Classic Films Of The 50s Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Asphalt Jungle

The "Asphalt Jungle" tells the tale of a gang of men who plan and execute a jewelry heist. Marilyn Monroe plays the character Angela Phinlay, the young mistress of an ageing villain. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards.

Answer: Strangers on a Train

Hitchcock purchased the rights to Patricia Highsmith's first novel "Strangers on a Train", for just 7,500 dollars. After a chance meeting on a train, two strangers discuss an exchange of murders, however, one takes it considerably more seriously than the other. Hitchcock makes his customary cameo appearance as a passenger on the train, carrying a double bass.

Answer: The Snows of Kilimanjaro

Hemingway's story "The Snows of Kilimanjaro", first reached the public, via "Esquire" magazine in the 1930s. Whilst on safari in Africa, Harry, played by Gregory Peck, gets an infected wound and fears the worst. It is a sombre tale of self-reflection, from a seemingly dying man.

Answer: From Here to Eternity

Voted as Best Picture of 1953, "From Here to Eternity" won Fred Zinnemann Best Director award, whilst Frank Sinatra and Donna Reed both won Best Supporting Actor/Actress Oscars. The story tells the trials and tribulations of a group of men and their women in the months building up to the bombing of Pearl Harbour.

Answer: The Country Girl

Grace Kelly was not expected to win her Academy Award for "The Country Girl", it looked certain to go to Judy Garland in her comeback movie "A Star Is Born". Garland was in hospital giving birth to her son on the night of the awards, and the cameras were there, ready and in place.

When the winner was announced and the cameras quickly dismantled, it is said Judy Garland was not overly pleased!

Answer: Mister Roberts

James Cagney and Henry Fonda go head to head, as ship's captain and executive officer, in this comedy drama set near the end of the second World War. Jack Lemmon, however, as Ensign Frank Thurlowe Pulver, steals the show as a cowardly, rookie officer, so much so that it won Lemmon his first Academy Award.

Answer: The Searchers

"The Searchers" is often talked of as John Ford's "dark western meditation on racism". The story is set around Ethan Edwards',(John Wayne) search for his niece Debbie Edwards, (Natalie Wood) who has been abducted by Comanches. It has been suggested that there are similarities between this story and the true story of a kidnapping in 1836 of nine-year-old Cynthia Ann Parker, who spent over 22 years with Indians.

Answer: Witness for the Prosecution

"Witness for the Prosecution" was based on a short story and play by Agatha Christie; it was directed by Billy Wilder. Wilder lost out on that year's Oscar to David Lean's, "The Bridge on the River Kwai".

Answer: Carve Her Name with Pride

The plot of "Carve Her Name with Pride" relates the life of Violette Szabo who meets a man in London ,and after only three days, becomes engaged, and soon thereafter gives birth to a daughter. The father is in North Africa fighting, whilst Violette becomes seconded as a spy for the British government.

Answer: Operation Petticoat

"Operation Petticoat" is a comedy, based upon fictional life on a submarine, with a whole host of weird and wonderful characters. In 1977 the movie was adapted as a TV series which ran for 32 episodes and nearly two years. Tony Curtis' daughter, Jamie Lee Curtis, featured in the television show.