Nail Biter Trivia Quiz

Answer: Strangers on a Train

Strangers on a Train

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, the master of suspense, "Strangers on a Train" was based on a novel by Patricia Highsmith. In the movie, two strangers who meet during a train journey think they can get away with murder if each kills the other person's target as nothing will link them to the victim. The movie starred Farley Granger, Ruth Roman and Robert Walker in the lead roles.

Answer: Basic Instinct

Basic in Stinct

"Basic Instinct" was one of the big hits of Sharon Stone's career. Also starring Michael Douglas, the film was directed by Paul Verhoeven. The plot centered on the murder investigation of a rock star with the detective in charge of the case getting involved with one of the prime suspects.

Answer: The Sixth Sense

Released in 1999, "The Sixth Sense" was the debut film of director M. Night Shyamalan who is also credited with the story. Starring Bruce Willis and a young Haley Joel Osment, the movie was nominated for six Oscars including Best Picture. In the film, Bruce Willis plays a psychologist who tries to help a disturbed child claiming to see visions of dead people.

Answer: Wait Until Dark

"Wait Until Dark" starred Audrey Hepburn in the lead role of a blind young woman harassed by drug dealers who believe she has their stash in her possession. Other cast members include Alan Arkin, Jack Weston and Richard Crenna. Hepburn was nominated for the Best Actress Academy Award for her performance in this film but lost out to another Hepburn - Katharine.

Answer: A Perfect Murder

"A Perfect Murder" is a remake of Hitchcock's classic film "Dial M for Murder", though there were some changes made to the plot. In the movie, a Wall Street stockbroker (Michael Douglas) finds his investments sinking and suddenly needs a huge sum of money to get himself out of trouble. Knowing his rich wife (Gwyneth Paltrow) is cheating on him, he decides to take the easy way out and get her killed, thus inheriting her money.

Answer: Vertigo

...introVERT, I GOt...

Another Hitchcock masterpiece, "Vertigo" is set in California and stars James Stewart and Kim Novak. Stewart plays a detective who is forced to retire from the police force due to a sudden onset of vertigo. On a request from a friend, he starts following the friend's wife, played by Novak and ends up falling in love with her. Novak's character appears to be delusional and in what seems like a tragic twist, commits suicide by jumping off a bell tower. Stewart is unable to stop her as his vertigo prevents him from reaching the top in time.

Answer: Chinatown

"Chinatown", starring Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, and John Huston, is directed by Roman Polanski. Nicholson plays a private detective who is seemingly hired to investigate an adultery case but later realises he was set up with the actual motive being far from simple.

This film was the last one directed by Polanski in America before he fled the country to avoid facing prosecution on charges of rape.

Answer: Rope

Mixed indicates that the movie is hidden in scrambled form in the sentence.

"Rope" by Alfred Hitchcock is based on a play of the same name by Patrick Hamilton. In the movie, the characters of John Dall and Farley Granger kill one of their former classmates solely to prove that the 'perfect murder' can be committed. The play is believed to have been inspired by the real life murder of Bobby Franks by Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb in 1924.

Answer: Laura

"Laura" is a 1944 film directed and produced by Otto Preminger. The film begins with a detective played by Dana Andrews investigating the murder of an advertising executive named Laura (Gene Tierney). In the course of the investigation, the detective creates an image of the dead woman through her letters and interviews with people she knew and ends up falling in love with the woman he imagines her to have been.

Answer: Silence of the Lambs

With Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins in the lead roles, "The Silence of the Lambs" is one of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful thrillers of the 1990s. Clarice Starling, a young FBI agent, seeks the help of Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a jailed psychologist and himself a serial killer, to trap another serial killer.

The film was nominated for all the top five Academy Awards - Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay (adapted in this case) and went on to win all five.