Mad Mad Mad Mad Matching Mayhem Quiz

Answer: Jimmy Durante

Smiler Grogan is the one who puts the whole race in motion. On the run from the police in California, his car runs off the highway and crashes. Five motorists run to his aid but they're unable to save him. With his dying breath Smiler tells them of $350,000 that he's hidden in New Mexico. When the five motorists cannot agree on how to split the cash... the race is on.

Jimmy Durante received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor for his role as Anthony "Pop" Wonder, the owner of a failing circus in "Billy Rose's Jumbo" (1962).

Answer: Jim Backus

Jim Backus died 1989 at the age of 76, after making us laugh as the voice of Mr Magoo, and as Thurston Howell III on "Gilligan's Island". In the movie "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World", he portrayed Tyler Fitzgerald, the owner of the airplane that Ding Bell (played by Mickey Rooney) and Benjy Benjamin (Buddy Hackett) charter.

Unfortunately, though he was going along to fly it for them, he manages to get drunk and knock himself out, meaning that the two are forced to fly and land the plane themselves.

Answer: Ethel Merman

Mrs Marcus is the obnoxious mother-in-law of J Russell Finch, one of the original motorists to find Smiler Grogan and discover the whereabouts of the hidden cash. The two of them and her daughter, Emmeline are in the race for the cash when they crash into a furniture van.

They flag down a British army officer, played by Terry-Thomas, and continue on with him. However, Mrs Marcus cannot keep her mouth shut and causes numerous arguments. Eventually the army officer and Finch leave them stranded on the side of the road in Yucca Valley and carry on alone.

Answer: Moe Howard

A long chase at an airport sees a number of the main characters stranded on top of a condemned building. The Three Stooges arrive with the fire truck and ladder to rescue them but, instead of trying to climb down one at a time, they endeavour to climb down at once and the ladder collapses.

Answer: Norman Fell

Fell made a cameo appearance in "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World", as a detective at the site at which Smiler Grogan (played by Jimmy Durante) crashed his car. He and the other officers of the law watch as associates of Grogan manage to get themselves into all sorts of bother while trying to find the treasure Grogan is supposed to have left.

Fell also starred in the 1960s film "Ocean's 11" as well as numerous roles on television, including "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis".

Answer: Don Knotts

Otto Meyer (Phil Silvers) drives his car into a river but manages to swim ashore. He is, apparently, out of the race for the money. That is, until he flags down a very nervous motorist in Don Knotts, who is driving far too slowly for his taste. Otto then cons Don Knotts out of his vehicle by pretending to be a CIA operative and then proceeds alone.

Don Knotts made his name in "The Andy Griffith Show" (1960-68) and would also have nervous roles in "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken" (1966), "The Reluctant Astronaut" (1967) and "The Shakiest Gun in the West" (1968).

Answer: Peter Falk

Falk, along with a host of others, makes a small cameo in "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World". He plays a taxi-driver pressed into service to race to the site where Smiler Grogan crashed and supposedly left a clue to treasure. He of course wants to get his share, so joins the hunt.

Falk was best known for his role as Detective Columbo of the LAPD, which ran for nine series from the late 1960s. As Columbo, he was known for his rumpled coat and Peugeot 403. He suffered cancer of his eye as a child and it was surgically removed, so Falk wore a fake eye from early childhood.

Answer: ZaSu Pitts

Gertie is the timid and, ultimately, frustrated switchboard operator at the Santa Rosita Police Department Central Division. A comedian of the classic mould, ZaSu's appearance in this film is merely a cameo but we have included her because "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" represented her final film appearance and, it was released after her passing.

Answer: Buddy Hackett

Benjy and his mate Ding are two of the motorist who discover Smiler Grogan at his accident site and it is Benjy who comes up with the idea of the race for the cash. Deciding a plane would be quicker they miss out the first attempt, beaten by the Crumps, and end up with an alcoholic pilot, played by Jim Backus, who passes out mid-flight and forces Benjy and Ding to fly it instead.

Hackett, along with Lenny Bruce, was one of the pioneers of "blue" or "adult content" comedy. However, despite this, the majority of his movie roles, such as "The Love Bug" series, were family orientated.

Answer: Spencer Tracy

Culpepper (played by Spencer Tracy) has been following Smiler Grogan for years, knowing that he had treasure hidden somewhere. He sets off, with a team of officers, to follow Grogan's accomplices to the location of the treasure. Somewhere along the way he decides it would be a good idea to snaffle the treasure for himself. All the treasure hunters are doomed to disappointment, however, as the treasure falls from the top floor of a condemned building to the crowd below.