The Absent-Minded Professor Trivia Quiz

Answer: Charlie

Charlie, the tolerant dog, was a small shaggy-coated canine. He kept the Professor company in the garage where the experiments took place.

Answer: a trumpet

Brainard pours what looks like wine into a stemmed goblet and tries to shatter the glass by blowing loud blasts on a trumpet. He only succeeds in cracking the lens in a student's eyeglasses.

Answer: Wynn

Ed Wynn, Keenan Wynn and Ned Wynn, three generations of actors, played a fire chief, a loan shark and a boy bystander, respectively. Having Ed play the fire chief was an inside joke since he played such a named character when he worked in radio.

Answer: English

Both professors are pursuing Betsy Carlisle (Nancy Olson), the secretary to Medfield College's President Daggett (Leon Ames). Ashton's (Elliott Reid) smug and patronizing attitude would probably make any movie viewer root for Professor Brainard. Ahston teaches English at rival Rutland College and uses his knowledge to quote romantic lines to Miss Carlisle.

Answer: Tommy Kirk

Biff doesn't seem as ruthless as his father (Keenan Wynn) and is somewhat diffident about going along with his dad in the elder Hawk's pecuniary schemes. Like most teenage boys, he's more interested in girls, sports and food (he is often shown eating an apple). Tommy Kirk appeared in almost a dozen Disney films including "Old Yeller" (1957), "The Shaggy Dog" (1959) and "The Monkey's Uncle" (1965).

Answer: He saw Brainard flying in a car.

Hawk was a very wealthy man, but being avaricious, always wanted more. When he found that the Professor would not sell his discovery to him, he plotted to steal the professor's Model-T jalopy, which Brainard had rigged up to work (and fly) with flubber as fuel, and sell the invention to the government for millions of dollars (remember this was the early 1960s).

Answer: Neddy the Nut

Most students and faculty thought Professor Brainard was a little "off" in some ways. He was just preoccupied with his science experiments, which is why he had so much trouble with romance. When Hawk saw Ned and his flying car, Biff told him it was "Neddy the Nut", but Hawk says, "That nut is a genius!"

Answer: no

From clues given by characters' dialogue, the Professor and Betsy tried to get married twice before this. When the Professor gets sidetracked by his discovery and misses his wedding for the third time, Betsy becomes understandably upset ("I say 'Three strikes and you're out!'") and calls off their engagement.

This delights Professor Shelby Ashton to no end and he immediately steps in to ingratiate himself to Betsy.

Answer: Mrs. Chatsworth

It was Mrs. Chatsworth's responsibility to see that Ned showed up in time for his wedding to Betsy. She reminded him several times, but after she left for the day, he became sidetracked by an error in his calculations and forgot the ceremony. Mrs. Chatsworth was played by vaudeville actress and comedienne Belle Montrose, who was the mother of entertainer Steve Allen.

Answer: the White House

Flying over Washington, he understandably becomes the target of reconnaissance flights and missile firings. Of course, when he lands on the White House lawn, he is immediately surrounded by security officers. However, everything works out, Ned turns his discovery over to the government and hurries off to finally get married.