Oscar Winning Films - The Second Decade Quiz | Movies

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The 1940 Best Picture winner was the only film directed by Alfred Hitchcock to win the Oscar for Best Picture. A shy young woman marries a rich widower, whom she mistakenly believes to be still in love with his dead wife. What was this gothic romance, from the novel by Daphne Du Maurier?

Answer: Rebecca

"Rebecca" was nominated for a total of eleven Oscars, but won only Best Picture and Best Black and White Cinematography.
It starred Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, Judith Anderson and George Sanders.
Although he is now considered to be one of the greatest directors of all time, Alfred Hitchcock never won a Best Director Oscar.

2. The Best Picture winner for 1941 centered around a family living in a Welsh mining village. It was adapted from a best selling novel by Richard Llewellyn, and was directed by John Ford. What was the name of this film?

Answer: How Green Was My Valley

"How Green Was My Valley" starred Walter Pidgeon, Maureen O'Hara, Donald Crisp, Sara Allgood and Roddy McDowell.
The story is told largely from the point of view of Huw Morgan, the youngest son of a large mining family, and played by Roddy McDowell. The climax and highlight of the film is the mine disaster in which young Huw loses not only his father but his innocence.
It was nominated for ten Academy Awards, and won in four categories: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Donald Crisp) and Best Black and White Cinematography.
There are those today who consider it somewhat of a scandal that it won Best Picture ahead of "Citizen Kane", "The Maltese Falcon", "Suspicion" and "Sergeant York", all of which have certainly stood the test of time better than this.

3. For which 1941 Best Picture nominee, based on the novel "Before The Fact" by Francis Iles, and directed by Alfred Hitchcock, did Joan Fontaine win a Best Actress Oscar? A shy young woman is romanced by a charming man whom she meets on a train, but after they are married she begins to suspect him of being a murderer.

Answer: Suspicion

"Suspicion" was nominated for three Oscars, but Joan Fontaine was the only winner, and was the only actress ever to win an Oscar in a Hitchcock film.
It also starred Cary Grant, Cedric Hardwicke, Nigel Bruce, May Whitty and Isabel Jeans.
Apparently Hitchcock wanted to make the Cary Grant character a murderer, but was overruled by the studio and had to change the ending.

4. The 1942 Best Picture winner was set in rural England during World War II, and was a huge morale booster for both British and American audiences. Greer Garson won a Best Actress Oscar for playing the title role. What was the name of this picture, which broke box office records?

Answer: Mrs. Miniver

"Mrs. Miniver" was directed by William Wyler, and starred Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Theresa Wright, May Whitty, Reginald Owen and Henry Travers.
It was nominated for Oscars in twelve categories and won in six, including Best Picture, Director, Actress and Supporting Actress.
Financially it was M.G.M.'s most successful film to that date.

5. Which 1942 musical biopic and Best Picture nominee featured a scene in which James Cagney danced down the stairs of the White House?

Answer: Yankee Doodle Dandy

"Yankee Doodle Dandy" was a biography of George M. Cohan, who was hugely popular in the early years of the 20th Century as a composer, lyricist, playwrite, actor, dancer, singer and producer. He was known in his day as 'Mr. Broadway'.
The film was a huge hit for Warner Brothers.
It was directed by Michael Curtiz (surely one of the most versatile directors in Hollywood history), and starred James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston and Rosemary DeCamp.
Nominated for Oscars in seven categories, it won in three, including a Best Actor award for Cagney.

6. Widely considered to be one of the finest romantic dramas of all time, the Best Picture winner for 1943 was adapted from a play called "Everybody Comes to Rick's", and was set in the city of its title. What is this film, in which Humphrey Bogart did not say 'Play it again, Sam'?

Answer: Casablanca

"Casablanca" was directed by Michael Curtiz, and starred Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Peter Lorre and Sidney Greenstreet.
Nominated for eight Oscars, it won three, including Best Picture and Best Director.
It's also probably one of the most quoted films of all time: 'Round up the usual suspects', 'We'll always have Paris', 'I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship', to name just a few.
(Just think - rumour had it that Jack Warner originally wanted to cast Ronald Reagan, Anne Sheridan and Dennis Morgan in the leads.)

7. Barry Fitzgerald made Oscar history when he became the first and only actor ever to be nominated for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor Oscars for the same role in the same film. What was the name of this 1944 Best Picture winner, in which he and Bing Crosby played priests?

Answer: Going My Way

"Going My Way" was directed by Leo McCarey, and starred Bing Crosby, Barry Fitzgerald, Frank McHugh and James Brown.
It was nominated for ten Academy Awards, and won in seven categories, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor.
The fact that it tends to wallow in maudlin sentimentality is something that today's audiences may find somewhat off-putting.

8. Set in Edwardian London, this Best Picture nominee for 1944 was a thriller about a man trying to send his wife insane, so that he can search the house they live in for some valuable jewels for which he murdered her aunt years before. Released in the U.K. as "Murder In Thornton Square", it is better known by its original US title, what is this film?

Answer: Gaslight

"Gaslight" was directed by George Cukor, and starred Charles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman, Joseph Cotten, May Whitty and an eighteen year old Angela Lansbury in her film debut.
The film was nominated for seven Oscars, but won just two: Best Actress (Ingrid Bergman) and Best Art Direction.
Four years previously, Patrick Hamilton's play had been filmed by Thorold Dickinson, with Anton Walbrook and Diana Wynyard in the leads. Before the release of their version, M.G.M. attempted to buy up all copies of the original version and have them destroyed. Fortunately they did not succeed.

