Playing the Same Role, Part 2 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Santa Claus

Edmund Gwenn's portrayal of Santa Claus, in 1947's "Miracle on 34th Street", gave us a sweet old man who stepped into the role of Santa in the annual Thanksgiving Day parade (after the man originally hired to play the role was found drunk). Gwenn's character's sincere belief that he actually was the jolly old elf soon had him defending his sanity in a court of law. In "The Santa Clause" (1994), Tim Allen starred as Scott Calvin, a slick salesman who inadvertently became Santa when he put on the suit, left behind when the previous Santa fell off his roof. Unfortunately Calvin didn't believe in Santa, which was a very scary thing, considering the fate of Christmas rested in his hands.

Answer: Sherlock Holmes

Basil Rathbone was the actor who was most commonly associated with London's brilliant deducer, as well he should have been. Beginning with "The Hound of the Baskervilles" (1939), Rathbone played Holmes in 14 different movies and on various radio programs.
In "Murder By Decree" (1979) Christopher Plummer's version of Holmes unraveled a conspiracy to cover up the identity of the notorious Jack the Ripper.
In "Without a Clue" (1988), Michael Caine gave us a totally different take on Holmes, as a drunken actor, hired by Dr. Watson to play the role of Holmes. Watson, played by Ben Kingsley, was the real brains behind the detective's success. However when Watson tried to unload the baggage that Holmes had become, and make it on his own as The Crime Doctor, he soon found that no one wanted to hear what he had to say.

Answer: Indiana Jones

"Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" (1989), the third of the series, found our intrepid professor in search of the Holy Grail, while trying to keep it out of the hands of the Nazis. But before he could find the Grail, he had to rescue his father who was being held captive by said Nazis.
Before any of this story was told though, we were treated to a chapter from Indy's youth, where he struggled to keep an ancient artifact out if the hands of a private collector. In this vignette we learned where Indy got his trademark hat and whip, the scar on his chin, and his fear of snakes.

Answer: Cruella De Vil

In both the 1961 animated "One Hundred and One Dalmatians" and 1996's "101 Dalamatians", Cruella was an alleged friend of the sweet Anita, whose Dalmatian dogs had a litter of puppies. Intrigued by the beautiful spotted fur on the adult dogs, Cruella attempted to buy the entire litter.

When her offer was refused, she arranged to have 99 Dalmatian puppies (including Anita's litter) kidnapped, with the intention of making a coat out of them.

Answer: King Arthur

The legends surrounding Arthur, crowned king of the Britons by virtue of pulling the sword from the sword, and his magician Merlin, are many. Richard Harris played the role in "Camelot" (19676), Sean Connery was Arthur to Richard Gere's Lancelot in "First Knight" (1995) and Clive Owen donned the crown in "King Arthur" (2004), in which Keira Knightley gave us a new take on Queen Guinevere. Graham Chapman's portrayal of Arthur, in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" (1975), had the great king and his knights skipping around the countryside, looking for the Grail, followed by men clapping coconut halves together to simulate the sound of horses' hooves.

Answer: Clarice Starling

When trying to gather information about a serial killer, an FBI profiler sent trainee Clarice Starling in to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant but psychotic killer. Clarice managed to charm Lecter, who gave her clues about how to track down the killer known as Buffalo Bill, but effecting his escape in the process.

This all occurred in "The Silence of the Lambs" (1991). Years later, in "Hannibal" (2001) Clarice's career wasn't what she'd hoped it would be, and Lecter was still on the loose. Hannibal's attraction to her was still there, and still useful in helping to track him down.

But things didn't proceed as planned! It was rumoured that Foster declined to reprise the role of Starling because of the way the story ended.

Answer: Anakin Skywalker

The story of young Anakin Skywalker, from his discovery as a young boy, destined to restore balance to the universe, to the development of his evil powers as a Sith Lord, and right hand man to the evil Emperor, were chronicled in the "Star Wars" saga. Jake Lloyd gave us the young Anakin in "The Phantom Menace" (1999) while Hayden Christensen portrayed Anakin through his young adulthood, up until he turned to the Dark Side and became Darth Vader in "Attack of the Clones" (2002) and "Revenge of the Sith" (2005). David Prowse gave us the physical embodiment of Vader in "Star Wars" (1977), "The Empire Strikes Back" (1980) and "Return of the Jedi" (1983).

Answer: Inspector Jacques Clouseau

Inspector Clouseau's success at solving the most nefarious of crimes, while remaining curiously unable to see what was happening right under his nose, charmed fans through several films, while inspiring them to mimic his heavily-accented, unusual pronunciations. The character even inspired a cartoon series named after the first film.
The character appeared in "The Pink Panther" (1963), "A Shot in the Dark" (1964), "Return of the Pink Panther" (1975), "The Pink Panther Strikes Again" (1976) and "Revenge of the Pink Panther" (1978). Archived footage of Sellers was used in "Trail of the Pink Panther" (1982), allowing him to appear posthumously.
Steve Martin's 2006 remake of "The Pink Panther" was not nearly as successful.

Answer: Tarzan

The tale of an infant child, left alone by a cruel twist of fate, and raised by apes was one that long fascinated movie-goers, particularly when reintegration into human society was attempted. There have been literally hundreds of other portrayals of the role, both on film and television, in many different languages. Christopher Lambert starred in "Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes".

Answer: Ebenezer Scrooge

Ebenezer Scrooge was a cold-hearted man who cared only for financial gain, until the ghosts of Christmas (past, present and future) showed him what really mattered in life. Dickens' Christmas classic was entitled "A Christmas Carol", and most of the films have been offered up under some variation of that name, or have been simply entitled "Scrooge".

The 1951 Alastair Sim version bears either name, depending where in the world you live, and is one that is well worth watching. Scrooge McDuck played the starring role in the Disney version.