The Shadowplay Impossible Film Quiz for Autumn
1) DEATH IN HIGH HEELS
What sartorial choices, combined with what deaths by misadventure, connect the following films —
[a] THE PYX, LOOKER, LETHAL WEAPON
[b] RABID, SILENT NIGHT DEADLY NIGHT
[c] FLASH GORDON, HELLBOY
[d] MACBETH, MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL
[e] FLASH GORDON, WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT?, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, THE WIZARD OF OZ
2) THE URGES OF STURGES
Which of these porno remakes of John Sturges movies is genuine?
[a] THE MAGNIFICENT 7″
[b] LAST TRAIN FROM BUNG HOLE
[c] BAD DAY AT BLACK COCK
[d] ICE STATION NO-BRA
(3) BODY TALK
What do the following people have in common, physically?
[a] Ryan Dorin; Anthony Hopkins; Christopher Guest
[b] Margot Kidder; Marshall Bell; Kevin Van Hentenryck
[c] Ray Milland; Sam Rockwell; Richard E. Grant
[d] Sam Worthington; Rebecca Romjin; Katy Perry
(4) “What fucker said that?”
Which movies do the following lines come from? (Clue: they’re all British)
[a] “What fucker said that?”
[b] “We can’t enjoy ourselves ad infinitum.”
[c] “I have never forgiven them for my arm.”
[d] “Does it break because it is faulty, or because it is glass?”
[e] “Block of ice to beef bourguignon in eight seconds.”
(5) THE ANIMAL KINGDOM
What beasties connect the following auteurs?
[a] Howard Hawks, Buster Keaton, Val Guest, Karel Zeman
[b] Charlie Chaplin, Jack Cardiff, Jean-Jacques Beineix, Victor Sjostrom (as Victor Seastrom)
[c] Robert Aldrich, Vincent Gallo, William Wellman
[d] William Dieterle, Michael Winner, Robert Flaherty, David Lynch
(6) THEY ALSO SERVE
What non-filmic activity connects —
[a] CT Dreyer, William Wellman, Tay Garnett, Preston Sturges
[b] Lee Marvin, George C. Scott, Tyrone Power, Ben Chapman
[c] Basil Rathbone, Herbert Marshall, Claude Rains, Ronald Colman
[d] Ylmaz Guney, Ivor Novello, Koji Wakamatsu, Roger Avary
(7) CINEMA DU LOOK
Identify the following movies from these single images —
(8) SHOOT FIRST, ASK QUESTIONS LATER
Answer the following movie titles.
[a] WHY DOES HERR R RUN AMOK?
[b] WHERE’S THAT FIRE?
[c] WHAT’S UP, FATLIP?
[d] WHO?
(9) A VERSION THERAPY
What connects the following actors?
[a] Gustav Frohlich, Fritz Leiber, Henry Daniell, Dirk Bogarde
[b] Merle Oberon, Lucia Bosé, Judy Davis, Juliette Binoche
[c] Florence Lawrence, Theda Bara, Alla Nazimova, Rita Hayworth
[d] Gavin Gordon, Richard Chamberlain, Gabriel Byrne, Jason Patric
And a bonus point for then connecting all the answers!
10) THE ARRESTING IMAGE
What films do the following images originate from?
[a] An alligator in a piano
[b] A dog firing a machine gun loaded with sausages
[c] A flock of sheep in a church
[d] A barber shop full of cows
November 26, 2011 at 11:20 am
Truly, you have outdone yourself this time, David. The only one I can take the foggiest, most random stab at is 6(d) – jail time. But then it’s especially unkind of you to unleash this on a hungover Saturday morning world.
November 26, 2011 at 11:26 am
Oh hang on – 1(e) is death by melting. No clue as to the sartorial component, though.
November 26, 2011 at 11:28 am
Oh good God, so THAT’S who Kevin van Hentenryck is! I’m not going to answer 3(b) because I had to google it.