9. The Best Picture winner for 1945 was the story of an alcoholic writer, played by Ray Milland. It was directed by Billy Wilder. What was the name of this multi award winner?

Answer: The Lost Weekend

Billy Wilder's film "The Lost Weekend" covers three years in the life of an alcoholic writer, played by Ray Milland, and climaxes with his going on a weekend long alcoholic binge. The film also stars Jane Wyman as Milland's long suffering girlfriend, who nonetheless stands by him.
The film, which still packs a powerful dramatic punch today, was written by Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett.
Nominated for seven Oscars, it won in four categories: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Art Direction.
Rather amusingly, Miklos Rozsa, who was nominated for Best Musical Score, lost to himself - he was also nominated for "Spellbound", and won for that.

10. Winning the Best Picture Award for 1946 was a film which told the story of three ex servicemen adjusting to civilian life after having served in World War II. It was a huge success both critically and financially, and was the first Best Picture winner not to be produced by a major studio. What was the name of this film?

Answer: The Best Years of Our Lives

"The Best Years of Our Lives" was produced by Samuel Goldwyn and directed by William Wyler, who won his second Best Director award in five years for it.
The film starred Myrna Loy, Fredric March, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, Virginia Mayo and Harold Russell. Harold Russell was a non-professional actor who had lost both hands while serving overseas.
Nominated for eight Academy Awards, the film won in seven categories, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Fredric March) and Best Supporting Actor (Harold Russell). Sam Goldwyn was given the Irving Thalberg Memorial Award, and Harold Russell was given an honorary award, making him the only actor to win two Oscars for the same role.

11. The Best Picture winner for 1947 was controversial, in that it dealt with the subject of anti-Semitism in America. Starring Gregory Peck as a writer who poses as Jewish in order to expose anti-Semitic practices, what is the name of this film?

Answer: Gentlemen's Agreement

Daryl Zanuck decided to make the film after having been refused membership of the Los Angeles Country Club. It was assumed, wrongly, that he was Jewish.
Gregory Peck was warned that if he accepted the leading role it could endanger his career.
It was also assumed that the film could run into censorship problems, due to the fact that Joseph Breen, Who was in charge of the Hays Office, held strong anti-Semitic views himself.
However, the film was a considerable success, and went on to be nominated for eight Academy Awards, winning in three categories - Best Picture, Best Director (Elia Kazan) and Best Supporting Actress (Celeste Holm).
"Gentlemen's Agreement" also starred Dorothy McGuire, John Garfield and Anne Revere.

12. Also a Best Picture nominee for 1947 was an adaptation of a novel by Charles Dickens, directed by David Lean and starring John Mills. John Mills played Pip, an orphan living in humble circumstances, who discovers that he has a mysterious benefactor who makes it possible for him to go to London and become a gentleman. What was this film, considered by many to be the finest screen adaptation of a Dickens novel?

Answer: Great Expectations

"Great Expectations" was the first of two films based on novels by Charles Dickens to be directed by David Lean - the other was "Oliver Twist" in 1949.
It starred John Mills, Valerie Hobson, Jean Simmons, Martita Hunt, Bernard Miles, Finlay Currie and Alec Guinness.
Nominated for five Academy Awards, it won in two categories, Art Direction and Cinematography.

13. The winner for 1948 was the first British film to win a Best Picture Oscar. An adaptation of one of Shakespeare's greatest tragedies, directed by Lawrence Olivier, who also played the title role, what was this film?

Answer: Hamlet

"Hamlet" was adapted for the screen by Lawrence Olivier, who also directed and starred in it.
It also starred Eileen Herlie, Basil Sydney, Felix Aylmer, Jean Simmons and Terence Morgan.
"Hamlet" was nominated for Oscars in seven categories and won in four, including Best Picture and Best Actor (Olivier).
Interesting to note that Eileen Herlie, who played Olivier's mother in the film, was actually twelve years his junior.

14. Unusually, two British films were nominated for Best Picture of 1948. The second was based loosely on a story by Hans Christian Anderson, and was set in the world of ballet. What was this film, which was produced and directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger?

Answer: The Red Shoes

"The Red Shoes" starred Moira Shearer, Anton Walbrook and Marius Goring, with the central ballet choreographed by Robert Helpmann.
Martin Scorsese has named it as one of his favourite films, considering it, and Jean Renoir's "The River", to be the two most beautiful colour films of all time.
Powell and Pressburger were hugely influential film makers. Their films include "49th Parallel", "The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp", "A Matter of Life and Death", "Black Narcissus", "I Know Where I'm Going" and "A Canterbury Tale", all of which are considered to be among the finest achievements of British film making.
"The Red Shoes" was nominated for five Academy Awards, and won in two categories.

15. The Best Picture winner for 1949 was adapted from a Pulitzer Prize winning novel about a ruthless and corrupt Southern politician, a character based on a real life Governor of Louisiana. Name this film.

Answer: All the King's Men

"All the King's Men" was written, produced and directed by Robert Rossen. It starred Broderick Crawford, John Ireland, Joanne Dru, John Derek and Mercedes McCambridge.
It was adapted from the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Robert Penn Warren, which in its turn was based on the life and eventual assassination of Louisiana State Governor Huey Long.
It was nominated for seven Academy Awards, and won in three categories: Best Picture, Best Actor (Broderick Crawford) and Best Supporting Actress (Mercedes McCambridge).

Source: Author Coriolanus

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor LadyCaitriona before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Oscar Winning Films - The Second Decade Quiz

As with the first quiz in this series, all of the films in this quiz were nominated for Best Picture Oscars. Those that did not win often won in other categories. The quiz covers the period from 1940 - 1949. Have fun.

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