The Bible on the Big Screen Trivia Quiz

Answer: Yul Brynner

"The Ten Commandments" premiered in 1956, and won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects, as well as being nominated for six others.
As well as portraying Moses, Charlton Heston was also the Voice of God in the burning bush.

Answer: Demetrius and the Gladiators

The film begins where "The Robe" ends, with the martyring of Marcellus and Diana. Alongside Victor Mature as Demetrius, the film also featured Ernest Borgnine, Susan Hayward, and Anne Bancroft among the cast. In spite of this, and the popularity of "The Robe", "Demetrius and the Gladiators" was slated by the critics, and enjoyed little box office success.

Answer: Pier Paolo Pasolini

Paolini's film was dedicated to the memory of Pope John XXII, and used a cast of virtually unknown amateur actors. The dialogue is more or less straight from the Gospel itself.
The film was nominated for several awards at the 1964 Venice Film Festival, and won two.

Answer: Aramaic

The film follows the last hours of Jesus' life, from the Garden of Gethsemane to the Crucifixion, with some flashback scenes to earlier times such as the Sermon on the Mount.
The film was shot using, as far as possible, the same locations as Paolo Pasolini used for his "The Gospel According to St. Matthew" in the 1960s.
Aramaic is classed as an "endangered language", but is still spoken in parts of Asia to this day, having declined in use since its peak in the seventh century.

Answer: It was a silent film, with dialogue on "cards" held up to the camera

Some scenes are silent, but the film is what is known as a "part talkie", and certain scenes have a soundtrack, recorded using the then new and innovative "Vitaphone" system.
John Wayne did indeed appear as an extra, in the flood scenes during which three of his fellow extras drowned, and several more were injured, some seriously.
Dolores Costello (Grandmother of Drew Barrymore) played Miriam, and caught pneumonia, after being exposed to the freezing water for hours at a time.
A young Myrna Loy also made one of her first appearances on screen, when she was cast as a dancing girl.

Answer: Joan Collins

The Biblical story of Esther is that on which the Jewish festival of Purim was founded. The wicked minister Haman leads a campaign of persecution against the Jewish people, and Esther and Mordecai work with the King to stop him.
The film was directed by Raoul Walsh, and the evil Haman was played by Sergio Fantoni, who also appeared in "Von Ryan's Express" (1965).

Answer: Judas

Carl Anderson played Judas Iscariot, having previously taken the role in the Broadway production of the show.
The film was directed by Norman Jewison, and the original 1971 musical was written by Time Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Both Carl Anderson and Ted Neely who played Jesus, were nominated for Golden Globe Awards for their roles in the film.

Answer: Alice and Ellen Kessler

"Sodom and Gomorrah" was directed by Robert Aldrich, and starred Stuart Granger as Lot. In the film, Lot's wife is named Ildith, played by Pier Angeli, but in the Bible itself, Lot's wife is not named specifically.
Alice and Ellen had escaped from East Germany to the West with their parents in the early 1950s, and represented West Germany at Eurovision 1959.
They were very popular in Germany and Italy, and when they appeared, aged 40, in the Italian "playboy" magazine, it became far and away the fastest selling issue of all time.

Answer: The Sign of the Cross

"The Sign of the Cross" was released in 1932, and was based on a play written by Wilson Barrett in 1895. It stars Charles Laughton as the Roman Emperor Nero, and Claudette Colbert as his wife. Probably the best known scene from the film features Colbert bathing in asses' milk - this was actually ordinary powdered milk, made more dilute than usual.
The film was nominated for one Oscar, but didn't win.

Answer: Luke Goss

"One Night With the King" told the story of Esther and her bid to save the Jewish people from the persecution of the wicked Minister Haman. It was directed by Michael Sajbel, and based on the 2004 book "Hadassah: One Night With the King" by Tommy Tenney.
Luke Goss was formerly a member of boy band Bros, with his identical twin brother Matt and Craig Logan. They had more than ten hits in the UK during the 1990s, including one number one.

Answer: Beautiful City

As well as adding "Beautiful City", the 1973 film left out the songs "We Beseech Thee" and "Learn Your Lessons Well" that had featured in the musical. The musical opened off-Broadway in 1971.
The film version was directed by David Greene, and (for both the film and the stage show) many of the cast basically played themselves, as the characters were simply given their names and previous occupations for their stage personas.

Answer: Solomon and Sheba

"Solomon and Sheba" was disliked by the critics of the day, and received bad reviews, but was still popular at the box office. It starred Yul Brynner as King Solomon and Gina Lollobrigida as The Queen of Sheba. Tyrone Power was originally cast as Solomon, and began filming, but sadly died of a heart attack after a strenuous duel scene, causing Yul Brynner to be brought in to finish the production.
Director King Vidor later said publicly that Brynner was not as good in the role as Power had been.

Answer: The Holocaust

"Samson" was directed by Andrzej Wajda. It follows the main character, a young Jewish man, from his schooldays, to the Warsaw ghetto, and his final escape.
During his career, Wajda has been nominated for numerous awards, and has won the Palme D'Or at Cannes in 1981 with "Man of Iron", and an Honorary Oscar for his contributions to film making.

Answer: Theda Bara

It is thought that the print of "Salome" has been lost over the years since it was made, although there is always a slim chance it may turn up in an achive or attic somewhere one day.
It was directed by J. Gordon Edwards who directed all of Theda Bara's films between 1916 and 1919.
The 1918 Fatty Arbuckle film "The Cook" has a scene where he dresses up and poses as Cleopatra, in a clear spoof of "Salome".
Theda Bara was one of the most popular stars of the early 20th century, and made over forty films in her career. Sadly, less than ten of those are still surviving today.

Answer: William Wyler

"Ben-Hur" was based on the 1880 book "Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ" written by Lew Wallace, and won a then record breaking eleven Oscars.
If you look closely, during the famous chariot race scene, where one of the chariots is overbalanced and turns over, a small gas canister is clearly visible, attached to the underside of the chassis.