Double Acts on the Silver Screen Quiz

Answer: Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy

Stan Laurel (1890-1965) and Oliver Hardy (1892-1957) first worked together in the early 1920s, but officially became a team in 1926. They appeared in 23 full-length movies and about 70 silent and sound 'shorts'. The piano alluded to in the question appeared in one of their best-loved shorts, 'The Music Box', which was about their efforts to deliver a piano. No one had told them the recipient lived at the top of a steep flight of stairs. 'The Music Box' won an Oscar for Live Action Short Film (Comedy) in 1932.

The tree is a reference to their song 'The Trail Of The Lonesome Pine' from the 1937 movie 'Way Out West'. Some, but not all, of these questions were suggested by a feature, 'It Takes Two To Tantalise', in 'The Times' in September 1998. How Laurel and Hardy did not make the top 20 list of movie double acts is a bit of a mystery.

Answer: Robert Redford and Paul Newman

Redford and Newman starred together in 'The Sting' (1973) and 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' (1969).
'The Sting' was set in the 1930s and was the story of a couple of conmen, played by Redford and Newman, who set out to trick a criminal mastermind out of a fortune. 'Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid' was based loosely on the story of the real robbers of the same names.
In a feature in 'The Times' in September 2008, Newman and Redford were ranked number four in a top 20 list of movie double acts.
Redford was born in California in August 1936. He worked in TV and the movies from 1960. Other movie roles included 'The Electric Horseman' (1979), 'The Candidate' (1972), 'The Horse Whisperer' (1998) and 'Brubaker' (1980). He won an Oscar as director for 'Ordinary People' in 1981.
Paul Newman was born in Ohio in January 1925. His first starring roles dated back to the 1950s, and leading movie roles included 'Cool Hand Luke' (1967), 'Absence of Malice' (1981), 'Fort Apache the Bronx' (1981) and 'The Color of Money' (1986). He won an Oscar for 'The Color of Money'.
This quiz was written on the day news came through of his death at the age of 83, September 26, 2008.

Answer: Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall

In a feature in 'The Times' in September 2008, Bogart and Bacall were ranked number seven in a top 20 list of movie double acts. They appeared together in 'To Have and Have Not' (1944), 'The Big Sleep' (1946)', 'Dark Passage' (1947) and 'Key Largo' (1948).
Bogart and Bacall met on the set of 'To Have and Have Not' in 1944 and despite the age difference, they clicked on-screen. They married in 1945. Bogart died of cancer in 1957. During his career he made some 75 movies. Bacall married Jason Robards in 1961, but their marriage was annulled in 1969. Her 60-year career included movie and television roles, and, at the age of 84 she appeared in 'Wide Blue Yonder', which was in post-production in September 2008.
(Rock Hudson did make the list for his partnership with Doris Day, they were ranked at number 9.)

Answer: Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn

Tracy and Hepburn met on the set of 'Woman of the Year' in 1942. It was to be the first of nine movies together. They were secret lovers for 20 years because Tracy would not leave his wife. Their romance ended with his death in 1967.
They appeared together in: 'Woman of the Year' (1942), 'Keeper of the Flame' (1942), 'Without Love' (1945), 'The Sea of Grass' (1946), 'State of the Union' (1948), 'Adam's Rib' (1949), 'Pat & Mike' (1952), 'Desk Set' (1957) and 'Guess Who's Coming to Dinner' (1967).
In a feature in 'The Times' in September 2008, Tracy and Hepburn were ranked number one in a top 20 list of movie double acts.

Answer: Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman

Cruise and Kidman made three movies together, 'Days of Thunder' (1990), 'Far and Away' (1992) and 'Eyes Wide Shut' (1999).
They met on the set of 'Days of Thunder' in 1990 and married a year later. They divorced in 2001.
Cruise was not the tallest of actors and Kidman, just as tall as he, joked after their divorce, "At least I get to wear heels now".
Nicole Kidman was born in June 1967 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Other movie roles included 'Dead Calm' (1989), 'To Die For' (1995), 'The Stepford Wives' (2004) and 'Bewitched' (2005). She won an Oscar for 'The Hours' in 2002.
Tom Cruise was born in July 1962 in Syracuse, New York. Other films included 'Taps' (1981), 'A Few Good Men' (1992), 'Mission: Impossible' (1996) and 'Tropic Thunder' (2008).

