Mr Movies Presents Trivia Quiz

Answer: Waterloo Bridge

The movie starts in World War II, when Colonel Roy Cronin (Robert Taylor) stops on Waterloo Bridge while on his way to France, in order to recall the events from World War I which form the core of the story. He meets Myra (Vivien Leigh) when they both are crossing Waterloo Bridge and have to take shelter from an air raid. They fall in love, but he must go to the front. After reading an erroneous report of his death, she despairs and ends up engaged in prostitution to survive. When they are reunited, she realises that she can never marry him, as it would bring shame to his family, and returns to Waterloo Bridge, where she meets her fate. Back in the present, we see our hero finish his reminiscence, and head off to war, buoyed by recalling her sincere love for him.

In the week during which these films were broadcast as part of a tribute to the man Australians know as 'Mr Movies', there was actually an eleventh film shown first. Since no Western made it to Bill's Top Ten, the week kicked off with a screening of his favourite Western, the 1941 film 'Western Union', directed by Fritz Lang and starring Robert Young and Randolph Scott.

The image used for this question is a painting of the opening of Waterloo Bridge on 18th June 1817.

Answer: Noel Coward

David Lean directed this film in which Laura Jesson (Celia Johnson) recalls her meeting with Alec Harvey (Trevor Howard) and the complications that their developing relationship brought to her life. Both realising that they can have no future together, he goes off to a new life in South Africa and she returns to her husband and children.

'Still Life' was one of ten one-act plays that Coward wrote with the intention that they would be performed in various combinations of three at a time, featuring himself and Gertrude Lawrence. All of the plays are set in the restaurant area of the (fictional) Milford Junction railway station, the location where Laura and Alec first meet, and where they subsequently part forever.

The image used for this question shows the Noel Coward Theatre, located on St. Martin's Lane in London. It opened in 1902 as the New Theatre, and was the site of Noel Coward's first West End production, 'I'll Leave it to You', in 1920. The theatre was renamed the Albery Theatre in 1973, named after a longtime manager of the theatre. Then in 2006, after major refurbishment, it was renamed the Noel Coward Theatre.

Answer: Sybil Vane

All of these were characters portrayed by Angela Lansbury on stage (Mame Dennis in 'Auntie Mame'), on television (Jessica Fletcher in 'Murder, She Wrote'), and in film (Sybil Vane, and Nancy Oliver in 'Gaslight'). Sybil Vane falls in love with the utterly charming Dorian Gray, and they become engaged; then Dorian is convinced by his mentor, Lord Henry Wotton, that there is more to be enjoyed in hedonism than in a committed relationship. Dorian breaks off his relationship with Sybil in a nasty letter, and sends her a substantial sum of money. The next day, he is horrified to hear that she has killed herself, but soon shrugs it off and proceeds along his dissolute way.

Angela Lansbury was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for this role, and won a Golden Globe Award.

The image used for this picture shows a weather vane.

Answer: The Razor's Edge

These are only a few of the many movies based on the novels and short stories of this prolific British writer. 'The Razor's Edge' was one of Maugham's last significant works, and it has been adapted into at least two movies. The 1946 version starred Tyrone Power as Larry Darrell, a pilot whose war experiences left him searching for the meaning of life. He rejects participation in everyday society, and this leads to the end of his engagement to Isabel Bradley (Gene Tierney). Larry eventually finds enlightenment on top of a mountain in the Himalayas, and returns to share his insight with others. While offering them various types of peace, he is unable to settle down, and leaves again on a tramp steamer to the United States. The movie garnered an Oscar for Anne Baxter as Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Sophie, Larry's childhood friend whom he is ultimately unable to save because of the interference of Isabel.

The image used for this question shows a cutthroat razor originally belonging to King Frederick I of Württemberg.

Answer: The Voice of the Turtle

Based on a long-running play of the same name, 'The Voice of the Turtle' has a title that comes from the Bible. A passage in Song of Solomon (Chapter 2, verse 12) reads, "The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land." The word turtle is actually a reference to turtle doves, and describes a situation in which romance is blossoming.

Sally Middleton, an aspiring actress, agrees to have dinner with Bill Page when he is stood up by her friend Olive Lashbrooke (played by Eve Arden), although she has renounced love following the end of her relationship with producer Kenneth Bartlett (played by Kent Smith). The next day, the arrival of spring weather prompts Bill to quote the Bible verse above, and then explain to Sally what it means, after she complains that turtles don't have voices. In the course of the weekend, Sally realises that she is in love with Bill, and ultimately accepts his marriage proposal.

The image for this question shows a diamondback terrapin, a kind of turtle.

Answer: "Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night."

'All About Eve' is another film whose story is presented mostly in flashback. It starts at an award ceremony for Eve, then goes back to a year earlier, when Eve first insinuated herself into Margo's life, and began working to supplant the older woman as a star. After returning to the opening awards ceremony, we see Eve leave and go home to her apartment, which she finds occupied by Phoebe (if that is her name, any more than Eve was born with the name she uses), a devoted fan. The film ends with Phoebe dressed as Eve, pretending to receive the award, and we know that history is about to repeat itself.

