One Name Title Movies of the Forties Quiz

Answer: Bluebeard

"Bluebeard" was a low-budget 1944 release involving the murders of women in Paris. The killer was a puppeteer and painter who lured girls to pose as portrait models and then strangled them with a tie when the portrait was completed. John Carradine, Nils Asther and Jean Parker were cast in the film.
"Fantasia" was a groundbreaking 1940 release from Disney that combined classical music with animation.
"Pinocchio" was the second Disney full-length animated feature released in 1940.
The Disney animated film, "Dumbo" was released the following year. Disney partnered with RKO Radio Pictures for the distribution of the animated features.

Answer: Laurence Olivier

Lawrence Olivier starred as Hamlet and directed the feature. He also dubbed the voice of the ghost by recording a vocal track and slightly slowing the speed. The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture and for Best Actor. Eileen Herlie was cast as Queen Gertrude although she was only 28 years old and Olivier was 13 years her senior.

She would go on to have a regular role on the television soap opera. "All My Children" (1970). Jean Simmons was cast as Ophelia. William Walton wrote the musical score for the film. British actor Basil Rathbone was known for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes in film. Basil Sydney was cast as Claudius in "Hamlet".

Answer: Ingrid Bergman

Ingrid Bergman played Bogart's former lover Ilsa Lund. She re-entered his life when she came into his bar with her husband, played by Paul Henreid. They required letters of transport to get out of the country. Bogart eventually helped them to escape. Bergman had previously worked on several films in her native Sweden and had recently completed playing Ivy Peterson in "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" in 1941 before being cast in "Casablanca". Before Bergman was cast as Ilsa Ann Sheridan and Hedy Lamarr were among the actresses considered. Lauren Bacall worked with Bogart in films including "To Have and Have Not" (1944).

Hepburn and Bogart took a boat down an African river in "The African Queen" in 1951 and Mary Astor worked with Bogart in "The Maltese Falcon" the year before "Casablanca" was released.

Answer: Laurel and Hardy

"Jitterbugs" was a 1943 Laurel and Hardy film that cast the duo as con men selling gas pills during the gas-shortages caused by WW II. They met up with some girls who had been swindled and came to their aid. "Jitterbugs" was the pair's 18th feature film.

They had also appeared in shorts and in guest roles on several films beginning in 1921, when they worked together on a short called "Lucky Dogs". They weren't paired again until 1927 when they did a short silent film called "Duck Soup". Two years after "Jitterbugs" the duo took a hiatus from films and concentrated on doing stage work.

After a 1954 appearance on "This is Your Life" there were plans for them to star in their own series, but health concerns shelved the project.

Answer: Joan Crawford

Joan Crawford starred as the nurse who was obsessed with her former boyfriend. Bette Davis was originally offered the role but declined so she could take maternity leave. Crawford's character was a home nurse to a woman who was a neighbor to her former boyfriend, played by Van Heflin.

Heflin's character was uncomfortable about Crawford's overbearing crush on him. After her ward died, the plot thickened when the widower asked Crawford to marry him after Heflin rebuffed her. In the tragic ending Crawford's character eventually killed Heflin's character. Crawford personally did research in mental hospitals to prepare for the role.

She was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress.

Answer: She was shot by a hunter.

Disney adapted "Bambi" from a book titled "Bambi, A Life in the Woods" written by Felix Salten. His mother's name was never revealed in the movie, but she was shot by hunters when Bambi was young. Bambi's father broke the news to him when they reached safety.

The following spring his bunny friend Thumper and skunk pal Flower found mates and Bambi met a doe named Faline. They were threatened by fire and a pack of dogs as the movie developed. Although Bambi was wounded by a hunter, he survived and in the finale Faline gave birth. The artists involved studied the behavior and movements of deer at the Los Angeles zoo and other artists visited New England to create authentic animated forests.

Answer: Oil working

"Tulsa" paired Susan Hayward with Robert Preston and was narrated by Chill Wills. The central plot of the film dealt with Hayward's character seeking revenge for her father's death at the Tanner Oil Company. She enlisted the assistance of an engineer and eventually their quest for revenge became a quest for wealth and power. Ed Begley, Pedro Armendária and Lloyd Gough were also cast in the film. Hayward's first credited role was with Preston in the 1939 film, "Beau Geste". Preston will be remembered for playing Professor Harold Hill in "The Music Man" (1962). Hayward won an Academy Award for her role in the 1958 film, "I Want to Live".

Answer: Gene Tierney

Otto Preminger directed Gene Tierney in "Laura". It was Tierney's 12th feature film role. She had worked in five Broadway productions before working in films. Her first major role was opposite Henry Fonda in "The Return of Frank James" (1940). In 1943 her co-star in "Laura", Dana Andrews, had worked with Henry Fonda in "The Ox-Bow Incident". Clifton Webb and Vincent Price also appeared in "Laura". Dana Andrews played a police officer investigating Laura's death.

He became obsessed with her while learning about her during the investigation. Laura visited him one night and it was determined that the victim of the killing was actually a different woman. Judith Anderson had the role of Laura's aunt, Ann Treadwell. Dorothy Adams played Laura's housekeeper named Bessie Clary. Josephine Hull was in "Arsenic and Old Lace" with Cary Grant in 1944.

Answer: Detour

"Detour" was released in 1945 and starred Tom Neal and Ann Savage. Edgar G. Ulmer directed the film about a hitchhiker who was picked up by a man in a convertible. The man let Tom Neal's character drive and suddenly died while a passenger in the car. Neal robbed him and took his car, leaving him in a ditch. Ann Savage's character blackmailed him. When he refused to impersonate the driver in order to get an inheritance he strangled her. In the conclusion he was picked up by police. In 1992 a remake was done starring Tom Neal's son.
"Notorious" was a 1946 Alfred Hitchcock film starring Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman and Claude Rains.
In 1941 Alfred Hitchcock released "Rebecca" with Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine.
Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck were among the cast of the 1945 Hitchcock release, "Spellbound".

Answer: Pinky

Dorothy Dandrige and Lena Horne were among the actresses considered for the lead role in "Pinky". Jeanne Crain ended up getting the role and Ethel Barrymore, Ethel Waters and Nina Mae McKinney were also among the the cast. The film was so controversial that a theater owner who showed the film in his Texas theater had to take his Board of Censors conviction to the Supreme Court, where a landmark ruling determined that First Amendment protection applied to films. The film depicted Pinky falling in love with a doctor, who maintained his love for her when he learned she was of black parentage. The relationship caused problems within the black side of her family. Despite the controversy, "Pinky" was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for Crain and Best Actress in a Supporting Role for both Ethel Barrymore and Ethel Waters.
"Unconquered" was a 1947 film starring Gary Cooper and Paulette set during the Indian wars of the mid-eighteenth century.
"Battleground" was a 1949 WW II film about the Battle of the Bulge in World War II that starred Van Johnson, Ricardo Montalban and James Whitmore.
"Hired" was a 1940 two-part film produced as a training film for sales managers.