Cold War Movies Trivia Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. In "The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming" (1966), why were the Russians really on Gloucester Island?

Answer: Their sub ran aground nearby.

When the Soviet sub, Octopus, became stuck on a sandbar near Gloucester Island, a landing party was sent ashore to find a boat to pull the sub free. Despite the hilarious efforts of a part-time islander, the police chief, and the Russian sailors, the majority of the townspeople panicked when word got out that Russians were invading the island.

The film's cast included Carl Reiner, Jonathan Winters, Eva Marie Saint, Alan Arkin and Brian Keith. The film received four Oscar nominations, one for Best Picture.

2. A joint US-Soviet mission to Jupiter was undertaken in "2010: The Year We Make Contact" (1984). At the end, where did the message, which HAL transmitted for Dave Bowman, say to attempt no landing?

Answer: Europa

After relations between the two countries reached a crisis back on Earth, the US and Soviet crews were ordered to remain on their respective spacecrafts until their return. But Dr. Floyd convinced the Russian commander, Tanya Kirbuk, that they needed to leave immediately after he received a surprise visit from the missing Dave Bowman. Shortly after Jupiter became a star, HAL transmitted "All these worlds are yours except Europa. Attempt no landings there. Use them together. Use them in peace." Roy Scheider, Helen Mirren, John Lithgow and Bob Balaban starred in the 1984 sequel to "2001: A Space Odyssey" (1968).

3. Which actor appeared in "Gotcha" (1985), "Top Gun" (1986) and "Miracle Mile" (1988)?

Answer: Anthony Edwards

On vacation in Europe, college student Jonathan (Edwards) met a mysterious woman who talked him into going to East Berlin. Once there, Jonathan found himself pursued by Russian spies who were searching for a film canister the woman had hidden in Jonathan's backpack. "Gotcha!" starred Linda Fiorentino as Sasha, the woman Jonathan met who wasn't what she seemed to be.

In "Top Gun", Edwards played Maverick's RIO, Goose, who also went to the Top Gun school. Goose was killed during training when their plane went into a flat spin and both he and Maverick were forced to eject.

"Miracle Mile" starred Edwards as Harry, a young man who was visiting Los Angeles. After missing his date with a young woman he'd met named Julie, Harry happened to answer a ringing pay phone outside of a coffee shop. The caller was a young man stationed at a missile silo who said that the US had launched a nuclear attack on the Soviet Union, and the response should be felt in 70 minutes. Harry then spent the next hour and ten minutes trying to find Julie and get out of the area, while unsure whether the information was true or not.

4. Spies Austin Millbarge and Emmett Fitz-Hume were sent out on a mission merely as decoys so the real spy team would have a better chance at success, in "Spies Like Us" (1985).

Answer: True

Millbarge and Fitz-Hume (Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase) were rushed through training to become GLG20s, and then sent on a mission without being told what their objective was. They somehow managed to elude various dangers, eventually meeting up with half of the real spy team. Together, the three of them completed the mission, taking control of a mobile ICBM launcher in the Soviet Union. Following instructions, they programmed the missile and it launched, aimed at their own country. Millbarge eventually figured out a way to stop the missile, resulting in the three spies becoming heroes.

5. Mistakenly believing that nuclear war had begun, Calvin (Christopher Walken) locked himself and his pregnant wife in their extensive fallout shelter, in "Blast from the Past" (1999). When their son was born a few days later, what did Calvin and his wife name him?

Answer: Adam

During the early 1960s, Calvin and Helen (Sissy Spacek) were in the midst of a dinner party when they received news that tensions between the US and Russia had escalated. The blast which Calvin saw as he was closing the door to the shelter was actually a US fighter plane with a mechanical issue, which crashed into their home. Thirty-five years later and low on supplies, Adam (Brendan Fraser) was sent out and ended up meeting a young woman named Eve. Eventually she convinced Adam that there had been no war and the Russians were now our friends. Adam and Eve fell in love, and they both convinced his parents to leave their shelter.

6. Travis and Wendell (John Travolta and Arye Gross) were hired to open a nightclub, but were instead taken to the Soviet Union to train KGB agents in current US culture. Which 1980s movie was this?

Answer: The Experts

Thinking they were going to the Midwest to open a club, Travis and Wendell were actually taken to a secret Russian town, where the KGB trained agents to infiltrate US society. Because the town was a bit outdated, Mr. Smith brought in the two guys to help make it more hip.

As the townspeople became more aware of what they were missing from a capitalistic society, the KGB began to see Wendell and Travis as a threat. But would the guys realize what was going on in time to save themselves? "The Experts" (1989) also starred Charles Martin Smith, Kelly Preston and Deborah Foreman.

7. David's computer hacking led him to what he at first thought was a list of games from a computer game developer, in "WarGames" (1983). Choosing 'Global Thermonuclear War' and electing to play as Russia, David had no idea he had started a sequence of events which could lead to WWIII. Who played David?

Answer: Matthew Broderick

David actually hacked into WOPR, NORAD's computer system which controlled the military's ICBMs. When the computer began playing the game with David, NORAD didn't know that the computer was actually running a simulation. Eventually David and WOPR's creator were able to convince the machine that "the only winning move is not to play", after which it asked if they'd like to play a nice game of chess. John Wood, Dabney Coleman and Ally Sheedy also starred in "WarGames", which was nominated for three Oscar awards.

8. Having previously defected to the US from Russia, Kolya Rodchenko couldn't believe it when his plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Siberia. The Russians were happy to see Kolya return (unintentionally) to his native land, and used the publicity to their advantage, in "White Nights" (1985). What was Kolya's profession?

Answer: Dancer

Being under the rule of the Russians again, Kolya (Mikhail Baryshnikov) was expected to resume his career to the benefit of the Soviets. An American who had defected to Russia (Gregory Hines) was assigned to train with Kolya, but grew to realize that he needed to get himself and his Russian wife out of the country, along with Kolya.

9. While Group Captain Lionel Mandrake had his hands full with a paranoid General, President Merkin Muffley and Dr. Strangelove had their own problems to deal with in the war room, in "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" (1964). What versatile actor played all three of these characters?

Answer: Peter Sellers

Mandrake was horrified when he learned that Gen. Ripper had launched a nuclear strike against the Soviet Union, and scrambled to figure out the recall code for the aircraft. Meanwhile, President Muffley notified the Soviets about what was going on, and Dr. Strangelove made everyone aware of the Soviet's "doomsday device", capable of destroying all life if a nuclear strike hit the USSR. "Dr. Strangelove" earned four Oscar nominations, including Best Actor for Peter Sellers.

10. The intention of the captain and crew of the Red October was to fire a nuclear weapon on the United States, in "The Hunt for Red October" (1990).

Answer: False

Captain Ramius and his officers actually intended to defect and turn their submarine over to the US. Since the Red October was equipped with their latest technology, a silent propulsion system, the Russians were willing to sink the sub to keep it out of American hands.

After their attempts to sink the sub failed, the Russians told the Americans that Captain Ramius was going to launch an attack on the US without their consent. Jack Ryan believed that Ramius was going to defect and convinced his superiors to get in contact with the captain. Sean Connery, Alec Baldwin and Scott Glenn starred in the movie which won an Oscar for Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing.

Source: Author Polaris101

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor skunkee before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

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