Haha! Very Funny! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Will Hay

'Oh, Mr. Porter!' is among Hay's best known films and featured him as the stationmaster of an isolated railway station in Ireland. The plot, rather surprisingly for a comedy, involved a gang of gun runners taking weapons to what was then the Irish Free State.

The film was based on a play written by Arnold Ridley, who later went on to star as Private Godfrey in the television hit 'Dad's Army'. Hay had a successful career in music hall, and many of the films he made incorporated aspects of the characters he had created in his act. Among his other films are 'The Goose Steps Out' (1942) and 'My Learned Friend' (1943). Hay died at the age of sixty in 1949.

Answer: Whisky

The film and book were both called 'Whisky Galore!' in the UK, although in America they were entitled 'Tight Little Island' to avoid the reference to alcohol. The film starred Basil Radford, Gordon Jackson and James Robertson Justice, and was based on a real incident which took place in 1941.

In the film the ship was carrying 50,000 cases of whisky, which the islanders were intent on 'liberating' while Basil Radford's (English) character tried to prevent them.

Answer: Peter Sellers

The film was a parody of British industrial life, with incompetent management, lazy workers and corrupt officials. It was directed and produced by the Boulting Brothers, and Sellers won a BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) best actor award for his role.

The title of the film came from the expression used to describe anyone who selfishly looks after only their own interests without caring about the effect on anyone else. Sellers had a successful career as a film actor, mainly, but not exclusively, in comedy roles, in particular in the 'Pink Panther' series.

Answer: Khyber

The film was called 'Carry On ... Up the Khyber' and was the usual mixture of farce and innuendo for which the 'Carry On' series was renowned. The actors included many of the usual cast members, including Sid James, Kenneth Williams and Charles Hawtrey. Sid James played the role of Sir Sidney Ruff-Diamond, the governor of the region, which was guarded by the 3rd Foot and Mouth Regiment. Filming actually took place in Wales, with Snowdon standing in for the Khyber Pass, which links Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The other options are mountain passes in Europe.

Answer: Ronnie Barker

Ronnie Barker appeared in both the television and film versions of the story as the criminal 'hero', Fletcher. The film was the final completed work for Richard Beckinsale, who played Godber, as he tragically died shortly afterwards from a heart attack at the early age of thirty-one. Ronnie Barker was a well known comedy actor, who appeared regularly with Ronnie Corbett in their show, 'The Two Ronnies'. Barker also wrote scripts for his own and other shows, using the pen name of 'Gerald Wiley'. The 1970s saw several television shows remade for the big screen including 'Dad's Army' (1971), 'The Likely Lads' (1976) and 'George and Mildred' (1979).

Answer: Julie Walters

The film was written by Willy Russell, who adapted his own play for the big screen. The character of Rita was trying to better herself by studying with the (real) Open University and was taught by Dr. Frank Bryant, played by Michael Caine. Bryant had turned to drink and was doing the bare minimum needed to teach his students until Rita's enthusiasm for the subject re-awakened his own interest.

The film was Julie Walters's cinema debut, although she had made several television appearances. She has gone on to acting success, with 'Mamma Mia!' (2008) and her appearances as 'Molly Weasley' in the 'Harry Potter' film series among her best known roles.

The other actresses offered as options also appeared in the 'Harry Potter' films.

Answer: Greece

This film was also an adaptation of a Willy Russell play, and the script was written by him. Shirley Valentine had been neglected by her family, and resorted to talking to her kitchen walls, until she had the opportunity to join her friend on a free holiday to Greece.

While there, she had a brief fling with the owner, played by Tom Conti, of a local taverna and decided not to return to her boring life in Liverpool. The film ended when her husband, played by Bernard Hill, came to find her and failed to recognise his wife in her new environment.

The holiday scenes were filmed in Mykonos, Greece.

Answer: The Full Monty

All the options I gave you were British comedies from the 1990s. 'Nuns on the Run' came out in 1990, 'Leon the Pig Farmer' in 1992 and 'Waking Ned' was released in 1998. 'The Full Monty' featured a group of former steelworkers from Sheffield who formed a male stripper act.

It became a huge, and rather unexpected, international hit, helped along by a soundtrack which included songs from Hot Chocolate, Tom Jones and Donna Summer, among many others. The 'Full Monty' of the title refers to the fact that the group would strip completely naked at the end of their act.

Answer: Hugh Grant

The film covered a series of relationships between people who were loosely connected to each other in one way or another. The Hugh Grant character was called David and fell in love with a junior member of staff at his official residence, 10 Downing Street. Among the other stars in the film were Keira Knightley, Liam Neeson, Billy Bob Thornton and Emma Thompson.

The script was written by Richard Curtis, who was responsible for 'Four Weddings and a Funeral' (1994) and 'Notting Hill' (1999) both of which also starred Hugh Grant.

Answer: Reborn

The first film featuring the character came out in 2003 and was a parody of the 'James Bond' films. Rowan Atkinson played an incompetent spy, named Johnny English, and the first film was named for the character. The sequel was named 'Johnny English Reborn' and also featured Gillian Anderson and Dominic West.

The other options I gave you were based on variations on 'The Matrix' series of films, with 'The Matrix Reloaded' and 'The Matrix Revolutions' both dating from 2003 and 'The Matrix Revisited' being a 2001 documentary about the making of the original film.