Captains Courageous V: More War in Movies Quiz

Answer: Benjamin L. Willard, played by Martin Sheen

Willard is a US Army special operations officer. In the briefing scene it is revealed that he had previously carried out counterintelligence operations and assassinations for the CIA and that he had unsuccessfully tried to re-integrate into non-military society in the States. As a result, he had returned to Vietnam, where he was more comfortable.

Although the film won the Palme d'Or at Cannes and was nominated for Best Picture for both the Oscars and Golden Globes, it suffered several problems during the filming. Sheen himself had a breakdown and later suffered a near-fatal heart attack on location.

Answer: The African Queen

Of course, Humphrey Bogart played Charlie Allnut and won his only Academy Award for the role. Allnut's companion is Rose Sayer, played by Katharine Hepburn, a British missionary in a German colony in Africa, whose brother has been killed by German soldiers. Charlie and Rose decide to carry the war to the Germans and to destroy the German gunboat on Lake Victoria.

In their attempt the African Queen is destroyed, but Charlie and Rose also still manage to sink the Königin Luise.

Answer: Danny Glover in "Bat*21"

While not taking part in Hambleton's actual rescue and extraction, Clark maintains contact with the downed flyer and helps observe the VC in their efforts to capture him.

Gene Hackman plays Lt. Col. Hambleton.

Based on the actual 1972 rescue of Hambleton, "Bat*21" was released in 1988. The movie was filmed entirely in Malaysia.

Answer: Peter Sellers

As Mandrake, Sellers was British, as Muffley, he was American, and as Dr. Strangelove, Sellers played a German scientist and former Nazi. That's quite a plateful for the veteran actor. Dr. Strangelove cannot prevent himself from snapping off the Nazi salute a time or two.

On an interesting note for this quiz, Peter Bull, who played Soviet Ambassador Alexei de Sadeski in "Dr. Strangelove," played the German captain of the Königin Luise in "The African Queen." Bull was a World War II veteran who was born in London in 1912 and sadly passed away in 1984.

Answer: George Takei

In the story, Captain Nim was the Army of Vietnam (ARVN) strike force leader at the base camp. He had been a Viet Minh officer from Hanoi during Vietnam's revolution against the French. Fighting for the South Vietnamese, however, Nim was obsessed with "killing all the stinking Viet Cong," as he stated.

Having played the helmsman on the USS Enterprise in both the original "Star Trek" TV series and the first five "Star Trek" feature films, Takei's character of Sulu was given his own command before "Star Trek VI: the Undiscovered Country."

Answer: Erich von Stroheim and Pierre Fresnay

Class is a major theme in the film. This explains why von Rauffenstein is so solicitous about de Boeldieu's safety. Often aristocrats of warring nations were related to each other, though this was not the case in "La Grande Illusion." At one point von Rauffenstein even stops a fellow German from shooting de Boeldieu when the Frenchman provides a diversion so other prisoners of war can escape.

The "grand illusion" of the title is the idea that war is futile.

Presented for Oscar consideration in 1939, "La Grande Illusion" was the first foreign film to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture. Orson Welles declared that this film would be one of his two choices to "take on the ark."

Answer: Captain Ed W. "Too Tall" Freeman

On the second day of the battle, after calling in a "Broken Arrow" air attack to survive being attacked by an overwhelming VC force, Colonel Moore (played by Mel Gibson) and his command regroup and charge toward another heavily defended VC position. Before the enemy forces can open fire, Major "Snake" Crandall and other helicopters use their mounted guns to kill enemy guards and nullify the gun emplacements, thus saving the day.

Thirty years later, both Crandall and Freeman are awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions at Ia Drang. Freeman had also served in World War II and saw action in Korea, earning a battlefield commission as one of only 14 survivors of 257 men at the beginning of the Battle of Pork Chop Hill.

In 1955 regulations changed regarding pilot eligibility, and Freeman was allowed to enter pilot training. At 6' 4" he had been declared too tall on his first application for training prior to the Korean War. The nickname "too tall" stuck.

Ed Lee "Too Tall" Jones was a 15-year NFL veteran of the Dallas Cowboys between 1974 and 1989.

Answer: Carmen Ibanez, played by Denise Richards

Carmen sends Rico a "Dear John" letter during the story because she wants a career with the fleet. The two later reunite and, at the end of "Starship Troopers," are subjects of a propaganda film encouraging viewers to enlist.

All of the incorrect answers were characters in various "Star Trek" TV series.

Answer: Doss was a conscientious objector and refused to use a gun.

Doss was a member of the Seventh Day Adventist church as well as a conscientious objector. He served in the Pacific Theater as a medic and was the only conscientious objector to win the Medal of Honor in World War II. Also among his citations were two Bronze Stars and three Purple Hearts.

Andrew Garfield played Doss in the movie.

Answer: Clint Walker

The Japanese leader, Lieutenant Kuroki, arranges for the truce, giving the Americans access to water in exchange for medical help for one of his men. When the prospect of rescue becomes available, the Americans must cross the truce line to be picked up on the beach. Bourke orders his men to shoot to kill, but the Japanese ambush them.

Walker's role as Captain Bourke is an interesting link to only his second movie role, that of "Sardinian Captain" in "The Ten Commandments."

"None But the Brave" was the only movie ever directed by Walker's co-star, Frank Sinatra. Sinatra was producer of eight other films, however, this film being the sixth of nine. The film was also the first joint Japanese-American film production.