November 26, 2011 at 12:05 pm
Great to have the quiz back! So far i’ve got:
4(a) Withnail & I
4(e) Time Bandits
6(a) All pilots in the military
6(b) All served in the Marines
November 26, 2011 at 12:36 pm
6 (d) is correct. 1 (e) is correct — the missing sartorial element is rather vague, I’m afraid — all melted in basic black. The costume element of a, b, c & d is more specific.
Jonathan, all correct!
November 26, 2011 at 12:51 pm
Having had a chance to ponder, I’m going to say 9(c) is Salome and 9(d) is Lord Byron (after a brief period thinking it was “got their start in TV soaps” was derailed by the realisation that Gavin Gordon couldn’t really have done that).
November 26, 2011 at 12:54 pm
Yep!
November 26, 2011 at 12:58 pm
Ouch! However, Part 9 seems to offer some possibilities. The actors in each section have played the same historical character. 9b is definitely George Sand; 9c looks like Salome; 9d Byron. I’d have to do some IMDB-ing to get 9a, although Liszt seems plausible.
Bits and pieces from the rest. 3c: Two heads. 5d: Elephants. 10c: The Exterminating Angel?
November 26, 2011 at 1:13 pm
I’m starting to think that the connective tissue of Round 9 is something to do with Ken Russell.
November 26, 2011 at 1:15 pm
All correct! I’ll save you the IMDb-ing by confirming that Liszt is correct. I could have thrown in Roger Daltrey but that seemed too obvious.
November 26, 2011 at 1:48 pm
3b) former Siamese twins
November 26, 2011 at 1:51 pm
3a) extra finger?
November 26, 2011 at 1:58 pm
Correct, and correct.
November 26, 2011 at 3:03 pm
6c They all served in the London Scottish. I’d love if someone could unearth pictures of that.
November 26, 2011 at 3:06 pm
3c I think they are all bald or balding, but have worn wigs to conceal this (at least some of the time; Milland made his peace/piece with it).
November 26, 2011 at 3:21 pm
8 a-d)
WHY DOES HERR R RUN AMOK?
If you sign a contract you’re supposed to keep up the payments…
WHERE’S THAT FIRE?
In your eyes, Lieutenant Bradshaw.
WHAT’S UP, FATLIP?
I, uh, wanna order a pizza to go and no anchovies…
WHO?
Melanie Haber?
You may remember her as… Audrey Farber?
Susan Underhill?
How about… Betty Jo Bialowski!
November 26, 2011 at 3:25 pm
Gareth — correct! Apart from 3C, whish SJMW got right.
Chuck — v good!
Yes, all the biopic figures also appeared in biopics by Ken Russell. So that’s that round done.
November 26, 2011 at 3:25 pm
5b All directed films involving lions/lion tamers.
November 26, 2011 at 3:28 pm
3d They’ve all played blue characters (Avatar, X-Men, Smurfs)
November 26, 2011 at 3:32 pm
10d) Go West
November 26, 2011 at 3:42 pm
Correct, correct and correct!
(Maybe this is too easy?)
November 26, 2011 at 5:03 pm
Firesign Theatre references! I’m loving the wrong answers as much as the right ones.
November 26, 2011 at 6:39 pm
thanks
November 26, 2011 at 8:27 pm
6a) They all flew planes in WWI?
November 26, 2011 at 9:26 pm
Yes, though not everyone saw combat.
November 26, 2011 at 9:53 pm
4(d) is from A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH — it looks like others have gotten anything else I knew. Except maybe — is 1(d) just “dismemberment in armor?” And I believe I remember 2(c) from my days working in a video store.
November 26, 2011 at 10:50 pm
OK, all I have is 7a: THE OSCAR. An image forever burned into my retinas.
November 27, 2011 at 12:51 am
1b – chaps getting shot dressed as Santa Claus?
November 27, 2011 at 12:53 am
Yes! I badly wanted a third example but just couldn’t find one.
