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Quiz about North by Northwest 1959
Quiz about North by Northwest 1959

"North by Northwest" (1959) Trivia Quiz


This is a quiz about Alfred Hitchcock's 1959 movie, "North by Northwest." It starred Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, and James Mason.

A multiple-choice quiz by West18john. Estimated time: 6 mins.
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Author
West18john
Time
6 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
89,150
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
20
Difficulty
Tough
Avg Score
10 / 20
Plays
1462
Awards
Top 35% Quiz
Last 3 plays: Guest 136 (12/20), Guest 76 (12/20), Guest 73 (13/20).
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Question 1 of 20
1. What is Roger Thornhill's (Cary Grant) secretary's first name? Hint


Question 2 of 20
2. What are the names of the men Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant) met at the Oak Bar in the Plaza Hotel? Hint


Question 3 of 20
3. What are the last names of the henchmen who kidnapped Roger Thornhill from the Plaza Hotel? Hint


Question 4 of 20
4. In the film, the Townsend estate was located in what Long Island town? Hint


Question 5 of 20
5. What Broadway theater was Thornhill planning to go to before he was abducted? He mentioned it to Vandamm (James Mason). Hint


Question 6 of 20
6. Who portrayed Roger Thornhill's lawyer? Hint


Question 7 of 20
7. Who portrayed Nassau County detective, Lieutenant Harding? Hint


Question 8 of 20
8. What did Thornhill's mother say to the two men who followed her and her son in the elevator? Hint


Question 9 of 20
9. Who portrayed the ticket clerk who tips off the police that Thornhill is at his ticket window in Grand Central Terminal? Hint


Question 10 of 20
10. What did Thornhill say to Eve the "O" stood for in his initials? Hint


Question 11 of 20
11. At the auction, what was Roger Thornhill's last bid before he was taken away by the police? Hint


Question 12 of 20
12. Which is the famous movie gaffe, or mistake, seen in "North by Northwest"? Hint


Question 13 of 20
13. Think carefully now! On how many Hitchcock films did film composer Bernard Herrmann work? This counts all films that he was credited or worked on, even if the work wasn't used. Hint


Question 14 of 20
14. On the airport tarmac, when Thornhill asked the Professor (Leo G. Carroll) what Vandamm "is up to," the Professor replies that he is a what? Hint


Question 15 of 20
15. Leo G. Carroll appeared in how many Hitchcock movies? Hint


Question 16 of 20
16. After leaving Vandamm's house, when Roger picks-up the fleeing Eve in the car he stole, what does he say to Eve, referring to the statuette she had in her lap? Hint


Question 17 of 20
17. What is on the microfilm in the statuette? Hint


Question 18 of 20
18. In the scene where Leonard (Martin Landau) reveals Eve's deception to Vandamm, where did Leonard say he found the gun Eve used to shoot at Thornhill? Hint


Question 19 of 20
19. What did Roger write on the matchbook he threw down to Eve? Hint


Question 20 of 20
20. What is the last thing Roger says to Eve in the top berth of the train compartment at the end of the film? Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Apr 24 2024 : Guest 136: 12/20
Apr 18 2024 : Guest 76: 12/20
Apr 14 2024 : Guest 73: 13/20
Apr 05 2024 : Guest 66: 16/20
Apr 04 2024 : Guest 73: 10/20
Mar 31 2024 : Guest 24: 14/20
Mar 30 2024 : Guest 193: 12/20
Mar 29 2024 : Guest 173: 12/20
Mar 18 2024 : Guest 63: 13/20

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. What is Roger Thornhill's (Cary Grant) secretary's first name?

Answer: Maggie

Maggie was expertly played by Doreen Lang who had already been in a previous Hitchcock film, "The Wrong Man", and then she later appeared in "The Birds" as the frightened mother in the cafe.
2. What are the names of the men Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant) met at the Oak Bar in the Plaza Hotel?

Answer: Herman Weltner, Larry Wade and Fanning Nelson.

Larry Wade was played by Robert Shayne, who was famous for playing Inspector Henderson on the George Reeves television series "Superman."
3. What are the last names of the henchmen who kidnapped Roger Thornhill from the Plaza Hotel?

Answer: Valerian and Licht

Valerian was portrayed by Adam Williams, Licht by Robert Ellenstein. Both have been seen in numerous television guest roles. As a note of interest, in the original screenplay, Licht is one of the people in the cropduster plane. We were to see his body in the burning plane, but it was never filmed.
4. In the film, the Townsend estate was located in what Long Island town?

Answer: Glen Cove

The actual estate where the entrance and house exteriors were filmed is Old Westbury Gardens in Old Westbury, Long Island. It is still used for film and television location shooting, and is open to the public for tours. The interiors were shot in a Los Angeles studio.
5. What Broadway theater was Thornhill planning to go to before he was abducted? He mentioned it to Vandamm (James Mason).

