Silent Films of the 1900s Trivia Quiz

Answer: Joan of Arc

While Jeanne Calvière portrayed the titular character, Georges Méliès portrayed seven characters including Joan's father and one of her jailers in the 19 minute film. The film emphasized Joan's role as a national hero for France. This film featured twelve scenes, each on a distinct, relatively detailed set. The print I viewed appeared to have details hand-tinted, which made for an interesting look as something or someone that was colored in one frame might not be in the next. Calvière had been employed as a stable woman, which may have been useful in a film that included several horses.

The Christian cross in the picture was meant to suggest Joan, who was the more distinctly religious figure among the four. The historic Joan said that she was following God's instructions.

Answer: Fire!

The film took place at a vacant house called Ivy Lodge and ran slightly less than five minutes. The film showed a coherent story across several scenes and built tension by providing the audience with more information than the characters in the film had. James Williamson (1858-1933) also directed "The Big Swallow", which pioneered extreme closeups.

The picture shows a thermometer reading a high temperature, suggesting the intense heat of the fire.

Answer: An eye

"A Trip to the Moon" runs for between nine and eighteen minutes, depending on the speed at which the film is run. The iconic image from the film is the moon looking unhappy as the rocket is stuck in its right eye. While the nose and mouth are also visible on the moon's face, the ears are not seen. Inspired by the works of Jules Verne and other sources, this film may be the best known of all of the films directed by Méliès. The Earthlings who land on the moon first fight and then are captured by the Selenites (moon inhabitants).

The picture shows a pair of eyeglasses. Perhaps these glasses would have kept the moon safe from being struck with the rocket.

Answer: An actor points a gun directly at the audience.

"The Great Train Robbery", running at about 12 minutes, is one of the early US films to tell an extended, coherent narrative. Bandits force a telegraph operator to signal for a train to stop, which they board to steal the valuables. A posse trails the bandits to their hideout where a shootout occurs. Justus Barnes portrays the leader of the bandits who fires point blank into the camera. The shot usually is at the end of the film, but Edwin Porter felt that it would also work at the beginning of the film.

The picture shows a gray bullet shortly after it was fired from the gun.

Answer: Westinghouse

Gottfried Wilhelm Bitzer (1872-1944) filmed the collection (now known as Westinghouse Works) in April any May 1904. The collection, including such subjects as "Assembling a Generator" and "Testing Large Turbines" was shown at the Westinghouse Auditorium at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, MO. One interesting feature of the series was that, compared to many earlier films which were filmed mostly or entirely at eye level, these films featured different angles such as overhead shots. It is interesting that the collection is 21 short films, but indications are that at least 29 films were made.

The picture shows a compass with the arrow pointing to the west.

Answer: Kidnapping

Cecil Hepworth (1874=1953) used his own dog Blair to portray Rover and his daughter Barbara to portray the kidnapped child. In "Rescued by Rover", the titular dog is able to track down the location of the kidnapped child to a particular home in a rough neighborhood and return with the child's father (Hepworth himself) who completed the rescue. Considered one of the first action films in British cinema, the entire film needed to be shot twice because of the sheer number of prints of the film that were made for screenings. Demand on the first print caused it to literally wear out.

The picture shows a larger stick figure dragging another stick figure behind it.

Answer: Ned Kelly and the Kelly Gang

At the time that Charles Tait (1868-1933) filmed "The Story of the Kelly Gang", there were still many people alive who had seen or met infamous outlaw Ned Kelly, who had been hanged in 1880. The film ran for slightly longer than one hour and contained 4,000 feet of film. The movie was an early example of a bushranging drama, a common type of film in early Australian cinema. The film is estimated to have cost about 1,000 Australian pounds to make and was filmed over a period of about six months.

The picture shows the image of a shamrock, reflecting the idea that both of Ned Kelly's parents were natives of Ireland.

Answer: Lions

"Løvejagten" (The Lion Hunt), by Viggo Larsen (1880-1957) ran for about 10 minutes. The movie was filmed in Denmark, with several scenes filmed at the Copenhagen Zoo (using specific angles). The killing of the captive lions was done on the island of Elleore, which was dressed to look like a tropical setting. The Danish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was actually able to have the film banned in Denmark for over a year.

The picture shows the suggestion of a mane surrounding a lion's face.

Answer: Mr. Hyde

Otis Turner (1862-1918) directed "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" in which Hobart Bosworth played the dual title roles and Bettye Harte portrayed Alice. Ultimately based on the 1886 short novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, it was more directly connected to a four act stage play written in 1897. As a connection to this, the 16 minute film begins with a curtain rising and ends with a curtain setting. This is considered a lost film.

The picture shows two stick figures suggesting the Jekyll and Hyde sides of Hobart Bosworth's character.

Answer: Pie in the Face

"Mr. Flip" was directed by "Broncho Billy" Anderson (1880-1971) and starred Ben Turpin. The four minute short features a man who flirts with a series of women in different settings. In the final scene, he enters a restaurant and has a waitress plant a pie in his face by hand, rather than throwing it at him. In the penultimate scene, when he is in a bar, he flirts with the attendant and is sprayed by a seltzer bottle, another physical/slapstick comedy standby.

The picture shows a pie tin which might have contained the pie.