Cabbies or Limo Drivers? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Stagecoach

The movie was also "Stagecoach" (1939) which starred John Wayne as the Ringo Kid, with Andy Devine as Buck the driver, Thomas Mitchell as the often inebriated doctor and Claire Trevor as Dallas, who had a soft spot for the Kid. They and a number of other passengers were travelling through Apache country for a variety of reasons and had to work together to reach their destination. John Ford directed and there was some outstanding stunt work by Yakima Canutt.

Answer: Bulldozer

John Wayne played Donovan, a construction boss turned naval officer, leading a US Navy construction battalion (CB, hence "Seabee") building airstrips and other necessities for the troops fighting in the South Pacific. In a pivotal scene, Donovan leapt aboard a bulldozer which he used to set off a fuel dump explosion and thwart the enemy advance.

The cast also included Dennis O'Keefe, Susan Hayward and William Frawley.

Answer: Express

"Red Ball Express" told the story of a hastily assembled unit of truck drivers who were tasked with getting supplies to the rapidly advancing units of General Patton's command, so the latter didn't run out of fuel for their tanks and other vehicles, and other vital supplies. Jeff Chandler played the commanding officer who tried to forge a cohesive unit, while Alex Nicol was a sergeant with a grudge against him. Poitier, Drake, Jack Kelly and Hugh O'Brian were amongst the drivers.

Answer: Covered wagon

The movie was "Westward Ho, the Wagons!" which was about a group of settlers travelling to new homes in the western US, encountering hostile Pawnees, fighting both them and disease in a family-friendly Disney manner. Most of them took a turn at driving a wagon at some point.

Others in the cast included George Reeves as the wagon master, and Sebastian Cabot. Fess Parker (Disney's Davy Crockett and TV's Daniel Boone) played "Doc" Grayson who was called on to save the son of a Sioux chief. Parker also sang "Wringle Wrangle" which enjoyed some chart success, and was a favourite of mine when I was six or seven years old.

Answer: Victoria

Gupta had worked for the railroad for over 30 years, and so had his venerable engine Victoria, named for the old queen and Empress of India (which is emblazoned on the engine's side) under whose reign they both began their working lives. Relegated to shunting cars in the rail yard, both Gupta and Victoria are called on in "North West Frontier" (aka "Flame Over India") to undertake the dangerous mission of safely transporting a young prince and his governess through hordes of rebels whose mission it was to kill the prince. Kenneth More played the British army officer in charge, and Lauren Bacall was the American governess.

Answer: Football

When George Hanson (Nicholson) joined Wyatt and Billy (Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper, who also directed) on their search for America, he wore a gold-coloured American football helmet to protect his head instead of a motorcycle helmet. Wyatt wore a patriotic stars and stripes decorated motorcycle helmet (when he wore one) and Billy generally just wore his not-quite-cowboy hat.

As the tagline says, they couldn't find America anywhere, and though they had some good times along the way they all came to sticky ends.

Answer: Taxi

In fact, the movie was "Taxi Driver" for which Robert De Niro, as New York nighttime cabby Bickle, was Oscar-nominated. So was Jodie Foster (Supporting Actress), as the juvenile prostitute who Bickle wanted to "save". Bickle was a troubled and obsessive ex-Marine war veteran and the movie can be seen as a character study of this insomniac taxi driver. Martin Scorsese directed.

Answer: Son

Miss Daisy (Jessica Tandy) was getting older and her son Boolie (Dan Aykroyd) felt she was no longer a safe driver, so he hired Hoke (Morgan Freeman) to be her driver. After some initial push back from Daisy, she and Hoke came to an understanding and eventually developed a friendship of a sort.

The film spanned about 20 years, and won several Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actress (Tandy).

Answer: Rush

Directed by Ron Howard, "Rush" starred Chris Hemsworth as Hunt, who was British, and Daniel Bruhl as Lauda, an Austrian. The film looked at the drivers' lives on and off the track, and included Lauda's near-fatal 1976 prang at the Nurburgring in Germany, and his remarkable recovery and comeback, just six weeks later.

The other choices are also about motor racing, but all were made much earlier and did not involve these drivers.

Answer: Tank

World War II was nearly over, but Sgt Don "Wardaddy" Collier (Pitt) and his tank crew still had some fighting to do and their survival was not guaranteed. Besides driver Trini Garcia (Peņa) and Collier, the crew included two other veterans (Shia LaBeouf and Jon Bernthal), who had been together since North Africa.

The fifth veteran crew member had been killed and his replacement (Logan Lerman) was trained as a clerk. Their mission was to hold a vital crossroads by any means possible.