What 1950s Movie Am I - Take 2 Quiz

Answer: Rio Bravo

"Rio Bravo" starred John Wayne as the sheriff, Dean Martin as the drunk, Walter Brennan as the old man, Ricky Nelson as the young gunslinger, Ward Bond, and Angie Dickinson as the sheriff's love interest.

This was the last of the 22 movies that John Wayne and Ward Bond made together. Ward Bond had already left the set to appear in "Wagon Train" when the scene of his character's murder was to be filmed, so a double was used and the scene was filmed from a distance.

Ricky Nelson turned 18 one week after the movie began shooting. John Wayne and Dean Martin gave him a 300 lb bag of cow manure. As a right of passage they threw Ricky into it!

The Director, Howard Hawkes, originally wanted Elvis Presley to play the young gunslinger role, but Presley's Manager wanted too much money and top billing for Presley, to which the studio would not agree.

Because Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson were both singers, three songs were included in the movie.

Howard Hawkes made two further movies loosely based on "Rio Bravo", both starring John Wayne. They were "El Dorado" (1966) and "Rio Lobo" (1970).

Answer: An Affair to Remember

"An Affair to Remember" starred Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr, Richard Dennnig and Cathleen Nesbitt. It was nominated for four Academy Awards but did not win any.

Ingrid Bergman and Doris Day were both considered for the lead actress before Deborah Kerr was given the role. Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr made three movies together, the other two being, "Dream Wife" (1953) and "The Grass is Greener" (1960).

On the 2002 American Film Institute's list of "America's Greatest Love Stories" this movie is rated number five. They also rated Cary Grant as the second "American Male Screen Legend", the first being Humphrey Bogart.

"An Affair to Remember" is a remake of the 1939 movie "Love Affair" starring Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer and directed by Leo McCarey.

Answer: The Caine Mutiny

"The Caine Mutiny" starred Humphrey Bogart as Lt. Commander Phillip Queeg, with Jose Ferrer, Van Johnson, and Fred MacMurray. It was nominated for seven Academy Awards but did not win any. Richard Widmark was originally to star in this film, but Producer Stanley Kramer, wanted Humphrey Bogart.

The character Queeg had a habit of constantly rolling two ball bearings together in his hand, so they continually made a clicking sound

At a cost of approximately $2 million, the film had a box office gross in its first run of over $8 million. This film marked a comeback by director Edward Dmytryk who had served time in jail for contempt of Congress and lying under oath, whilst under investigation for un-American activities, because he was formerly a member of the American Communist Party.

Lee Marvin had a minor role in the film, but because of his service in World War II in the United States Marine Corps and his great knowledge of ships at sea, he acted as the unofficial technical advisor.

Answer: Dial M for Murder

"Dial M for Murder" starred Ray Milland, Grace Kelly and Robert Cummings. The movie was nominated for several awards including a BAFTA. In 2008 the American Film Institute ranked this movie at number nine in the mystery genre on its list of "The 10 Greatest Films".

Alfred Hitchcock went on to make two further movies with Grace Kelly, "Rear Window" (1954), and "To Catch a Thief" (1955). As was his custom, Alfred Hitchcock also made a cameo appearance in this movie. He can be seen in a reunion photograph sitting at a banquet table.

The movie was filmed in 3D, however by the time it was released, 3D was on the wane, so most theatres ran it in 2D.

Answer: The Wild One

"The Wild One" starred Marlon Brando, Mary Murphy, Robert Keith and Lee Marvin. It was not until 1968 that this film was shown in Britain, as it had been banned there.

The biker gang, the Black Rebels, led by the Marlon Brando character mostly drove Triumph motorcycles, whereas the gang, "The Beetles" led by the Lee Marvin character, all rode Harley Davidson motorcycles. In fact, a photo of Marlon Brando from "The Wild One" appears on the cover of the Beatles' album "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band".

Marlon Brando actually owned the Triumph Thunderbird 650cc that he rode in the movie. Lee Marvin had never ridden a motorcycle prior to this movie, so he had to learn. He later became a competitor in desert races on his Triumph 200cc Tiger Cub motorcycle

Answer: Stalag 17

"Stalag 17" starred William Holden, Don Taylor, Otto Preminger, Robert Strauss and Harvey Lembeck. It was nominated for three Academy Awards and won one, Best Actor in a Leading Role (William Holden). Because the Academy Award ceremony was running very late, Holden's acceptance speech consisted of only two words, "Thank You". However, he later took out a newspaper ad where he thanked people properly.

The film had an estimated budget of $1.6 million and the worldwide gross box office was approximately $10 million.

Charlton Heston was originally offered the starring role, but he was dropped as was Kirk Douglas. The role ultimately went to William Holden, who at first refused the role as he thought the character, Sefton, was too selfish and cynical, but the studio, Paramount, made him take it.

The Broadway play was written by Donald Bevan and Edmund Trzcinski, who were both prisoners of war in Stalag 17B in Austria during World War II, and they based their play on their own experiences.

Answer: Creature from the Black Lagoon

"Creature From the Black Lagoon" starred Richard Carlson, Julie Adams, and Richard Denning. The Creature, Gill Man, is often listed with movie creatures such as Frankenstein's Monster, The Wolf Man, Phantom of the Opera, the Mummy and Dracula.