Answer: John Ford and John Wayne

John Ford and John Wayne worked together on a raft of movies that was to become part of the national consciousness of America and created a body of work practically unrivaled in Hollywood's history.
Wayne and Ford collaborated on 20 movies, too many to name here. Although they knew each other in the 1920s - and Ford recommended Wayne for the lead in 'The Big Trail' directed by Raoul Walsh in 1929, it was a big flop. Wayne spent the 1930s working in B movies while Ford directed a series of classic. It was not until 1939 that Ford cast Wayne in one of his movies, 'Stagecoach', and it made Wayne a big star. That was to be the start of a collaboration that encompassed a number of movie genres from westerns, such as 'Rio Grande' (1950) through war action, such as 'They Were Expendable' (1945) to romances, such as 'The Quiet Man' (1952). Their final movie together was 'Donovan's Reef', 1963.
Ford was known as a demanding and bullying director, but Wayne could see no wrong in him. He once punched Fonda, and Henry Brandon, who was among the cast of 'The Searchers' (1956), described him as "the only man who could make John Wayne cry".
Ford won four Oscars during his career, 'The Informer', 1939, 'The Grapes of Wrath' 1940), 'How Green Was My Valley' 1941 and 'The Quiet Man' 1952). Wayne won just one, for 'True Grit' in 1969. Wayne died in 1979, Ford had previously passed away in 1973.
In a feature in 'The Times' in September 2008, Ford and Wayne were ranked number two in a top 20 list of movie double acts.

Answer: Bob Hope and Bing Crosby

Bob Hope and Bing Crosby made seven 'road' movies together, 'Road to Singapore' (1940), 'Road to Zanzibar' (1941), 'Road to Morocco' (1942), 'Road to Utopia' (1945), 'Road to Rio' (1947), 'Road to Bali' (1952) and 'Road to Hong Kong' (1962). It has been hailed as "the most acclaimed comedy series in the history of American motion pictures". [Source: Wes Gehring USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), November, 2000].

In 1940, the 'Hollywood Reporter' said of "Road to Singapore": "In pairing Bing Crosby and Bob Hope, Paramount has created one of the greatest comedy teams in film history ... a demand for more of the same is an unqualified certainty." The 'road' films also featured a series of glamorous actresses, including Dorothy Lamour.

Answer: Julia Roberts and Richard Gere

In a feature in 'The Times' in September 2008, Roberts and Gere were ranked number 11 in a top 20 list of movie double acts.
They starred in 'Pretty Woman' (1990) and 'Runaway Bride' (1999).
Roberts was virtually unknown before she played the part of a high class hooker who fell in love with businessman, Gere, in 'Pretty Woman' - and his career was somewhat in the doldrums at the time. In 'Runaway Bride', Gere played a newspaper reporter who interviewed Roberts, a woman who had had left seven would-be grooms waiting at the altar.
Initially the roles had been offered to Molly Ringwald and Al Pacino, but they turned them down.

Answer: Elizabeth Taylor and Lassie

In a feature in 'The Times' in September 2008, Taylor and her canine sidekick were ranked number 19 in a top 20 list of movie double acts.
Taylor was an 11-year-old starlet when she was cast in 'Lassie Come Home' in 1943. She renewed the partnership in 'Courage of Lassie' in 1946. By then, she had moved on to equine co-stars in 'National Velvet' (1944).
The gender-confused 'Lassie' (the role called for a female, but was played by a male) appeared in other movies on the silver screen and on the small screen. Originally, 'Lassie' had been a character in a short story in the 'Saturday Evening Post' in 1938, written by Eric Knight. 'Lassie' also starred in her own radio series, and was featured in a strip cartoon. Television shows followed, and 'Lassie' won two Emmys and a star on the Hollywood walk of fame, in 1960.
Although born in England in 1932, Taylor's American-born parents took her to the USA. Her first movie role was in 'There's One Born Every Minute', when she was nine. A lengthy catalogue of work followed, and she was a two-times Oscar winner, for 'Butterfield 8' in 1960 and 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?' (1966).
In case anyone is puzzled, Lori Petty and Keiko starred in 'Free Willy' in 1993. (Keiko played the part of Willy, a Genus Orca whale.)

Answer: Robert De Niro and Al Pacino

De Niro and Pacino first appeared together in 'Heat' in 1995, and were paired together in 'Righteous Kill' in 2008. (Yes, I know they both appeared in 'The Godfather: Part II' (1974), but they did not share a scene.)
Robert De Niro was born in 1943 and has appeared in numerous movies including 'Taxi Driver' (1976), 'The Deer Hunter' (1980), 'Raging Bull' (1982) and 'Goodfellas' (1990). He won Academy Awards for 'Raging Bull' and 'The Godfather: Part II'.
Al Pacino was born in 1940, and his leading movies have included 'The Godfather' (1972), 'Serpico' (1973), 'Dog Day Afternoon' 1975, 'Dick Tracey' (1990) and 'Ocean's Thirteen' (2007). He won an Oscar for 'Scent Of A Woman' (1992).