Off The Shelf - Part 2 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Murder She Said

This 1961 film was directed by George Pollock, and co-starred James Robertson Justice, Muriel Pavlow, George Kennedy, Charles Tingwell, Thorley Walters and Stringer Davis (Margaret Rutherford's husband in real life). Interestingly, Joan Hickson, who played a cleaning woman from the local village, went on herself to play Miss Marple in the BBC television series, and is considered to be the definitive Miss Marple. The screenplay took a few liberties with the original novel, although the murderer was the same. Margaret Rutherford was certainly not the Jane Marple that Agatha Christie described in her books, but she's delightful.

Answer: The African Queen

James Agee and John Huston received an Academy Award nomination for adapting C.S. Forester's novel for the screen.
Charlie Allnut captains a small river boat carrying supplies to a mission in Africa run by the Reverend Sayer (Robert Morley) and his sister, Rose (Katherine Hepburn). When war breaks out between Britain and Germany, the mission is attacked by a German patrol and the Rev. Sayer is severely beaten by them, eventually dying of a fever.
Charlie tells Rose about a German gunboat which is running a blockade downriver and Rose persuades Charlie to convert the African Queen, his boat, into a torpedo boat in an attempt to sink the gunboat.
The bulk of the film is taken up with the dangerous trip down to the lake where the gunboat is patrolling.
Bogart and Hepburn have great chemistry together.

Answer: Manhattan Murder Mystery

"Manhattan Murder Mystery" also starred Alan Alda and Angelica Huston as the two friends also involved in investigating the suspected murder.
Mia Farrow was originally intended to star as the wife, but after their split up and acrimonious custody battle Woody approached his long time friend Diane Keaton to take the role.
The ending of the film is a homage to Orson Welles' "Lady From Shanghai", and features the famous shoot-out in the mirror maze.
The film was a critical success, and has come to be regarded as one of Woody's best.

Answer: I Walked With A Zombie

"I Walked With A Zombie" starred Frances Dee, James Ellison and Tom Conway.
The story is based loosely on "Jane Eyre". A young nurse is employed by a plantation owner to care for his wife who has suffered a fever which has left her in a trance-like state. Betsy, the nurse, falls in love with Paul, the husband, but nonetheless is determined to try and cure his wife, even if it means resorting to the practice of Voodoo.
Although the initial critical reaction was rather hostile - the New York Times reviewer called it "A dull, disgusting exaggeration of an abnormal concept of life" - it has now come to be widely regarded as a classic of its genre, and the most successful of the Val Lewton horror films.

Answer: L.A. Confidential

"L.A. Confidential" starred Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, Kim Basinger, Danny DeVito, James Cromwell and David Strathairn.
It was nominated for nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture. However, in one of their frequent lapses in taste, the Academy saw fit to give the award to the vastly inferior "Titanic". (Obviously big box office meant more to them than artistic merit.) As well as Kim Basinger's win, Curtis Hanson and Brian Helgeland won for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Answer: Sense And Sensibility

After the death of their father, the Dashwood sisters and their mother are left in near poverty, owing to their father having left his estate to his clod of a son from an earlier marriage.
Due to the kindness of a cousin of Mrs. Dashwood, the family go to live in a small cottage on his estate.
The film concentrates on the Dashwood sisters Elinor and Marianne, and their various suitors.
Ang Lee directed the film, and it features an array of some of England's finest acting talent, including Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, Alan Rickman, Greg Wise, Robert Hardy, Hugh Laurie, Imelda Staunton and Elizabeth Spriggs.
Although the film differs from the novel in some respects (for example, Emma Thompson is considerably older than the Elinor in the book), it still manages to capture the spirit of Austen, and was a considerable critical and commercial success.
It was the first screen adaptation of a Jane Austen novel since the 1940 version of "Pride And Prejudice" from MGM.

Answer: Sean Connery

Apparently, neither the director nor the book's author initially wanted Sean Connery for the leading role, considering that his identification with James Bond would detract from the film. However, when Connery read for the role the director was so impressed that he cast him. The British Academy were so impressed with him that they gave him a Best Actor BAFTA Award. The film was a critical success worldwide, and although it did poorly at the US box office, it was a success in many foreign markets.
Mr. Connery is, of course, still best known for being the first James Bond, and many still believe that he is the best. However, over the years he proved his versatility in a variety of roles in films as diverse as "Woman Of Straw", "The Hill", "Murder On The Orient Express", The Man Who Would Be King", "Entrapment" and "The "Untouchables" for which he won an Academy Award. Almost hard to believe today that one of his first acting jobs was singing in the chorus in the London production of "South Pacific".
As well as Sean Connery it starred F. Murray Abraham, Christian Slater, Michel Lonsdale and Ron Perlman.

Answer: East Of Eden

"East Of Eden" is loosely based on the Biblical story of Cain and Abel.
Caleb Trask is a troubled young man, resentful because he believes that his father Adam cares more for his brother Aron than for him.
Adam, a deeply religious man, has told his sons that their mother died when they were babies, but Cal has discovered that she is very much alive and is the madam of a brothel in the neighbouring town of Monterey.
When Cal's efforts to please his father are unappreciated, his resentment boils over and he takes his brother to meet their mother, which leads to tragic results.
This was the only one of James Dean's starring films to be released before his death. Many, myself included, see it as by far his best work. He was the first actor to receive a posthumous Oscar nomination for Best Actor (Ernest Borgnine won for "Marty").
"East Of Eden" also starred Julie Harris, Raymond Massey, Richard Davalos (who beat out Paul Newman for the role), Burl Ives and, in a stunning debut performance, Jo Van Fleet, who received a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as the boys' mother.

Answer: North By Northwest

"North By Northwest" was written for the screen by Ernest Lehmann, with a musical score by Bernard Herrmann, Hitchcock's favourite composer. The stunning title sequence was by Saul Bass.
It starred, along with Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason, Leo G. Carroll, Martin Landau and Jessie Royce Landis. (Interesting to note that Jessie Royce Landis, who played Cary grant's mother, was only eight years his senior.)
The film was a considerable success both critically and at the box office, and is widely considered to be one of Hitchcock's masterpieces.
It is the only film that Hitch made for M.G.M.

Answer: The Asphalt Jungle

"The Asphalt Jungle" starred Sterling Hayden, Louis Calhern, Jean Hagen, Sam Jaffe, John McIntire and, in a small but important role as Louis Calhern's mistress, Marilyn Monroe.
The film was generally admired by the critics, but failed to set the box office alight, returning only a relatively small profit.
It is now recognized as one of the finest and most influential films of its genre.