November 27, 2011 at 12:55 am
9.
a.-all played Franz Liszt
b.-all played George Sands
c.-all played Salome…or Cleopatra?
d.-all played Lord Byron
November 27, 2011 at 1:02 am
The latest Harold and Kumar opus apparently features a shot Santa.
November 27, 2011 at 3:16 am
Damn, wish I’d known that.
Chris, yes, and it’s Byron. But I’m afraid you’ve been pipped at the post.
November 27, 2011 at 3:49 am
10-b sounds like one of those Dogville shorts..the Big House spoof maybe..
November 27, 2011 at 11:10 am
5a – a dinosaur.
November 27, 2011 at 11:16 am
Bad Santa features a Santa who is absolutely riddled with bullets. But the title might have been a giveaway.
November 27, 2011 at 11:16 am
Is 5c a buffalo?
November 27, 2011 at 12:42 pm
Judy: yes and yes!
Paul, wish I’d remembered that. Might have been a strong clue though, yes.
November 27, 2011 at 12:45 pm
Unanswered!
1a and 1c
2 doesn’t really have answers
4b and 4c
7b 7c and 7d
8 doesn’t really have answers
10a and 10b
November 27, 2011 at 1:09 pm
7d – Clash of the Wolves
November 27, 2011 at 1:24 pm
Ermm… Well 1 c) Both Ming and Rasputin are bald and bearded. Do they both get impaled?
4c) sounds very Hammer. No idea about the quote for 4b but I love it.
Is 7b an Isle of Lost Souls?
Is either answer to the 10s “Sir Henry at Rawlinson End”? Actually that serves pretty much as a default answer to any of these.
November 27, 2011 at 1:56 pm
Rocky, yes!
Simon, impalement is sort of right, but you picked the wrong characters.
Island of Lost Souls is a good choice, but wrong. This one’s earlier, and really tough.
Sir Henry is a good choice but wrong. Both quotes come from Charles Wood screenplays if that helps. Similar tone.
November 27, 2011 at 2:39 pm
I think 10a may be The Bed Sitting Room.
November 27, 2011 at 3:54 pm
November 27, 2011 at 3:55 pm
November 27, 2011 at 3:55 pm
November 27, 2011 at 3:56 pm
November 27, 2011 at 4:03 pm
Not Bed Sitting Room, but you’re getting warm.
November 27, 2011 at 4:33 pm
Your wish is my HTML
November 27, 2011 at 4:35 pm
An alligator in a piano sounds very Bunuel.
Or Monty Python.
Or Joe McGrath.
November 27, 2011 at 5:13 pm
But not J Lee Thompson?
November 27, 2011 at 11:39 pm
John Goldfarb Please Come Home ?
November 28, 2011 at 12:06 am
A logical guess, except it’d be more likely a crocodile in that one.
I think if you check his cv, a Diana Dors comedy called An Alligator Named Daisy will leap out at you…
November 28, 2011 at 2:32 am
1a – chemise-draped chapesses falling on cars?
1c – caped, masked chappies impaled on spiky floors?
November 28, 2011 at 8:52 am
1a Yes! Or, as I prefer to think of them, the diaphanous and the defenestrated.
1c Yes! Not sure about the cape in Hellboy, but masked for sure.
I’ll post the rest of the answers this evening if nobody gets ’em. Two quotes and two pics and one animal image.
November 28, 2011 at 8:12 pm
4c – a lost scene from LIVE AND LET DIE?
November 29, 2011 at 12:55 am
Nice idea!
OK, answers:
4b is from How I Won the War (Lee Montague)
4c is from Charge of the Light Brigade (John Gielgud)
7b the hirsuit gent is from Benjamin Christiansen’s Seven Footprints to Satan, which deserves a release
7c The silvery people are from Horrors of Malformed Men
10b the canine machine gun is from All Quiet on the Canine Front (a Dogville short)