Bette Davis was actually about 79th choice to play the part of Margo, which became one of the roles for which she is best remembered. The part was originally written for Susan Hayward, who the producer rejected as too young; next to be considered and rejected were Marlene Dietrich, Gertrude Lawrence, Barbara Stanwyck, Tallulah Bankhead, Ingrid Bergman, and Joan Crawford. The part eventually went to Claudette Colbert, but she hurt her back and couldn't complete the film. Only then was Davis selected! Another interesting fact about the film is the appearance of a young and almost unknown Marilyn Monroe in the part of Miss Casswell, a flamboyant young actress. Two years later she had her first starring role, in 'Don't Bother to Knock'.

The incorrect options are also well known movie quotes. "I am big, it's the pictures that got small!" is said by Gloria Swanson (as Norma Desmond) in 'Sunset Boulevard' (1950); "Well, it's not the men in your life that counts, it's the life in your men" comes from Mae West in 'I'm No Angel' (1933); "I'll be back" was delivered by Arnold Schwarzenegger in 'The Terminator' (1984).

The image used in this question is of an icon reminding passengers to fasten their seatbelts.

Answer: Vertigo

James Stewart collaborated with Hitchcock in all four of these movies. 'Vertigo' sees him playing the part of Scottie Ferguson, a former policeman who had to retire because he developed acrophobia (extreme fear of heights) and vertigo (a sense of giddiness). Scottie is hired by an acquaintance (Gavin, played by Tom Helmore) to follow the client's wife Madeleine, whose behaviour is said to have become erratic. Scottie and a woman he believes to be Madeleine try to explore what lies behind her recent nightmares by visiting the bell tower that is at the centre of her dream. She runs up the tower, and Scottie, unable to follow her so high, sees her body falling from the top. He later discovers, after meeting Judy, who reminds him of Madeleine, that this woman (also played by Kim Novak) was actually the woman he had known as Madeleine - their entire previous interaction had been designed to conceal the murder of the real Madeleine, whose body Gavin had thrown from the top of the tower. Scottie and Madeleine return to the scene of the "accident" to help him sort out all of his issues relating to the event. It does not end well.

The image used for this question is part of the promotional poster for the movie, with names trimmed off.

Answer: Toto, her dog

This film will be forever associated with Judy Garland, who played Dorothy, the Kansas girl who travels to Oz, carried there along with her dog Toto (played by a female Cairn terrier named Terry, but credited as Toto in the film) when a cyclone hits the farm where she lives with her aunt and uncle. In the novel, Oz is a real place, and L Frank Baum wrote a number of sequels about the events there, including Dorothy's return in several books. In the film, it is a dream, and most of the characters in Oz are portrayed by the same actors who play residents of Kansas. All three farmhands appear again in Oz: Hunk (Ray Bolger) becomes the Scarecrow; Hickory (Jack Haley) becomes the Tin Man; Zeke (Bert Lahr) becomes the Cowardly Lion. Miss Gulch (Margaret Hamilton), who had threatened to have Toto destroyed, reappears as the Wicked Witch of the West; but the most prolific of them all is Professor Marvel (Frank Morgan), who is seen as the Wizard of Oz, as the Doorman at the gate to the Emerald City, as the Guard at the Gates of the Wizard's castle, and as the coachman who carries Dorothy and her companions through the city to see the Wizard.

The image used for this question shows a Cairn terrier, the breed of dog used to portray Toto in the film.

Answer: The Band Wagon

While some of the incorrect options may be more familiar titles, 'The Band Wagon' is often considered by critics to be one of the finest of the musicals produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, despite its relatively poor performance at the box office. It included some classic songs, such as 'That's Entertainment' and 'Dancing in the Dark', and gave both its stars plenty of opportunity to display their dancing abilities. Syd Charisse, however, did not sing in the movie; her songs were all dubbed by India Adams. It probably goes without saying, in a musical comedy of this vintage, that Tony (Fred Astaire) and Gaby (Cyd Charisse) eventually work out the snags in their relationship caused by each feeling professionally inferior to the other, and celebrate the show's success as a couple.

The image used for this question was of a band wagon in a circus parade.

Answer: Gone with the Wind

Scarlet O'Hara (Vivien Leigh) starts as a pampered and selfish belle, who has her heart set on marrying Ashley Wilkes (Leslie Howard), despite his engagement and later marriage to his cousin Melanie Hamilton (Olivia de Havilland). Several marriages later, she finally admits to her attraction for the dashing Rhett Butler (Clark Gable), and they get married. It remains a stormy relationship, however, and cannot sustain the trauma caused by their daughter's accidental death. Scarlet finally realises that she has never really loved Ashley, just as Rhett has decided to leave her because she cannot maintain a loving relationship with him. The movie finishes, however, with Scarlet vowing to get him back.

'Gone with the Wind' won eight of the 13 Academy Awards for which it was nominated. Possibly the most notable of these was the award of Best Supporting Actress to Hattie McDaniel, making her the first African-American to win an Oscar. Sadly, racial segregation was still in effect, and she could not sit with the rest of the cast at the celebrations, but had to sit at the back of the room.

The image used for this question shows a tornado, a literal wind rather than the figurative one of the movie's title, a reference to the way of life of the landed gentry in the southern states of the United States which disappeared with the Civil War.