John Wayne's "The Shootist" Trivia Quiz

Answer: J.B. Books

Known as J.B. Books, the lead character's full name is John Bernard Books. Glendon Swarthout, the author of the book on which the movie was based, claimed that he based this character on the very real outlaw John Wesley Hardin.

Answer: Doctor's office

Books comes to town for a second opinion on his medical condition. The local town doctor is an old friend of his named Doc Hostetler. The physician confirms the diagnosis given to Books by other doctors, and also advises him that his death will be soon and very painful.

He also provides him with his first bottle of laudanum, a potent combination of alcohol and morphine (among other things) that was used as a painkiller at the turn of the century. This role was played by Jimmy Stewart, who John Wayne had previously worked with in the great western "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance".

Answer: Bond Rogers

Shortly after Books moves in, all the other tenants move out. Bond Rogers is very upset as this is how she makes her living for herself and her son Gillom. Books offers to pay extra and tells her that he cannot leave as he is dying. Much of the movie centers on the contentious relationship between these two characters. Lauren Bacall had co-starred with John Wayne once previously in the 1955 movie "Blood Alley", and they were good friends.

Answer: His horse

Books becomes a father figure to Gillom, whose own father recently passed away. Gillom engages in idol worship, while Books tries to help him become a good man and realize that being a gunslinger is a thing of the past. J.B. Books gives Gillom Rogers his horse named Dollar.

Although the horse was not given a name in the book, John Wayne insisted on having the horse as a character in the movie. The name Dollar was the real name of this gelding that John Wayne rode in many of his other movies, including "True Grit".

While he was alive he never allowed anyone to ride this horse but himself.

Answer: John Carradine

The undertaker is played by long-faced actor John Carradine. In response to his offer, Books tells him that he knows the mortician will lay out his body and charge people to come and look at him. While this may seem morbid, this was a popular practice at the time.

Many of the old west gunfighters are only seen in photographs taken while they lay in their coffins. At the end of the dialogue, Beckum agrees to pay Books for the honor of being the one to bury him and make money from his dead body.

Answer: Have a picnic in the country

Bond Rogers is very straitlaced and would have never gone drinking or dancing with Books. But she does agree to go for a ride in the country, and agrees to pack a picnic. A carriage is rented and they go for a peaceful ride that seems to bring serenity to both characters, who are struggling with the inner demons that plague us all.

Answer: She wants to write a book about him as his widow.

Serepta begs Books to marry her. She admits she wants to write a book, "The Life and Time of J.B. Books by his Widow Serepta Books". She says she can make a lot of money this way. When Books refuses, she turns on him and storms out of the boarding house. At this time Books realizes that she is just another worm that crawled out of the woodwork to attempt to make money off of his death.

Answer: In the saloon

Books leaves the boarding house and walks to town fully aware it is his last day on the earth. On the way, he hops on a new-fangled street car for the first time. He enters the saloon and kills three men, who were all independently planning on killing him. Finally, he is shot and killed by the bartender.

The climax of the movie is when Gillom Rogers shoots the bartender. Gillom has an epiphany after killing this man, and he then throws the gun away, realizing that Books was right and he does not want to be a gunslinger.

Answer: true

The movie was filmed in Carson City, and on the movie lot in Burbank, California. It tries to show a small town moving into the 20th century and leaving its wild west reputation behind. The boarding house, in which much of the movie takes occurs, is still standing. It is only three houses down from the Governors Mansion. The book takes place in El Paso, Texas.

Answer: A car

In the movie, you see him driving one of the earliest models of cars ever made. At no point in the movie is he seen riding a horse. This is just one more allusion to the changing times and changing technology at the turn of the 20th century, and the impact it had on everyone.