Hark the Herald Angels Sing Trivia Quiz

Answer: Clarence Oddbody, AS2

When asked, Clarence explained that AS2 stood for Angel Second Class, and that he had not yet won his wings. He hoped to do so by showing George what the world would have been like had the latter never been born. George did call him "Gabriel" at one point, but Clarence was quick to correct him.

Answer: Firefighting pilots in the USA

Steven Spielberg deviated from the plot of Victor Fleming's original mainly by changing the setting from wartime (in both Europe and the Pacific) to the peacetime USA, where the heroes were engaged in battling forest fires from the air. The main characters had the same first names in both films. Pete, the angel, was played first by Spencer Tracy and then by Richard Dreyfuss. Ted, the newer pilot, was Van Johnson's first big role. Brad Johnson (no relation) took the part in 1989. Dorinda Durston, a pilot herself, was played in "Joe" by Irene Dunne and in "Always" by Holly Hunter. Audrey Hepburn, in her last role, played an angel named Hap in the later film.

Answer: Stairway to Heaven

A production of The Archers (Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger), "A Matter of Life and Death" was the first ever Royal Film Performance, having had its premiere before King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother). The alternate title, "Stairway to Heaven" was used for some North American showings and referred to an elaborate special effect used in the movie.

Niven's character did not die at his appointed time due to becoming lost in fog when he baled out of his aircraft. He subsequently met and fell in love with a young woman, giving him reason to want to fight for his life and St Peter reason to allow the trial.

The three incorrect choices are all movies that involved either heaven, angels or both.

Answer: Penelope Worth, a Quaker girl

Penelope (Gail Russell) and her family looked after Quirt (John Wayne) when he had been wounded and tried to educate him in their non-violent beliefs. Discovering that she had romantic feelings for the bad guy complicated things even more for Penelope, especially when trouble came looking for him.

Answer: Pittsburgh Pirates (1951), California Angels (1994)

The earlier film involved a female reporter, a foul-mouthed manager and an orphan girl who prayed for her Pirates to win. Her prayers were answered when angels (the heavenly kind) appeared in the outfield, and one of them whispered to the manager (Paul Douglas) that his team would win if he stopped being so abusive. In the later film the orphan the angels came to help was a boy (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who was the only one who could see them, and the scene shifted west to California to make use of the team named the Angels.

Neither the Angels nor the Mets existed in 1951, so those choices could be eliminated. Syracuse and Buffalo fielded minor league teams in the years specified. The Angels have gone by many names since their birth in 1961, including all of those in the answer choices.

Answer: An altitude

To be precise, it meant an altitude of 15,000 feet which was a frequent operational height during the Battle of Britain, during which the movie is set. Gregson played a young fighter pilot taking part in the battle and Hawkins was a more senior officer.

Answer: Hayley Mills

The nuns were all teachers at St Francis Academy for Girls, led by Rosalind Russell's Mother Superior. Hayley Mills played one of the students, who was usually much more trouble than an angel. The 1966 film was followed two years later by "Where Angels Go Trouble Follows" which also starred Rosalind Russell.

Answer: False

Michael, as played by John Travolta, was anything but angelic in his habits. He drank beer, smoked and wasn't above uttering a curse word or two. What convinced the reporters, who had been sent to investigate the claim of an elderly lady that the archangel Michael was living with her, were the two large feathery wings on his back!

Answer: John Forsythe

John Forsythe had also provided Charlie's voice for the TV series, and did so again for the second film, "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle" (2003). Along with Bosley (Murray in the 2000 film) the trio played by Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu and Cameron Diaz worked for Charlie as private investigators and crime-fighters.

It could be said that action was more important than plot in the case of both films and TV series.

Answer: Margaret Laurence

Laurence was given a writing credit for this film, as well as for the 1968 Paul Newman-directed "Rachel, Rachel", which was based on Laurence's novel "A Jest of God". Ellen Burstyn played Hagar in "The Stone Angel" which also featured Ellen Page in a small role. The angel of the title was a monument in the local cemetery, which marked the grave of Hagar's mother.