Off The Shelf - Part 5 Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Lavender Hill Mob

"The Lavender Hill Mob" was written by T.E.B. Clarke, and directed by Charles Crichton.
It stars Alec Guinness and Stanley Holloway as the masterminds behind the robbery of a shipment of gold bullion. The gold is melted down and made into Eifel Tower paper weights, which are then smuggled to France. The plan goes awry when some of the paperweights are mistakenly sold.
A highlight is a hilarious chase sequence through the streets of London.
Needless to say, the robbers and their accomplices (Sid James and Alfie Bass) are caught - in the 1950s, crime was never allowed to pay, at least not in films.
Audrey Hepburn, near the beginning of her career, makes a brief appearance early on in the film.
Alec Guinness starred in several of the Ealing Comedies, including "The Man In The White Suit", "The Ladykillers" and most notably in "Kind Hearts And Coronets", in which he played an entire family, all of whom are murdered during the course of the film.

Answer: Martin Scorsese

"Hugo" was directed by Martin Scorsese, and stars Asa Butterfield, Chloe Moretz, Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen, Helen McCrory, Jude Law, Emily Mortimer, Christopher Lee and Ray Winstone.
Hugo Cabret is an orphan, whose father has taught him to repair mechanical devices, in particular an automaton. After his father's death Hugo is taken in by his alcoholic uncle, who teaches him how to repair the clocks at the Gare Montparnasse. Left on his own after his uncle also dies, Hugo, with the help of a girl whom he befriends, finally manages to make the automaton work. When he does, he discovers something wonderful.
"Hugo" was both a critical and box office success, and went on to receive five Academy Awards.
Martin Scorcese has had a long and successful career in cinema, and has directed a number of films which are regarded as among the finest in the history of American cinema. These include "Mean Streets", "Taxi Driver", "Raging Bull", "Goodfellas", "Casino" and "The Departed", for which he received his only Best Director Academy Award. He has also campaigned for the preservation of important films, so that they will not be lost to future generations.

Answer: Moonrise Kingdom

"Moonrise Kingdom" starred Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Frances McDormand, Bill Murray, Bob Balaban, Tilda Swinton, and Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward as Sam and Suzy.
Wesley Wales "Wes" Anderson is a great grandson of Edgar Rice Burroughs, the creator of Tarzan and John Carter Of Mars.
He began making short films with his friends Luke and Owen Wilson.
His first feature, "Bottle Rocket", was based on one of those short films and was co-scripted by Owen Wilson, who also co-scripted "Rushmore" and "The Royal Tenenbaums", for which they received an Academy Award nomination.
Anderson's films are notable for their unique visual style and at times off the wall, deadpan humour. Although successful with critics, none of his films have been major box office hits. However, he has gained a considerable 'cult' status. His first Best Director Oscar nomination was for "The Grand Budapest Hotel", after winning Golden Globes for both Best Picture and Best Director in the Comedy/Musical category.

Answer: Gigi

"Gigi" is a 1958 film which starred Leslie Caron, Maurice Chevalier, Louis Jourdan, Hermione Gingold and Ursula Jeans.
At the 1959 Academy Awards it won for Best Picture, and Vincente Minnelli won his only Best Director award. In all, it won nine Academy Awards (ten, if you count the honorary award given to Maurice Chevalier), which was a record up to that date.
"Gigi" was a considerable success both with the critics and the public, and remains to this day one of the best loved musicals of all time.

Answer: Finding Neverland

"Finding Neverland" is a 2004 film, directed by Marc Forster. It stars Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet, Julie Christie, Dustin Hoffman, Radha Mitchell, Freddie Highmore and Joe Prospero.
The film is adapted from the play "The Man Who Was Peter Pan" by Allan Knee, and concentrates on the friendship between J.M. Barrie (Johnny Depp) and Sylvia Davies (Kate Winslet), the widowed mother of four sons.
Her mother, played by Julie Christie, strongly disapproves of the friendship, seeing Barrie as a bad influence on the boys. Barrie, however, is inspired by their relationship to write what was to become his greatest success, "Peter Pan".
"Finding Neverland" was both a critical and box office success.

