Scotland at the Movies Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Master of Ballantrae

The brothers of "The Master of Ballantrae" (1953) were Jamie and Henry Durie, played respectively by Errol Flynn and Anthony Steel. The conflict arose when one supported Bonnie Prince Charlie's claim to the throne of Scotland in the 18th century, and the other did not.

After a number of misunderstandings, sword fights, consorting with pirates and more, the brothers eventually worked things out. The supporting cast included Roger Livesey, Mervyn Johns and Felix Aylmer.

Answer: The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

Maggie Smith won a Best Actress Oscar for playing the eponymous schoolteacher in this marvellous 1969 film, set in Edinburgh in the 1930s. Her girls, Miss Brodie would tell you were the 'creme de la creme', hand-picked by her to enjoy learning about life, love and much more under her tutelage. There were men in her life too, portrayed by Robert Stephens and Gordon Jackson.

Rod McKuen's song "Jean" won a Golden Globe, and was nominated for an Oscar, losing the latter to "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" from "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid".

Answer: Whisky Galore!

"Whisky Galore!" (1949), also known as "Tight Little Island", was based on a true tale of a shipwreck off one of the isles of the Outer Hebrides during World War II. As it happened, the ship was carrying quite a lot of whisky, a treat that had become rare during hostilities. The inhabitants of the island made the most of this windfall, and the resulting movie was quite delightful. The cast included Gordon Jackson, Wylie Watson, John Gregson, James Robertson Justice and many others.

It had a BAFTA nomination for Best British Film, but lost to "The Third Man".

Answer: The 39 Steps

"The 39 Steps", based on the novel by John Buchan, has been made into a movie more than once. Alfred Hitchcock's 1935 version starred Robert Donat as man on the run Richard Hannay, and John Laurie as the crusty Scots crofter whose wife (Peggy Ashcroft) was more helpful than he was. Hannay travelled around Scotland (sometimes handcuffed to a pretty woman - Madeleine Carroll in this version) as he tried to solve the mystery of the thirty-nine steps.

Other versions starred Kenneth More (1959) and Robert Powell (1978) and had slightly varying plot lines.

Answer: Tunes of Glory

The two officers who locked horns over how best to run the regiment in "Tunes of Glory" (1960) were Lieutenant Colonel Basil Barrow (John Mills) and Major Jock Sinclair (Alec Guinness). Barrow was strictly "by the book" whilst Sinclair, who had been acting commanding officer until Barrow's appointment, was more unconventional, valuing tradition over spit and polish. With their constant clashes, something had to give - and eventually it did.

Besides Mills and Guinness, the cast included Gordon Jackson, Dennis Price, John Fraser and Susannah York. The film was nominated for one Academy Award, for its screenplay, losing to "Elmer Gantry".

Answer: Braveheart

Mel Gibson directed and starred in "Braveheart" (1995), playing Scots hero William Wallace in an energetic if less than historically accurate performance. Patrick McGoohan portrayed the English king who was his foe, with Angus Macfadyen as Robert the Bruce and Brendan Gleeson and Ian Bannen in other roles. Wallace and his fellows rebelled against English rule and fought valiantly, if less than successfully, for their "Freedom!" as Wallace roared at one point in the action.

The film won five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director (Gibson), and was nominated for five more.

Answer: Geordie

"Geordie" (1955), also known as "Wee Geordie", was a delightful film about a scrawny youngster, named Geordie MacTaggart who became tired of being teased about his size and determined to improve his strength and stature, so undertook a mail-order bodybuilding course. The wee lad played by Paul Young grew up to be the strapping young man played by Bill Travers, who displayed a talent for throwing things, in particular large hammers. Encouraged by the local laird (Alastair Sim), Geordie was selected to compete in the Olympic games held in Melbourne, Australia where he insisted on wearing his kilt both in the opening ceremonies and to compete. It seemed he was under the impression that he was representing not Britain, but Scotland!

Other members of the cast were Norah Gorsen as Geordie's grown-up childhood friend, Jean, as well as Miles Malleson, Duncan Macrae and Raymond Huntley.

Answer: Brigadoon

"Brigadoon" (1954) was about a mysterious Scottish village of that name that only appeared once every hundred years, for only a day, before the villagers went back to sleep for another century. It happened to appear just as two Americans lost their way while hunting, and stumbled into the town. Jeff (Van Johnson) was eager to be on their way back to civilisation, but Tommy (Gene Kelly) became entranced with Fiona Campbell (Cyd Charisse), knowing that he'd never be able to forget her.

The wonderful music by Lerner and Loewe included "The Heather on the Hill", "I'll Go Home with Bonnie Jean" and "Almost Like Being in Love".

Answer: I Know Where I'm Going

Directed and written by the team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, "I Know Where I'm Going" (1945) was essentially a love story set in the wild Scottish islands called the Hebrides. Wendy Hiller played the young woman who set out for the islands to marry her fiance, but ended up falling in love with a different man (Roger Livesey) whilst storm-stayed on the island of Mull.

Other cast members included Finlay Currie and Walter Hudd.

Answer: Trainspotting

Based on the novel by Irvine Welsh and directed by Danny Boyle, "Trainspotting" (1996) had very little (if anything) to do with trains. Ewan McGregor starred as the young man trying to kick his drug habit, and a number of now-familiar faces made up his group of friends, including Jonny Lee Miller who went on to star in "Elementary" on TV and Kevin McKidd who went on to play a doctor on the series "Grey's Anatomy".

In 2017 many of the cast and crew reunited to make "T2 Trainspotting".