Great Moments in Movies Trivia Quiz

Answer: Marlene Dietrich

Dietrich's character, 'Frenchy', was the inspiration for Madeline Kahn's character 'Lili Von Shtupp' in Mel Brooks' 'Blazing Saddles'. It's in this role that Dietrich first sings her hit tune 'The Boys in the Backroom'. During and after WWII, Dietrich was ostracized in her native Germany for refusing the Fuehrer's requests to appear in Nazi propaganda films.

In fact, she became a great supporter of the Allied cause, spending much of her time during the war entertaining troops with the USO. She even won a Congressional Medal Of Honor for her efforts.

After she died in 1992, some officials of the German government tried to keep her from being buried in her native land as retribution for her anti-Nazi stance. Eventually, the good side prevailed, and Marlene today rests in German soil.

Answer: James Coburn

'The Great Escape' was based on a true story of Allied prisoners escaping from a German POW camp in WWII. In the real escape there were no Americans involved. Coburn's character escapes by walking to freedom from Germany, through France, and over the Pyrenees into Spain. Garner's character is captured after he crashes the German trainer plane, with a blind Donald Pleasance riding shotgun. Attenborough's character is pinched at a train station when his traveling companion inadvertently responds in English to a German soldier's question. McQueen, of course, is caught at the Austrian border after a fine display of Evel Knievel-like motorcycle jumping. That damn barbed wire musta hurt like a sumbitch. Quite a bit of the film was fictionalized, but one part that really did take place was that 50 of the escapees were murdered by the Germans after they were recaptured.

After the war 14 German soldiers and officers were tried as war criminals for their part in the murders. They were found guilty and executed. One more bit of 'Escape' trivia; the motorcycle that McQueen rides in the movie was later used as Fonzie's bike on 'Happy Days'. I think it was a Triumph, but I'm not sure. Message me if you know.

Answer: Colonel Bat Guano

Sellers was originally supposed to also play the role of Major T.J.'King' Kong, but had to bow out because he had broken his ankle. This is the reason that he plays the part of Dr. Strangelove from a wheelchair. The part of Col. Kong went to Slim Pickens , who turned in an unforgettable performance.

In the scene where Col. Kong is listing the contents of the bomber crew's survival kits he comments that a fellow could have a pretty good time in 'Vegas' with the contents. The city mentioned was originally Dallas, but they dubbed in Vegas due to the Kennedy assassination. Strangelove was released on January 29th 1964, just barely two months after the tragedy in Dealey Plaza.

By the way, Colonel Bat Guano was played by Keenan Wynn.

Answer: Joseph Conrad

In Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness' Kurtz was a station manager for a European ivory trading company in Africa. He found that it was easier and more profitable to steal ivory from neighboring tribes than to trade for it fairly. His men used terror to intimidate the natives, burning entire villages and brutally murdering the inhabitants. Conrad himself was born in Poland and went to sea on trading ships as a young man, eventually settling in England.

His own travels provided the basis for many of his literary works, most of which were set in exotic locales.

He became a British citizen, but he holds the distiction of being one of the few people to ever refuse a knighthood when it was offered by the reigning monarch. He refused to be knighted as a protest for the treatment by Britain of her colonial subjects around the world.

Answer: Road to Tokyo

Hope and Crosby starred in seven road pictures. They are, in order of their {release;} 'Road to Singapore' 1940, 'Road to Zanzibar' 1941, 'Road to Morocco' 1942, 'Road to Utopia' 1946, 'Road to Rio' 1947, 'Road to Bali' 1952, and 'Road to Hong Kong' 1962.

Their co-star in all of these was the sweet, voluptuous and by all accounts, very patient Dorothy Lamour. She would dutifully memorize all her lines and when shooting began Hope and Crosby would throw her off by ad libbing most of their dialog!

Answer: Forbidden Planet

'Forbidden Planet' was loosely based on Shakespeare's 'The Tempest'

Answer: Jimmy Durante

Durante's character dies in the opening scene of the movie, but not before he tells about a fortune buried under a 'Big W'. In his death throes he literally kicks a metal bucket down a rocky slope.

Answer: his palm tree

The palm tree is a prize the ship recieved for delivering more freight in the safe area of the Pacific than any other ship in the U.S Navy. The captain gets another tree to replace the one Mr. Roberts pitches, but it too is dumped overboard by Ensign Pulver in the final scene.

Answer: Buddy Love

Buddy Love was a mean, egotistical bastard. Not much of an acting stretch for ol' Jerry, in my opinion.

Answer: Fred MacMurray

MacMurray was, in my opinion, a very underrated actor. Most people remember him from his role in 'My Three Sons', but he had a solid body of work before this as a dramatic actor. It's too bad he didn't get any good dramatic roles later in his career.