Answer: The Killers

"The Killers" starred Burt Lancaster, Ava Gardner (wonderful as a treacherous, two-timing femme fatale), Edmond O'Brien, Sam Levine and Albert Dekker.
The film is told mostly in flashback, as an insurance investigator, played by Edmond O'Brien, investigates the killing of Swede, interviewing the people involved and piecing together the details, finally being able to put together the full story behind the murder. The film's structure is similar to that of "Citizen Kane".
A 1964 remake, starring Lee Marvin, Angie Dickinson and John Cassavetes, was directed by Don Siegel.

Answer: Captain Blood

"Captain Blood" was adapted from a novel by Rafael Sabatini, and was directed by Michael Curtiz.
Robert Donat was originally cast in the title role, but withdrew due to ill health, and the role was given to Errol Flynn who was a relative unknown. His co-star was Olivia de Havilland, also a relative newcomer to films. They were such a successful team that they were co-starred in a further seven films, among them "The Adventures Of Robin Hood" and "They Died With Their Boots On".
The film also starred Lionel Atwill (who also played Professor Moriarty in the "Sherlock Holmes" series of films), Basil Rathbone (who went on to play the villainous Guy of Gisborne in "The Adventures Of Robin Hood") and Ross Alexander.
Flynn and Curtiz worked together a number of times, although it is reported that they had an intense dislike for each other.

Answer: Michelle Williams

"My Week With Marilyn" was directed by Simon Curtis, and based on the book by Colin Clark.
Colin Clark was a young film student, who worked as an assistant to Sir Laurence Olivier during the filming of "The Prince And The Showgirl", and later wrote the book detailing his experiences during the making of the film.
Michelle Williams played Marilyn Monroe, with Kenneth Branagh as Laurence Olivier, Eddie Redmayne as Colin Clark, Judi Dench as Sybil Thorndike and Julia Ormond as Vivien Leigh.
The film received mostly positive reviews and was a moderate box office success.
Michelle Williams began her career at age 14, with small roles in film and television. Her big break came at age 17, when she was cast as one of the leads in "Dawson's Creek".
Since then she has gone on to considerable success, mainly in independent films. She was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for her role in "Brokeback Mountain", and has since received two Best Actress nominations, for "Blue Valentine" opposite Ryan Gosling, and "My Week With Marilyn".
She has a daughter, Matilda Rose, from her relationship with Heath Ledger.

Answer: Harrison Ford

"Witness" was directed by Peter Weir, and starred Harrison Ford, Kelly McGillis, Lukas Haas, Josef Sommer, Alexander Godunov and Danny Glover.
It was nominated for eight Academy Awards, and won two, for Best Original Screenplay and Best Editing. Maurice Jarre's beautiful score won a BAFTA Award.
Harrison Ford's career in films spans six decades, beginning with a number of uncredited bit roles. Feeling that his career was going nowhere, and with a wife and two children to support, Ford took up carpentry. He became friendly with George Lucas while doing some cabinet making for him. Lucas cast him in a supporting role in "American Graffiti", and followed that by casting him as Han Solo in the first "Star Wars" film.
The rest, as they say, is history, with Ford going on to star in a number of the biggest box office films of the past four decades, including the Indiana Jones series, "Air Force One", "The Fugitive" and "Working Girl".

Answer: Bad Day At Black Rock

"Bad Day At Black Rock" starred Spencer Tracy, Robert Ryan, Walter Brennan, Anne Francis, Dean Jagger, John Ericson, Ernest Borgnine and Lee Marvin.
It was a hit with both the critics and the public, and has become a cult favourite. Although it received three Oscar nominations, it was not successful in any of the categories. However, Spencer Tracy received the Best Actor award at the 1955 Cannes Film Festival
John Sturges began his career as a director with "The Man Who Dared" in 1946. His best known films include "Gunfight At The OK Corral", "The Great Escape" and "The Magnificent Seven", a remake of the Kurosawa classic "Seven Samurai". Sturges met Kurosawa, who told him that he liked "The Magnificent Seven" very much, and presented him with a samurai sword. Sturges said that that was the proudest moment of his career. His final film was "The Eagle Has Landed" in 1976.