Classic British Movies of the '40s Quiz

Answer: Vienna

Directed by Carol Reed, this classic film noir follows the efforts of Holly Martins (Joseph Cotten) to find his old friend Harry Lime (Orson Welles) in war-ravaged Vienna, just after the end of World War II. Harry is a criminal drug lord hunted by the police forces of several countries but Holly, a somewhat naive novelist, refuses to believe the truth, despite the mounting evidence.

Harry Lime's first appearance is noteworthy. It's night, and we see a shadowy figure in an unlit doorway. A cat affectionately nuzzles against the figure's ankles (a cat which we had earlier learned disliked nearly everyone, except Harry). Lights pick out the face in the dark which then gives a mischievous smirk. It's the infamous Harry Lime.

After the war, Vienna was split into sectors controlled by the Americans, Russians, British and French. The movie wonderfully creates a menacing post-war atmosphere of rubble, duplicity, intrigue, shadows and spies. A famous scene from the movie takes place on the ferris wheel, a Vienna city landmark; and the climactic scenes are set in Vienna's sewer system.

The music, written by Anton Karas, played on a zither, has a memorably haunting effect.

Answer: Pip

"Great Expectations" follows the story of Pip, an impoverished lad, who becomes a servant to a rich old lady, Miss Haversham, who was jilted at the altar and has grieved ever since. There he meets the beautiful, but spoilt, Estella, who is destined to play a major part in his life. Later, he receives money from a mysterious, wealthy benefactor and becomes a well-to-do "gentleman". But who is the anonymous benefactor?

The wrong answers:
Herbert is Pip's gentleman friend (played by Alec Guinness in the 1948 movie).
Magwitch is an escaped convict who is assisted by a Pip as a young boy.
Joe is an old friend of Pip from his impoverished past.

John Mills was a stalwart of the British movie business for over 60 years. He enlisted in the army at the outbreak of World War II (1939), but he was discharged in 1942 on medical grounds. To UK movie audiences, he is perhaps best known for playing military roles, such as "In Which We Serve" (1942), "Ice-Cold in Alex" (1958) and "Dunkirk" (1958).

Answer: In Which we Serve

The ship is H.M.S Torrin and its final engagement is the Battle of Crete (1941).

Directed by David Lean and written by Noel Coward, who also stars as Captain Kinross, the movie is deliberately patriotic in its attempt to stir the British spirit during the darkest days of World War II. One could accuse the movie of being mere propaganda (which, of course, it was at the time), but its production values have stood the test of time such that it's now recognised as a classic of its genre.

Answer: Agincourt

Sir Laurence Olivier (1907-1989) is probably the world's most famous Shakespearian actor, remembered for the movie versions of "Hamlet" (1948), "Richard III" (1955), "Othello" (1965), as well as "Henry V".

Agincourt was fought in 1415 and resulted in a famous victory for the English, under the command of King Henry V. Much credit was given to the English long bowmen whose weapon was far more effective than the French crossbow.

The wrong answers: They're all battles fought between the English and the French, but in other years.
Hastings was 1066.
Crecy was 1346.
Waterloo was 1815.

Answer: Pinkie

Based on the novel by Grahame Greene, the movie follows the exploits of a criminal gang led by the brutal Pinkie. A naive young woman witnesses a murder, so heartless Pinkie tricks her into marrying him just to stop her testifying against him.

Sir Richard Attenborough is a noted actor, producer and director. His acting credits include playing Squadron Leader Roger Bartlett in "The Great Escape" (1963), John Christie in "Ten Rillington Place" (1971) and Dr. John Hammond in "Jurassic Park" (1993). On the other side of the camera, his credits include the multi-Oscar winning "Gandhi" (1982) which he both produced and directed. His younger brother is the much esteemed naturalist, Sir David Attenborough.

Answer: David Niven

Written, produced and directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, this movie was voted the second greatest British movie ever made by the magazine "Total Film" in a poll of 25 critics in 2004. The only movie to beat it was "Get Carter" (1971).

The movie is shot in both colour and black and white. The scenes on Earth are in colour and the "heaven" scenes are in black and white.

David Niven was a suave, well-spoken British actor best known for his roles as Phileas Fogg in "Around the World in 80 Days" (1956) and Sir Charles Litton in "The Pink Panther" (1963). He was also a well known novelist and witty raconteur.

Answer: Celia Johnson

Noel Coward wrote the screenplay based on his 1936 one-act play, "Still Life". The story is told in flashback by Laura, as if it's a confession to her husband. On her weekly outings into the local town, Milford, she meets a doctor when he removes some grit from her eye, and over a long period gradually falls in love with him. Both travel by train hence most of the meetings that we see take place whilst they wait for their next train.

The romance seems quaintly innocent to modern movie audiences, but this sort of behaviour was deemed scandalous by 1940s' attitudes and morals. How times have changed!

Celia Johnson was mainly known as a stage actress, appearing in London's West End and on Broadway. She appeared in only 13 movies but has the distinction of being nominated for acting honours in six of them (she won two).

Answer: Robert Newton

Bill Sikes is a career criminal in London's Victorian underworld, an associate of Fagin, who is feared by everyone. Even his dog, Bullseye, is terrified of him. In the story, Sikes murders his girlfriend, Nancy, for daring to assist the urchin, Oliver Twist, but eventually Sikes gets his comeuppance on a warehouse roof in the dockland slums of old Victorian London.

To members of my generation (who grew up in the UK in the sixties), Robert Newton is perhaps best remembered playing the title role in the long running TV series "The Adventures of Long John Silver", loosely based on the character created by Robert Louis Stevenson in his novel "Treasure Island".

The wrong answers:
Oliver Reed played Bill Sikes in "Oliver!" (1968)
Andy Serkis played Bill Sikes in "Oliver Twist" TV series (1999)
Anthony Newley played The Artful Dodger in "Oliver Twist" (1948)

Answer: The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp

Major General Clive Wynne-Candy (Roger Livesey) is the "Colonel Blimp" of the title, because he is portrayed as a bumbling fool. He starts off as a young officer in the Boer War, and we watch his painful progress through both World Wars (albeit, in World War II, only up to 1943 when the movie was made!). This movie has been labelled by critics as a satire on the British army.

Roger Livesey (1906-1976) came from a theatre background. He is perhaps best remembered for three Powell & Pressburger films: "The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp" (1943), "I Know Where I'm Going!" (1945) and "A Matter of Life and Death" (1946).

Answer: He played eight different characters.

In this movie set in Victorian England, Alec Guinness plays every member of the aristocratic D'Ascoyne family, both male and female, young and old!
The villain, Louis Mazzini (Dennis Price), is from the wrong branch of the family and would need eight D'Ascoynes to die before he's next in line to become the Duke, so he resolves to bring about the premature demise of all who stand in his way. During the course of the story we see him cleverly (and humorously) despatch six D'Ascoynes, one after the other, each victim played by Guinness (sometimes in drag). We see the last two D'Ascoynes perish without Mazzini's assistance, allowing the villain to inherit the title of Duke of Chalfont. Later, there's poetic justice when Mazzini ends up on trial for a murder that he didn't commit!

Alec Guinness (1914-2000) had a long career in the movie business, playing a wide variety of roles. He was a versatile performer who moved easily between Shakespeare, drama, comedy, action films and sci-fi. Younger people may only remember Guinness from the original "Star Wars" trilogy, in which he played Obi-Wan Kenobi.