Classic British Movies of the '70s Quiz

Answer: David Lean

The movie, set in Ireland during the first World War, features Sarah Miles as a bored housewife married to a local schoolteacher (Robert Mitchum). She has an illicit liaison with a British officer recuperating from injuries (both mental and physical) suffered in the trenches, and incurs the wrath of the local townspeople. John Mills won an Oscar for his role as the deformed village idiot, Michael.

David Lean's film career started at the bottom (as a clapperboard assistant) in the 1930s; he is best known for directing big-budget sweeping epics such as "The Bridge on the River Kwai" (1957), "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962) and "Doctor Zhivago" (1965).

Answer: Newcastle

All the action takes place in Newcastle, approx 300 miles from the capital city. Founded on coal and shipbuilding, Newcastle is viewed by southerners as being a rather grim, industrial city which is best avoided. (To avoid complaints from locals, I should add that whilst this was probably true in the 1960s and 1970s, Newcastle in 2010 has reinvented itself as a vibrant and dynamic city which is attracting many young people).

The brother of London gangster, Jack Carter, is murdered in Newcastle so he travels there in search of the culprits amongst the local underworld. As a brash London "geezer", he sticks out like a sore thumb and finds that few locals will answer his questions. Needless to say, things don't go as planned and there's a twist at the end.

Based on Ted Lewis' 1969 novel "Jack's Return Home" and directed by Mike Hodges, this movie did well at the box office despite (or perhaps, because of) the high level of violence.

Answer: Rope

John Reginald Halliday Christie was a bespectacled, mild-mannered, seemingly harmless man who lived with his wife in a run down tenement building in West London, and who occasionally took in lodgers. One of his lodgers, Timothy Evans, was hanged in 1950 after being found guilty of the murders of his wife and baby daughter, Christie being a key prosecution witness at his trial. Evans protested to the end, saying it had been Christie who had committed the crimes. In 1952 Christie sold the property; subsequently, the new owners found bodies, including Christie's wife, hidden in several places in the house and buried in the back yard. Christie was hanged on July 15 1953 having committed at least six known murders.

Christie would pretend to be medically qualified to carry out abortions. His preferred method of murder was strangulation by rope, often after the victim had been rendered unconscious by gas under the pretence of a medical operation.

Christie certainly murdered Mrs Evans but no-one can be 100% sure who murdered Evans' baby daughter. Whilst the most likely explanation is Christie committed both murders it's possible that Christie may have cajoled the dim-witted Evans to kill his daughter whilst in a confused state.

The Timothy Evans case was a factor in the move to abolish the death penalty in the UK although abolition didn't actually occur until the 1960s.

Answer: Crutches

Based on the Frederick Forsythe novel, "Day of the Jackal" is an ingenious cat and mouse story, following the efforts of a brilliant police investigator to identify and capture a hired assassin before he can carry out his mission. The assassin is equally resourceful as he tries to evade capture, and is determined to carry out the task even when he knows that nearly every police force in Europe is out to catch him.

For the movie's climactic scene, the Jackal disguises himself as an elderly war veteran on crutches to get past the police cordon who, of course, are blissfully unaware that his rifle can be assembled from the various parts of his crutches. I won't give away the ending.

Edward Fox is perhaps best known as a stage actor. Away from the stage, he is remembered for his portrayal of the Jackal in this movie and as Edward VIII in "Edward and Mrs Simpson" (TV series, 1978).

Answer: Nicolas Roeg

Nicolas Roeg directed some classic films in the 1970s and 1980s, such as "Walkabout" (1971) with Jenny Agutter, "The Man Who Fell to Earth" (1975) with David Bowie and "Bad Timing" (1980) with Theresa Russell .

"Don't Look Now" is based on a short story by Daphne Du Maurier and tells the story of a couple whose daughter drowns in a pond at their home. They attempt to get over their tragic loss by moving temporarily to Venice where the husband has a job restoring an old church. Sightings, real or imagined, of a little person in a bright red coat lead him to the edge of madness.

Answer: Scotland

Now a cult movie, "The Wicker Man" is set on a remote Scottish Island run by Lord Summerisle, played by Christopher Lee. When a policeman travels there from the mainland, in search of a missing local girl, the islanders lead him a merry dance. The policeman, a repressed, devout Christian takes offence at the pagan rites practised by the locals but is unaware that they've conspired to bring him to the island and plan a terrible fate for him.

The movie was re-made in 2006 with Nicholas Cage and Ellen Burstyn.

Answer: The Man Who Would Be King

These are the colourful names of the two main characters.

This wonderful, rip-roaring movie, based on a short story by Rudyard Kipling, is set in India during the late Victorian colonial era. Two British ex-soldiers, Daniel and Peachy (played by Sean Connery and Michael Caine) embark on a foolhardy adventure into a remote and mountainous area where few Europeans have ventured before. In their search for treasure they come across a backward people who first try to kill the newcomers, then become their subjects. The British soldiers teach them military skills allowing them to win battles against other local tribes. The two adventurers amass riches beyond their dreams, but then greed and jealously take over.

Rudyard Kipling wrote the novel in the first person so becomes the narrator of the movie. The character makes cameo appearances at the beginning and end of the movie.

Answer: Polish

The movie is based on the book of the same name written by Cornelius Ryan.

Operation Market Garden began on 17th September 1944 and eight days later ended in spectactular failure due to various factors amongst which was over-ambition hence the title name, "A Bridge Too Far".

The Polish paratroopers led by Gene Hackman's character, Major-General Stanislaw Sosabowski, suffered more than most. Their drop was delayed several times due to the weather (and other factors); eventually they were dropped at a point which was heavily defended by the Germans, whilst their supplies were dropped nine miles away. They had no choice but to retreat, suffering heavy casualties.

Answer: Billy Hayes

Billy Hayes, an American student, was arrested in Turkey whilst trying to smuggle hashish out of the country, and sentenced to 30 years in prison. His alleged ill-treatment at the hands of sadistic prison guards makes for very difficult viewing. Indeed, the Turkish authorities felt that the perceived actions of their countrymen would be very damaging to their country's reputation in the outside world, therefore refused permission for the movie to be filmed in Turkey, so it was eventually shot in Malta.

Billy's hellish confinement in a Turkish prison lasts several years until he escapes to write a book about his experiences, on which the movie is (loosely) based. His fellow inmates are played by John Hurt and Randy Quaid.

Brad Davis is the actor who plays Billy Hayes.

Henri Charriere and Louis Dega are characters from another prison movie, "Papillon" (1973) set on Devil's Island. Both this movie and "Midnight Express" are similar, in that they explore the limits of human endurance and misery, and both purport to be true.

Answer: Brighton

This cult movie follows the life of Jimmy Cooper who lives a boring life during the weekdays as an office dogsbody, but who comes alive in the evenings and weekends dressing as a "Mod", listening to "mod" (i.e. modern) 60s music and riding his scooter with his "Mod" mates. Their arch-enemies are the "Rockers" whose taste in bikes and music harks back to the 1950s.

Jimmy idolises a "Mod" called Ace played by Sting, but his life starts to fall apart when one day he sees Ace dressed in his working clothes and discovers he's really just a hotel bellboy. His illusions shattered, Jimmy's life goes rapidly downhill (literally!)