Weird Plots - Spot the Film Trivia Quiz

Answer: Paper Moon

Origami is the Japanese art of paper-folding; lunar refers to the moon - hence "Paper Moon".

"Paper Moon" (1973) stars Ryan O'Neal and daughter Tatum as a bible-selling pair of confidence tricksters operating in the Midwest in the Depression era.

"Paper Tiger" (1975) is set in a fictional Pacific state; "The Paper Chase" (1973) is set in and around Harvard; "The Paper" (1994) tells the story of a New York tabloid editor.

Answer: Saturday Night Fever

The clues are in the words "twist" (for those of you old enough to remember the dance), "weekend" for Saturday, and "mysterious disease" clues in the fever.

"Saturday Night Fever" (1977) - the film that made John Travolta a household name - epitomises the disco culture of the era. Boy meets girl, loses girl, gains self-respect and finally wins girl's respect.

Answer: The Maltese Falcon

Malta GC is a Mediterranean island, and "raptor" is a generic term for birds of prey like falcons.

There are two versions of "The Maltese Falcon": one made in 1931, and the more well-known 1941 film featuring Humphrey Bogart as detective Sam Spade, brilliantly supported by Mary Astor, Sydney Greenstreet and the inimitable Peter Lorre. Intrigue and double-crosses abound in the search for a valuable artefact - the statue of a bird of prey.

David Attenborough is well-known for both his own programmes about the natural world such as "Zoo Quest" and "Life on Earth", and for his unseen narration of many more. He is the brother of actor Richard Attenborough who starred in "Jurassic Park" amongst others.

Answer: Dances with Wolves

The spoof synopsis refers to the practice of giving footballers dance lessons to improve their coordination and fluidity of movement; "Wolves" is the nickname for the UK football team Wolverhampton Wanderers.

"Dances with Wolves" (1990) tells the story of a US cavalry officer adopted by the Sioux. Directed by, and starring, Kevin Costner, it carried off a sheaf of Oscars including one for Costner as Best Director, but not as Best Actor.

Answer: Conan the Destroyer

The "barbaric" clue refers to the first movie "Conan the Barbarian" and of course a destroyer is a type of battleship.

"Conan the Destroyer" (1984) is not, as the title might suggest, a children's movie in the style of "Thomas the Tank Engine", about the adventures of a little warship!

Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as the eponymous hero, it's a violent fantasy world, swords-and-sorcery, good-defeats-evil adventure quest very loosely based on the "Conan" character created by Robert L Howard.

"Away All Boats" (1956) tells the story of a transport boat in the Pacific War; "Western Approaches" (1944) (US title: "The Raider") is a semi-factual war film with the parts played by men of the Allied navies; "The Titfield Thunderbolt" (1952) is a train.

Answer: Bonnie and Clyde

Clyde is the name of the orang-utan who steals the show in the Clint Eastwood films "Every Which Way but Loose" (1978) and "Any Which Way You Can" (1980).

Bonnie Blue is Rhett Butler's daughter in "Gone With the Wind" (1939); she dies after a riding accident.

The word "gun" clues in the violence of "Bonnie and Clyde" (1967), which charts the rise and fall of two bank robbers in 1930s America. Starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, it won an Oscar for Best Photography but lost out to "In the Heat of the Night" for Best Motion Picture.

Answer: Mr Smith Goes to Washington

Washington D.C. is, of course, the centre of government for the United States, but Washington is also a town not far from Newcastle upon Tyne in the north east of England. George Washington's ancestors came from this part of the world.

The Native American Princess Pocahontas and the English explorer John Smith were on very friendly terms according to various fictionalised accounts, but there seems to be little factual basis for this idea, and Pocahontas actually married John Rolfe.

What a pity that "Mr Smith Goes to Washington" was up against "Gone with the Wind", "Goodbye Mr Chips" and "Stagecoach" at the 1939 Academy Awards - but it did get an Oscar for the Original Story, which was actually called "Mr Deeds Goes to Washington". It tells the story of a small-town politician who becomes a senator and tackles the corruption that he finds in the administration.

Answer: Free Enterprise

The starship reference relates of course to "Enterprise" and "ransom" suggests the need to free the vessel.

"Free Enterprise" (1999): William Shatner (Captain Kirk from the original "Star Trek" series) appears in a comedy about (of all things) the making of a film about a serial killer - or is it a film about a musical version of "Julius Caesar" (which is what he wants to do, playing all the parts himself!)? I still can't decide... tongue-in-cheek references to "Star Trek" crop up throughout the film.

"Grissom", "Potemkin" and "Voyager" were all names of Starfleet vessels.

Coincidentally, the music for "Free Enterprise" was the work of one Scott Spock!

Answer: S.W.A.T.

Swatting pests is one way to get rid of them!

"S.W.A.T." is a 2003 movie based on the 1975-6 US TV series about the LAPD Special Weapons and Tactics team. Samuel L Jackson heads up the SWAT team guarding a drug dealer who has offered a big reward to anyone who can free him.

Answer: The Empire Strikes Back

Ah! Those great British cinema names - The Roxy, The Odeon, The Empire...

If you can picture Princess Leia selling popcorn and ice cream, Han Solo as the commissionaire, and Jabba the Hutt as an usherette, then you're just as weird as I am!

"The Empire Stikes Back" (1980) is the one where the Rebel Alliance build up their defences on a frozen planet while Darth Vader combs the known universe trying to find them.