One-Second Movies Trivia Quiz

Answer: Stalag 17

In a WW II German Stalag (POW camp)Harvey Lembeck as Shapiro and Robert Strauss as Animal disagree on which mouse to bet on in the barracks' pastime of racing mice on a tiny track. This Billy Wilder classic provided William Holden with his Oscar-winning role as Sefton.

Answer: Sunset Boulevard

In another Wilder gem, Holden as screenwriter Joe Gillis is on his way to a formal affair with Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson), a one-time movie star who has become his sugar mama. They stop at a drug store and she asks him to go in and buy cigarettes for her.

Inside, he meets friend and fellow screenwriter Artie Green played by Jack Webb, and Joe is embarrassed about his present circumstances.

Answer: North by Northwest

Grant plays Roger Thornhill, an ad exec who some sinister men think is a man named Mr. Kaplan. He gets involved in intrigue and is sought for murder. Saint (a blonde of course, in the Hitchcock tradition) is Eve Kendall, the mystery woman who may be on either side of the law. They wind up on the same train from NYC to Chicago.

Answer: The Shawshank Redemption

Tim Robbins as Andy Dufresne is doing a long stretch in Shawshank Prison for murdering his wife. Fellow convict and friend Red (Morgan Freeman) is able to get just about anything for fellow cons. Andy asks him for a geologist's hammer. We don't find out until much later what the hammer is for.

Answer: Forrest Gump

Forrest (Tom Hanks of course) is in the midst of his epic cross-country-and-back run. One very short clip shows Forrest running toward a lighthouse, probably in New England, indicating that he has reached the east coast. In this shot, Forrest was probably played by a double to save money since he was seen only from the back.

Answer: The Graduate

Near the end of "The Graduate" Dustin Hoffman drives from L.A. to Berkeley to find Elaine, but he finds out she's getting married in (I think) Santa Barbara. He drives there but runs out of gas and has to run (he's a track star) to the church for the famous final scene.

Answer: Lawrence of Arabia

In WW I, Peter O'Toole as T. E. Lawrence leads Arab forces allied with England against the Turks. They derail a military supply train and rob it. O'Toole, wearing white native clothes, walks on top of the train exulting in his victory. O'Toole gave the performance of his life in this brilliant film by David Lean.

Answer: Cool Hand Luke

Paul Newman gave a signature performance as Luke Jackson in this story of chain gang cons in the deep South. In one scene, they're doing road work when they spot a young lady washing a car nearby. They stare at her hungrily as she even uses parts of her body as sponges. George Kennedy played Dragline for a supporting actor Oscar.

Answer: Bullitt

In possibly the best car chase scene ever filmed, Steve McQueen as detective Bullitt chases two hit men up and down the hills of San Francisco, around curves, slamming over bumps, narrowly missing other cars, in a masterpiece of stunt driving, photography, and editing. This chase set a standard that has never been surpassed, even though "The French Connection" came close.

Answer: Pulp Fiction

The small talk between hit men Samuel Jackson and John Travolta as they drive to do some business is, oddly enough, one of the highlights of the movie. At one point, Travolta tells Jackson that they put mayonnaise on their fries in Holland and that in Paris a Quarter Pounder with Cheese is called a Royale with Cheese and the Big Mac is known as Le Big Mac.