The Roaring Forties Trivia Quiz

Answer: Mildred Pierce

The film was based on a 1941 book by James M. Cain, who also wrote 'The Postman Always Rings Twice'. Joan Crawford won the Best Actress for her role as the mother of an ungrateful daughter, played by Ann Blyth. The daughter's greed for material possessions was funded by her over indulgent mother, who took whatever work she could find to earn money. The quotation came after Veda, the daughter, discovered the waitress uniform, which she thought had been bought for a maid, belonged to her mother. The other options are also films starring Joan Crawford.

Answer: Jiminy Cricket

In 1940 the Walt Disney Animation Studios released 'Pinocchio' as their second feature. This was a story of a wood carver and one of his puppet creations who was trying to become 'a real boy'. The quote occurred just before the Blue Fairy named Jiminy Cricket as Pinocchio's 'Official Conscience'.

Answer: Clementine

'My Darling Clementine' was directed by John Ford and starred Henry Fonda as Wyatt Earp. It was loosely based on the events at the OK corral and featured Victor Mature as 'Doc' Holliday with Clementine Carter played by Cathy Downs. The words of the quotation are the final ones of the film, spoken as Wyatt Earp rode away from Tombstone. 'Laura' was an Otto Preminger film from 1944 and Belinda was taken from 'Johnny Belinda' (1948). 'The Lady Eve' is another 1940s film directed by Preston Sturges and starring Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda.

Answer: To Have and Have Not

Adapted from Ernest Hemingway's novel, the film saw the debut of a young (nineteen year old) Lauren Bacall being teamed with Humphrey Bogart. While filming, the two actors fell in love, leading to their marriage and long lasting relationship. The island of Martinique was the setting for the film in which Harry 'Steve' Morgan was the owner of a charter boat fishing company during World War Two. He had no business and was broke. He met the young American woman, Marie 'Slim' Browning who had arrived on the island needing to get back to America. They soon became involved with each other, with Steve wanting to help her. Having been asked by the French Resistance to smuggle some people onto the island, Steve agreed to help, despite his reluctance, as it offered the only way to help Slim. During the mission, his boat was spotted and one of the men injured. To his great surprise, Slim decided to stay with him rather than take her chance to flee. The quotation came when Slim was flirting with Steve, to indicate that she would respond to his interest in her.

Answer: Cary Grant

The film was adapted from a play by Joseph Kesselring, with the role on Broadway actually being played by the real life Boris Karloff, which added to the joke. Karloff was still appearing in the stage version so could not take on the role for the film, with his place being taken by Raymond Massey.

The film featured a bizarre plot involving multiple murders carried out by Mortimer's elderly aunts, not to mention others by his psychotic brother, who had undergone plastic surgery which had left him looking like Frankenstein's monster.

The resemblance is a recurring theme during the film. At the end of the film Mortimer was more than relieved to discover that he was not biologically related to the crazy Brewster family.

Answer: The Philadelphia Story

The original Broadway play of the same name was written by Philip Barry for Katharine Hepburn. Because she had been labelled as 'box office poison' following a string of failures, Hepburn leveraged the play into this MGM film, having veto power over producer, director, screenwriter and cast. The film won her a New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress. The words were spoken just after Tracy had been kissed by Mike, adding to her already confused state of mind. Throughout the film the character of Tracy Lord was torn between her ex-husband, her fiancé and the reporter, before ultimately remarrying the ex.

Answer: Double Indemnity

The quotation refers to the beginning of the events of the film, which is narrated in flashbacks. Neff has called on a housewife to discuss vehicle insurance with a woman who had something totally different in mind. The film, directed by Billy Wilder and written by Raymond Chandler, was adapted from James M. Cain's book, one of several of his works to be filmed.

Although the film was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actress and Best Director, it sadly won none of them.

The themes of cynicism, the plot of adultery and ruthless crime to cash in on an unethical insurance scam counted against it. This was one of the first films in the film noir genre.

Answer: George M. Cohan

The quotation comes from 'Yankee Doodle Dandy', a 1942 film about George M. Cohan (1878 - 1942). In the scene, Cohan was invited to join in with the singing, which he does, although neither the soldiers nor the sergeant realise that he was the composer of the song. Cohan, known as 'the man who owned Broadway' at the beginning of the twentieth century was a playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer and producer. James Cagney played Cohan in this film tribute.

Answer: Rebecca

All these films date from 1940 but Mrs. Danvers came from Alfred Hitchcock's adaptation of Daphne Du Maurier's 1938 novel 'Rebecca'. The most often quoted lines are 'Last night I dreamed I went to Manderley again', but the quotation used for this question came from the scene where Mrs. Danvers was trying to persuade the new Mrs. de Winter to throw herself from a window. The quote ends with the words 'Look down there. It's easy, isn't it? Why don't you? Why don't you? Go on! Go on! Don't be afraid!'. In the film, Mrs. Danvers was played by Judith Anderson, the second Mrs. de Winter by Joan Fontaine and Maxim de Winter by Laurence Olivier.

Answer: Br'er Rabbit

'Song of the South' was a Walt Disney production based on the stories of Joel Chandler Harris. Harris recounted African American folk tales using the character of Uncle Remus as the narrator. The film has been controversial since the original release. Though acclaimed for technical merit, there were also many detractors because of the representation of blacks. When it premiered in 1946 in Atlanta, Georgia, James Baskett, who had played Uncle Remus was unable to attend the showing because Atlanta was a racially segregated city. The quotation in the question came after Br'er Rabbit had been captured by Br'er Fox, who was contemplating what to do with him. After considering hanging or roasting the rabbit, the fox decided to take up the rabbit's suggestion of throwing him into the briars, expecting that this would tear him to pieces. Instead, the rabbit escaped and taunted the fox by saying 'I was born in the briar patch'.