Film Roles - P through Z Trivia Quiz

Answer: Peter Parker

Tobey Maguire has played the dual roles of Spider-Man and his alter ego, Peter Parker in "Spider-Man" in 2002, "Spider-Man 2" in 2004 and (the originally titled) "Spider-Man 3", all opposite Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson. As I'm sure many of you already know, bashful student Peter Parker was nipped by a scientifically modified arachnid, causing him to have super spider powers (once bitten, twice shy).

As a result of the killing of his Uncle Ben, he decides to use his powers to become a superhero and fight evil.

Answer: Clare Quilty

Peter Sellers portrays the part of Clare Quilty - playwright, pornographer and pervert - in Stanley Kubrick's film about the love of the middle-aged British Professor Humbert Humbert for the 14-year-old nymphet Lolita. Quilty stalks Humbert and Lolita across the country and kidnaps Lolita from a local hospital. We find that Lolita was in collusion with Quilty all along and that, despite the other men in her life, he is the only one she is "crazy about". On the other hand the immoral Quilty, unlike Humbert, does not really love Lolita and only wants to use her in his child pornography.

Answer: Cliff Robertson

Cliff Robertson (1923-2011) played Lieutenant junior grade John F. Kennedy in the 1963 movie about how, in World War II, the patrol boat Kennedy was commanding, PT-109, was sunk by a Japanese destroyer in the Solomon Islands in 1943. He and the other survivors managed to swim to the nearby islands (in enemy territory) but were not rescued for three months. Of course, Kennedy later became President but was plagued by chronic back problems for the rest of his life. Chris Robertson, on the other hand, was an exceptional actor who starred in over 60 films, including "Spider-Man" (as Uncle Ben Parker) and, in 1968, won a Best Actor Oscar for his poignant portrayal of "Charly".

Answer: Rose Sayer

Katharine Hepburn was the proper British missionary, Rose Sayer, in the 1951 film "The African Queen", set during World War I. She played opposite (and I do mean opposite) the grumpy captain of the steamship African Queen, Charlie Allnut, portrayed by Humphrey Bogart.

In an effort to do her part in the British war effort and to avenge her brother, she finally convinces Allnut to use his boat to attack a German warship. The film was directed by John Huston from a from a novel by C.S. Forester and won a Best Actress nomination for Hepburn and a Best Actor Oscar for Bogart.

Answer: Jack Twist

Jake Gyllenhaal played Jack Twist, opposite Heath Ledger as Ennis Del Mar, in the powerful 2005 story of two cowboys in Wyoming who meet in the summer of 1963 and form a forbidden bond. The idea of this kind of relationship was fatal to Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming as late as October 1998; in 1963, for two cowboys to have feelings for each other was unthinkable! The film was directed by Ang Lee from a short story by Annie Proulx and a screenplay by Larry McMurtry. Ledger and Gyllenhaal were both nominated for Academy Awards while the score, the screenplay and the director all won.

Answer: As Good as It Gets

Although Nicholson appeared in all the movies above, it was the 1997 movie, "As Good as It Gets", where he portrayed Melvin Udall, the cranky, bigoted New York City novelist who develops relationships with both a gay artist and a single mother. Helen Hunt plays Carol, the only waitress who can tolerate cynical Melvin and his OCD.

When Carol leaves the restaurant in order to care for her son, who is afflicted with chronic asthma, it becomes impossible for Melvin to eat. He offers to pay for her son's medical care as long as Carol returns to her waitressing.

The film earned Best Acting Oscars for both Nicholson and Hunt.

Answer: Mona Lisa Vito

This hilarious 1992 comedy begins when two New York students, on their way back to college, are arrested for murder in rural Alabama. One of them remembers he has a cousin who is a lawyer so they call in the services of the inexperienced blusterer, Vincent Laguardia Gambini, played by Joe Pesci. Vinny (who had failed the bar exam six times) brings his fiancee, Mona Lisa Vito, with him as support to help defend the "yoots".

In fact, it is Mona Lisa's knowledge of automobiles which helps win the case. Pesci and Tomei are exceptional in their roles, as is Fred Gywnn who plays Southern Judge Chamberlain Haller. ("What's a ute?")

Answer: Annie Wilkes

Kathy Bates plays Annie Wilkes in the 1990 movie "Misery" based on the 1987 novel by Stephen King. Annie lives in an isolated farmhouse in Colorado when she happens upon a car crash, which happened as the result of a blizzard. Because of her nurse's training, she brings the victim back to her cabin where she discovers, to her delight, that the injured man is Paul Sheldon, a novelist for whom Annie is the "number one fan".

When she discovers that Paul has killed off his heroine and Annie's favorite literary character, Misery Chastain, the misery for Paul, i.e., the physical and mental torture, is just beginning... Kathy Bates won a Best Actress Oscar for portrayal of Annie.

Answer: Young Einstein

Yahoo Serious (real name Greg Pead) is an Australian actor, composer and writer whose film depicts Albert Einstein as the son of a Tasmanian apple farmer. Apparently, one day he falls out of an apple tree and a box of apples falls on his head (a la Newton).

He then develops his first scientific experiment involving "splitting the beer atom and putting bubbles into beer". His father sends him to Sydney to patent his invention where he meets Marie Curie (seriously?), his patent is rejected, someone steals his formula.

He winds up in a mental institution, escapes, saves everyone from certain doom and gives his formula to the government. Whew!

Answer: Grease

Although all the incorrect choices above starred John Travolta (as Vincent Vega, Tony Manero and Edna Turnblad), it is the 1978 musical "Grease" where Danny Zuko falls in love with Sandy one summer in 1959. Sandy (played by Olivia Newton-John) is a good girl from Australia, who is scheduled to return there.

Instead, Sandy and Danny both wind up at Rydell High, discover their differences, fall out of love and, eventually, as with all good musicals, fall back in...with good performances and great songs along the way.