Stars in Movies by the Numbers Quiz

Answer: 12 Monkeys

Willis plays a convict who ends up in an asylum after travelling in time to stop a devastating plague. Terry Gilliam, of "Monty Python" fame, directed it. Other non-Python movies directed by Gilliam include "Brazil", "The Fisher King", and "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas".

Answer: 18 Again

George Burns was 92 at the time and playing a character eleven years his junior! In the film, he switched bodies with his 18 year-old grandson on their mutual birthday. This was one of several body-switching movies released at that time. The grandson was played by Charlie Schlatter (pre-"Diagnosis Murder").

Answer: Butterfield 8

At that time, phone numbers were always given as a word with three, later five, digits after it. The first two letters of the word corresponded with the first two digits of the phone number. So "Butterfield 8" stood for B-U-8 (288), the extention number clients requested to reach the "call girl" played by Taylor.

Answer: James Mason

It was based on Jules Verne's classic novel, which had been published eighty-four years prior to the film's release. Five years later, Mason starred in the film version of another Verne novel, "Journey to the Center of the Earth". The other three men listed were all popular actors at that time, and all appeared on "I Love Lucy." Mason did not. His next movie after "Leagues" was "Forever Darling". The stars of that film? Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz!

Answer: The 39 Steps

It was based on a 1915 book by John Buchan, who featured the hero of "The 39 Steps", Richard Hannay, in four subsequent novels. In this first story, Hannay must investigate a spy ring while on the run for a crime he did not commit. The movie was remade in 1959 and 1978, but chances are if you catch it on PBS, or a cable network other than BBC, you'll be seeing the original classic.

Answer: Thir13een Ghosts

Tony Shalhoub plays a widower with a teenage daughter and a young boy in this remake of a little-known cult film from 1960. There are some ghosts already living there, many who aren't friendly at all. Embeth is the mysterious ghostbuster who may know the secret behind the house and its inhabitants. F. Murray Abraham is the relative who leaves the house in his will.

This movie tried to lure younger viewers by featuring co-star Shannen Elizabeth of "American Pie" fame in its ads.

Answer: Fahrenheit 451

Like "1984", the film is set in a society where independent thought has been abolished. Werner is a firefighter whose job it is to actually start fires, by burning books. He meets Christie's character, a subversive book hoarder, and begins to re-examine his whole way of life. The film was based on Ray Bradbury's 1951 novel.

Answer: A Thousand Clowns

Robards reprised a Broadway stage role in this wonderful bittersweet comedy about a boy who must go to live with his unconventional, anti-establishment uncle. (Think of Auntie Mame crossed with Oscar Madison.) Christine Lahti played a female version in a similar story, "Housekeeping" (1987), another cult favorite.

Answer: James Stewart

The title is another one of those old-fashioned phone numbers. Stewart's other suspense film that year, "Rope", may have gotten more attention at the time because it was directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Over time, however, critics have tended to favor this film, which was also based on a true story.

Answer: Series 7

This low-budget movie was filmed as a game show in which the contestants are given guns to hunt each other down! Smith plays Dawn, the pregnant reigning champion. This satire is played completely and chillingly straight. Ten years earlier, Smith played the young woman trapped in the well in "The Silence of the Lambs".