Lights! Camera! Action! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Clint Eastwood

The 1997 film "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" does not seem to me to be the kind of film that deals with Clint Eastwood's usual fare. The movie is set in Savannah, Georgia, and the plot revolves around Jim Williams, a rich, homosexual art dealer, played by Kevin Spacey.

There is a murder, a trial, and some very colorful characters, including an oddball with flies, a drag queen comedienne, a spiritualist and a torch singer. Other Clint Eastwood directed films are "Mystic River" and "Gran Torino". Additionally, the films "Unforgiven" and "Million Dollar Baby" both earned Eastwood Best Director Academy Awards.

Answer: James Whale

"It's alive. It's alive. It's alive." That's what Dr. Frankenstein, played by Colin Clive, says in the 1931 film "Frankenstein". The film is based on Mary Shelley's 1818 novel about Dr. Victor Frankenstein's creation (parts included). He is able to animate the monster (who has no name).

The part of Frankenstein's monster is played by Boris Karloff who, while wreaking havoc, still evokes pathos. British actor and director James Whale (1989-1957) did a 'whale of a job' directing the film. He is also responsible for "The Bride of Frankenstein", "The Invisible Man" and the musical "Showboat".

Answer: Victor Fleming

In 1940, the iconic film "Gone with the Wind" (1939) won Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Production Design, Best Cinematography and Best Film Editing. The movie was set in Atlanta, Georgia during the Civil War and features the sulky, selfish Southern belle Scarlett O'Hara and her life, loves and losses.

After George Cukor was fired and Sam Wood took over for a short time, the film was eventually completed by Victor Fleming (1889-1949). Fleming's resume includes "The Wizard of Oz" (also 1939), "Captains Courageous" (1937) and "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (the second version in 1941).

Answer: George Cukor

Based on George Bernard Shaw's "Pygmalion", Lerner and Lowe created the delightful 1964 musical "My Fair Lady". The story is about the pompous phonetics professor Henry Higgins and his attempt to turn a cockney flower girl into a "lady". The movie won eight Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director. George Cukor (1899-1983), one of the first directors to work with sound in films, was the recipient of the award.

Some of his earlier films include such great movies as "The Philadelphia Story" (1940), "The Women" (1939), "Gaslight" (1944) and "A Star Is Born" (1954).

Answer: Robert Wise

"The hills are alive", but don't be frightened! They are alive with "The Sound of Music", the marvelous 1965 musical from Rodgers and Hammerstein. The setting is right before World War II. The plot, for those of you who have been visiting other planets, revolves around the postulant Maria who goes from an Austrian abbey to being the governess of the seven Von Trapp family children. Robert Wise (1914-2005) directed this wonderful musical which won Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director. Wise also won those same Oscars for the movie "West Side Story" (1961).

Answer: Robert Altman

The year was 1970...the height of the counter-culture revolution and the perfect time for the irreverent film "M.A.S.H." (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital). Based on the novel by Richard Hooker, the film follows a group of doctors who perform their jobs just miles from the front lines during the Korean War.

They somehow manage to inject humor into the horror going on around them. The movie starred Donald Sutherland (President Snow before the precipitation), Sally Kellerman and Robert Duvall. Robert Altman (1925-2006) was a five time nominee for a Best Director Oscar.

He was responsible for the films "Nashville", "The Player" and "McCabe and Mrs. Miller".

Answer: Sydney Pollack

"Tootsie", from 1982, still happens to be one of my favorite movies. It has Dustin Hoffman as actor Michael Dorsey, a perfectionist who is unable to find work. In order to get a job, Michael presents himself as Dorothy Michaels and lands a part on a soap opera. Dorothy becomes very popular on the program but the gender switch causes problems with both the girl he likes (played by Jessica Lange) and her father (played by Charles Durning).

The acting is wonderful, and Sydney Pollack (1934-2008), the director, (who also plays Michael's agent in the film) can take a lot of the credit. Pollack had won an Oscar for directing "Out of Africa" (1985).

Answer: Stanley Kubrick

Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999) was involved in directing some very controversial films, e.g., the ultra-violent "A Clockwork Orange" (1971), the cinematic masterpiece "2001: A Space Odyssey" (1968) and the 1964 anti-war comedy "Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb".

But Jack Nicholson's performance as Jack Torrance in "The Shining" (1980) may have been one of the most bizarre. Based on Stephen King's novel about the eerie goings-on at the isolated Overlook Hotel, the material became even scarier under Kubrick's direction. "Heeere's Johnny", Nicholson's addition, and 'redrum' were nightmare inducing!

Answer: Christopher Nolan

British born film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and editor, Christopher Nolan is one of the highest-grossing directors in history. His movies are suspenseful and thought-provoking and include the thriller "Insomnia" (2002), "The Dark Knight Trilogy", "Inception" (2010) and "Interstellar" in 2014. I found his second feature, "Memento" (2000), very intriguing. The plot centers around an accident survivor, Leonard, who is determined to find the man who raped and killed his wife. What makes this more complicated is the fact that he has a rare form of memory loss where he cannot remember what happened 15 minutes ago.

Answer: Sidney Lumet

The 1957 movie "12 Angry Men" is courtroom drama at its finest. There have been many remakes of this Reginald Rose screenplay, but none better than the original. In this version, there are 12 men from different backgrounds who have been selected as jurors in the murder trial of an accused inner-city teenager. Just as they seem to be very close to a unanimous guilty verdict, one man (Juror 8, brilliantly played by Henry Fonda) casts doubt on the evidence.

The film was directed by Sidney Lumet (1924-2011) whose credits also include "Dog Day Afternoon" in 1975, and "Network" the following year. Sidenote: Lumet's third wife, Gail, was Lena Horne's daughter.