Answer: Winter Garden

When Thornhill is tossed into the car in a drunken stupor, if you listen closely, you can hear him singing "I've Grown Accustomed to Your Bourbon." Perhaps he was planning to see "My Fair Lady" at the Winter Garden that night, before he was abducted.
6. Who portrayed Roger Thornhill's lawyer?

Answer: Edward Platt

Edward Platt went on to portray the "Chief" on TV's "Get Smart."
7. Who portrayed Nassau County detective, Lieutenant Harding?

Answer: Stanley Adams

Stanley Adams is best known to "Star Trek" fans as Cyrano Jones in the episode entitled "The Trouble With Tribbles."
8. What did Thornhill's mother say to the two men who followed her and her son in the elevator?

Answer: "You gentlemen aren't really trying to kill my son, are you?"

According to her 'official' Jessie Royce Landis was about ten months younger than Cary Grant, the actor portraying her son in the movie! However there is some evidence that she was actually 6 years older than she claimed.
9. Who portrayed the ticket clerk who tips off the police that Thornhill is at his ticket window in Grand Central Terminal?

Answer: Ned Glass

Ned Glass later appeared as Sol Cooper in the '60s television series "Julia."
10. What did Thornhill say to Eve the "O" stood for in his initials?

Answer: "Nothing"

Thornhill's initials were printed on his personalized matchbook cover. He told Eve, "My trademark, R.O.T."
11. At the auction, what was Roger Thornhill's last bid before he was taken away by the police?

Answer: Three thousand.

The head auctioneer was portrayed by Les Tremayne, who has appeared on television many times, and has done voiceover work in movies and animated children's programs. Among his credits is his narration of the U.S. version of "King Kong vs. Godzilla."
12. Which is the famous movie gaffe, or mistake, seen in "North by Northwest"?

Answer: In the cafeteria, a boy in the background plugs his ears with his fingers just before Eva Marie Saint fires her gun.

I wonder how that kid felt, seeing himself make that protective, but all-too-psychic, reflex every time the film was shown.
13. Think carefully now! On how many Hitchcock films did film composer Bernard Herrmann work? This counts all films that he was credited or worked on, even if the work wasn't used.

Answer: 9

If you count his non-musical work on "The Birds" and his rejected work on "Torn Curtain" the total adds up to nine. In total, "The Trouble With Harry", "The Wrong Man", "The Man Who Knew Too Much", "Vertigo", "North by Northwest", "Psycho", "The Birds", "Marnie" and "Torn Curtain."
14. On the airport tarmac, when Thornhill asked the Professor (Leo G. Carroll) what Vandamm "is up to," the Professor replies that he is a what?

Answer: An importer-exporter of government secrets.

Leo G. Carroll went on to portray the role of Mr. Alexander Waverly on the TV series "The Man From U.N.C.L.E.", and previously was "Topper" on the TV series of the same name.
15. Leo G. Carroll appeared in how many Hitchcock movies?

Answer: 6

Leo G. Carroll was in "Rebecca" (1940), "Suspicion" (1941), "Spellbound" (1945), "The Paradine Case" (1947), "Strangers on a Train" (1951), and lastly in "North by Northwest" (1959).
16. After leaving Vandamm's house, when Roger picks-up the fleeing Eve in the car he stole, what does he say to Eve, referring to the statuette she had in her lap?

Answer: "I see you've got the pumpkin."

When Roger called the statuette a pumpkin, he was alluding to the famous pumpkin, from the Alger Hiss spy case, which had microfilm hidden inside it's hollowed-out shell.
17. What is on the microfilm in the statuette?

Answer: It is never said

This was just another of Hitch's MacGuffins, which is an object that gives the characters motivation, but doesn't necessarily mean much of anything. It is irrelevant what is on the microfilm, so no one mentions it.
18. In the scene where Leonard (Martin Landau) reveals Eve's deception to Vandamm, where did Leonard say he found the gun Eve used to shoot at Thornhill?

Answer: In her luggage

Although Eve pulled the gun from her purse just before she shot at Roger, it later, if we believe Leonard, ended up in her luggage.
19. What did Roger write on the matchbook he threw down to Eve?

Answer: "They're on to you. I'm in your room."

Hitchcock wisely keeps the camera pointing down on Eve to give us Roger's point of view during the entire scene. Her hand holding the open matchbook flinches when she is startled by Leonard, letting us know just how nervous she is.
20. What is the last thing Roger says to Eve in the top berth of the train compartment at the end of the film?

Answer: "I know, but I'm sentimental."

This line was in response to Eve saying, "Oh, Roger, this is silly!" Then there is a quick cut to the train entering a tunnel, which was Hitchcock's sly reference to the newlywed's latest activity, as it wasn't in Lehman's screenplay. As an interesting note, in the original screenplay and in this scene, Eve often called Roger just "Thornhill." That changed when the movie was shot. Also, in this last scene, a shot of Roger's left hand with "Band-Aids" on each finger was in the screenplay, but not filmed.
Source: Author West18john

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor spanishliz before going online.
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