played the title role of Oliver with Jack Wild as the Artful Dodger. Ron Moody was outstanding as Fagin as was Oliver Reed as the villainous Bill Sykes. The film won six Academy Awards including Best Picture. Sir Carol Reed won the award for Best Director, and Ron Moody and Jack Wild were nominated for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor respectively.

There have been several other film and television versions of 'Oliver Twist', this one based on Lionel Bart's musical being one of the best known. The novel was Charles Dickens's second full-length novel to be published, and highlighted many social conditions of the time, notably crime and enforced child labour.

Mark Lester appeared in several films as a child actor and also as an adult, before deciding to leave the acting profession for a career in osteopathy. It was, however, reported in 2015 that he would be returning to acting in the film '1066', about the Battle of Hastings, playing the part of King Harold II.

Answer: Albert Finney

Albert Finney was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Poirot in 'Murder on the Orient Express', the only Poirot film he did. 'Murder on the Orient Express' was remade into a television film in 2001 starring Alfred Molina as Poirot.

Hercule Poirot has been portrayed by several actors over the years. The first to play him on screen was Austin Trevor (1897-1978) in 1931 based on the play 'Alibi' which in turn was based on Christie's book 'The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'. Sir Peter Ustinov notably played Poirot six times in three films and three television adaptations. David Suchet was for many fans the quintessential Poirot, starring in seventy episodes of the television series 'Agatha Christie's Poirot' between 1989 and 2013 as the Belgian detective with the 'little grey cells'.

Albert Finney, born in 1936, has had a long and distinguished acting career. His first film was 'The Entertainer' in 1960.

Answer: Hugh Grant

Hugh Grant was born in London on 9 September 1960. His film debut was in 1982 film 'Privileged'. Since then he has had a very busy career in over thirty films plus several television appearances. Some of his other best-known films are 'Sense and Sensibility' (1995), 'Mickey Blue Eyes' (1999) and 'Love Actually' (2003), He has won several prestigious awards including a BAFTA for Best Actor in A Leading Role for the very successful romantic comedy 'Four Weddings and a Funeral', the film itself being nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture.

Answer: Colin Firth

'The King's Speech' was a big box-office success and received twelve Academy Award nominations. In addition to Colin Firth winning the Award for Best Actor, the film also won in the categories Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. The film was honoured with a total of seven BAFTA awards including another Best Actor award for Colin Firth, and he also received a Golden Globe award for Best Actor.

The film centres around the late King George VI and his difficulty in overcoming a stammer with the help of his speech therapist. The film also stars Geoffrey Rush as his speech therapist and Helena Bonham Carter as the King's wife, known later, of course, as Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.

In addition to Colin Firth's Oscar for 'The Kings's Speech' he has also received other notable awards for his roles in 'Shakespeare in Love' (1998) and 'A Single Man' (2009). Many viewers will also remember him for his starring role in 1995 as Mr Darcy in the BBC television production of 'Pride and Prejudice', which brought him instant acclaim.

Answer: The Man With the Golden Gun

Based on the 'James Bond' books by English author Ian Fleming (1908-1964), Secret Service Agent 007 has encountered many villains, some of them more than once. Francisco Scaramanga was the baddie in 1974 'Bond' film 'The Man With the Golden Gun', played by Christopher Lee opposite Roger Moore as Bond. Both of these great actors have been honoured with knighthoods for services to drama and for their charitable work.

In 'The Man With the Golden Gun', Francisco Scaramanga played the part of a hired assassin. Bond was sent to, in turn, assassinate him and also regain a stolen piece of a solar power station which was in Scaramanga's possession. The film culminated in a duel between the two men which was, of course, won by Bond.

Several other actors have also played James Bond over the years including Sir Sean Connery, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig. George Lazenby played Bond once, in 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' in 1969 and Sir David Niven starred as Bond in a spoof 007 version of 'Casino Royale' in 1967. 'Casino Royale' was the first Bond film of the modern era to star Daniel Craig as the secret agent who likes his martini 'shaken, not stirred'.