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Fun Trivia: R : Relating to Movies

Special Sub-Topic: From Silver Screen To TV Screen, Vol 2


A series based on the classic Western picture "Shane" debuted on ABC in the fall of 1966. Which actor played the mercurial gunfighter?

    David Carradine. A prolific actor and the eldest son of actor John Carradine, David Carradine co-starred with Jill Ireland in this short-lived series. He is better known for playing the peaceable but highly-skilled Kwai Chang Caine on another ABC western, "Kung Fu", from 1972 to 1975.

Which member of NBC's rotating stock of Mystery Movies was based on the movie "Coogan's Bluff"?
    "McCloud". Clint Eastwood starred in the 1968 feature film about an Arizona whose trip to New York to extradite a prisoner goes woefully wrong. "McCloud" was part of NBC's lineup for seven seasons (1970-77), with Dennis Weaver in the lead role.

CBS's regular-series version of the hit movie "Planet of the Apes" only lasted a few months during the 1974-75 season. Who wrote the novel upon which both the motion pictures and the TV series were based?
    Pierre Boulle. An electrical engineer by trade, Pierre Boulle won an Academy Award for the screenplay to the motion-picture adaptation of his other famous novel, "The Bridge Over the River Kwai", in 1957. Problem is, Boulle didn't write the screenplay; blacklisted writers Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson did. In all, five motion pictures based on the novel were released between 1968 and 1973, with a remake of the original debuting in 2001.

After the success of the crime-fighting movie "Blue Thunder" at the theaters, ABC debuted its own version for TV midway through the 1983-84 season. Which "Saturday Night Live" alum played the role of electronics wizard Clinton "Jafo" Wonderlove in this short-lived series?
    Dana Carvey. "Blue Thunder" was an advanced helicopter deployed to help fight crime in the sprawling metropolis of Los Angeles. Frank Chaney (played on the small screen by James Farantino) flew the versatile chopper, while Jafo made sure all of its gadgets were ready to go. "Blue Thunder" lasted from January to September of 1984; Dana Carvey would join the "SNL" cast two years later and enjoy a seven-year run with the ensemble.

A second incarnation of "The Untouchables", based on the 1987 theatrical release, ran for two years in syndication (1992-94).
    T. The first incarnation of "The Untouchables" ran for four seasons on ABC (1959-63), and set off controversy because of its violence and depictions of Italian-Americans. The second version didn't generate the same level of controversy or violence, but Eliot Ness (played by Tom Amandes) managed to put away Al Capone (played by William Forsythe) in 44 episodes.

NBC's durable medical drama "Dr. Kildare" had, as its basis, a movie titled "Interns Can't Take The Money". Though Richard Chamberlain made the role famous on TV, who originated the role in the movies?
    Joel McCrea. Although Lew Ayres played Dr. James Kildare in a long string of motion pictures in the late 1930s well into the 1940s, it was Joel McCrea who first played the role. The television version, which ran from 1961 to 1966, featured a Who's Who of Hollywood in front of and behind the camera. Joining Chamberlain on screen were veteran actor Raymond Massey (as Kildare's mentor, Dr. Gillespie) and Ken Berry (as Dr. Kapish). Gene Roddenberry, the creator of "Star Trek" wrote for the series. Among the series directors were Jack Arnold (who also directed many episodes of "Gilligan's Island"), Leo Penn (father of actor Sean Penn) and Boris Sagal (father of actors Liz, Jean, Joe and Katey Sagal).

From 1990 to 1993, USA Network fielded a series based on the sci-fi/horror movie "Swamp Thing". In what state was the title hero's swamp in this series?
    Louisiana. Dick Durock, who had played Swamp Thing in two different motion pictures, also played the character in the TV series. Before becoming a leafy superhero, Dr. Alec Holland was a kind-hearted scientist. He became a victim of the evil Dr. Arcane, whose greed threatened the environment.

A series based on the movie "My Friend Flicka", filmed in color but shown in black-and-white, ran on CBS during the 1956-57. It ran the next season on NBC in color. Who, or what, was Flicka?
    A horse. Roddy McDowall played Ken McLaughlin, the young boy who is responsible for Flicka on a turn-of-the-century Montana ranch, in the motion-picture version in 1943. Johnny Washbrook played that role in the TV series. Both the movie and the series were adapted from a collection of stories by Mary O'Hara.

Introduced to the world in a series of movies in the 1940s and 1950s, Lynn Belvedere winds up in the sitcom world in the 1980s, thanks to ABC's Friday-night staple, "Mr. Belvedere". In what city is the sitcom set?
    Pittsburgh. Played by the late Christopher Hewitt, Mr. Belvedere mixed astounding domestic skills with old-fashioned wisdom and manners. In the TV series, former major-league ballplayer and beer pitchman Bob Uecker played Belvedere's boss, sportswriter George Owens. "Mr. Belvedere" ran from 1985 to 1990 in ABC's lineup.

A very short-lived series based on Disney's "Love Bug" movies appeared on CBS near the end of the 1981-82 season. What number did the friendly Volkswagen Beetle, nicknamed Herbie, sport on its doors?
    53. Dean Jones reprised the role of Jim Douglas, driver of the white number 53 Volkswagen, for the small screen. The series lasted just one month (March to April 1982) before falling into oblivion. The late Larry Linville was on hand as Randy Bigelow, the romantic rival to Douglas's (and Herbie's) affection for Susan MacLane (played by Patricia Harty), and the late Bill Bixby served as one of the show's directors. All the information for this quiz came from The Internet Movie Database and "The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present" (8th Edition) by Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh.


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