The eyes of the creature were a fixed part of the rubber suit worn by the actors who played Gill Man, and it was very difficult for them to see. In the two sequels the creature was given larger bulbous eyes to assist with vision. The two sequels are "Revenge of the Creature" (1955), and "The Creature Walks Among Us" (1956).

In an episode of the TV series "The Munsters", the creature made an appearance as Uncle Gilbert.

Answer: Cornel Wilde

"The Greatest Show on Earth" starred Cornel Wilde as The Great Sebastian, Charlton Heston as circus manager Brad Braden, Betty Hutton as trapeze star Holly, whom they both loved, James Stewart as the clown Buttons, along with Dorothy Lamour, Gloria Grahame, Henry Wilcoxon, and Lyle Bettger.

The only way the circus could function financially was to hire the world-famous Great Sebastian as the star attraction, which put Holly's nose out of joint, as she had been the star of the show. Trying to out-do each other, Holly's and Sebastian's acts became more dangerous. Sebastian got rid of his safety equipment during an act and fell and was very badly injured. After a few more twists and turns of the plot, when the circus train was travelling to a new destination, there was a spectacular train crash and Brad was injured. Holly then realised that it was Brad she loved.

Cornel Wilde was born Kornel Ljos Weisz in 1912 in Prievidza, Hungry (now present-day Slovakia) and he arrived in the US at age seven, when his name was anglicised to Cornelius Louis Wilde. He intended to be a doctor, but acting got in the way. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as Frederic Chopin in "A Song to Remember" (1945). He appeared mainly in romantic and swashbuckling films. He died of leukaemia three days after his 77th birthday in 1989.

"The Greatest Show on Earth" was nominated for five Academy Awards and won two, Best Picture and Best Writing, Motion Picture Story. It also won three Golden Globe Awards. Cecil B DeMill insisted that both Betty Hutton and Cornel Wilde learn to perform circus stunts, which was hard for Cornel Wilde as he was afraid of heights. This was Charlton Heston's third film and made him famous.

Bob Hope and Bing Crosby made cameo appearances in the film as members of the audience.

Answer: Picnic

"Picnic" starred William Holden, Kim Novak, Susan Strasberg, Cliff Robertson, Rosalind Russell and Arthur O'Connell. It was nominated for six Academy Awards and won two, Best Art Direction-Set Direction and Best Film Editing. it was nominated for four BAFTAs and won a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Director.

William Holden was worried about the dance scene he had with Kim Novak in the "Moonglow" scene as he said "I just don't know how to dance" so the Director took him to a roadhouse cafe to practice. He drank alcohol to calm his nerves before the scene and became quite drunk and the scene was filmed whilst he was intoxicated. He was also worried about his age, as he considered himself too old at 37 to play the role of Hal opposite Kim Novak, who was 23.

The "Theme From Picnic" reached number one in 1956 on the US Billboard charts and was featured in the dance scene paired with the 1930s song "Moonglow".

On the American Film Institute's 2002 list of "100 Years . . . 100 Passions", this film is ranked number 59. "Picnic" has been remade for television, first in 1986 and again in 2000.

Answer: Around the World in 80 Days

"Around the World in 80 Days" starred David Niven as Phileas Fogg, Cantinflas as Passepartout, and Shirley MacLaine. The film was nominated for eight Academy Awards and won five Oscars: Best Cinematography; Best Film Editing; Best Music; Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture; Best Picture and Best Writing Best Screenplay Adapted. It also won two Golden Globe Awards, Best Motion Picture, Drama and Best Motion Picture Actor, Comedy or Musical (Cantinflas).

English gentleman, Phileas Fogg took a twenty thousand pound bet with members of the Reform Club that he could travel around he world and return in exactly 80 days, which would be at 8.45pm on 1 December 1872. He and his valet set out from Paris in a hot air balloon on 1 October 1872. The pair travelled to Spain, India, Hong Kong, Japan, San Francisco and the Wild West and had many adventures. Of course, they arrived back at the Reform Club, after another mishap, at exactly the appointed time and date.

There were many cameo appearances in this film by some very famous actors such as Andy Devine, Buster Keaton Cesar Romero Charles Boyer, Frank Sinatra, George Raft, Glynis Johns, Joe E Brown, John Mills, Jose Greco, Marlene Dietrich, Noel Coward, Peter Lorre and Red Skelton just to name a few.

The film used 74,685 different costumes, which were provided by the Western Costume Co. in Hollywood and from storehouses in Japan, London, Hong Kong, and Spain. There were 68,894 extras in the film from 13 countries, 140 sets were built, and 8.552 animals were used under the control of 90 animal handlers. The animals were: 3,800 sheep; 2,448 buffalo; 950 donkeys; 800 horses; 512 monkeys; 17 bulls; 15 elephants; 6 skunks and 4 ostriches.

The film was remade in 2004 and starred Steve Coogan as Phileas Fog and Jackie Chan as Passepatout. A TV mini-series of three episodes was produced in 1989 which starred Pierce Brosnan as Phileas Fogg and Eric Idle as Jean Passepartout.