Wordwise Goes To The Movies Trivia Quiz

Answer: Carry On Nurse

The word "Carry" written above the word "Nurse" represents the 1959 film "Carry On Nurse".

This was the second of the long-running series of 30 British "Carry On" films which appeared between 1958 and 1978 (plus a best-forgotten latecomer, 1992's "Carry On Columbus"). It starred many of the actors who were to become well-known for their appearances in the series, such as Kenneth Williams, Hattie Jacques, Joan Sims and Charles Hawtrey (though not Sid James, who didn't appear until the fourth in the series, "Carry on Constable"). As the title suggests, it was set in a hospital, and also starred Shirley Eaton as Staff Nurse Dorothy Denton.

Answer: Four Weddings And A Funeral

The word "wedding" repeated four times, plus the word "funeral", is hopefully enough to signal the 1994 rom-com "Four Weddings And A Funeral". Written by Richard Curtis and directed by Mike Newell, it tells the story of a group of friends, who meet over a number of months at the five social occasions of the title.

The film made a star of Hugh Grant, who played the romantic lead, Charles, and featured a range of British character actors including Rowan Atkinson, Simon Callow, John Hannah and Kristin Scott Thomas, plus American actress Andie MacDowell as Charles' love interest, Carrie. The film was made on a small budget but was a huge international success, spawning almost a new genre of British romantic comedies, most of which also seemed to be written by Richard Curtis and starring Hugh Grant.

Answer: Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo

The words "Thirty Seconds" written above the word "Tokyo" should lead to the 1944 film "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo".

Directed by Mervyn LeRoy and scripted by Dalton Trumbo, the film tells the true story of the so-called "Doolittle Raid" of 1942, in which a squadron of American bombers bombed a number of cities on mainland Japan, in retaliation for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour in December 1941. The film stars Spencer Tracy as Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle, the US Army officer who planned and led the raid, and Van Johnson as Captain Ted Lawson, who wrote the book on which the film is based.

Answer: Evil Under The Sun

The word "Evil" written beneath the words "The Sun" should lead to the murder mystery "Evil Under The Sun".

This is a 1982 adaptation (by Anthony Shaffer) of an Agatha Christie novel, starring Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot and directed by Guy Hamilton. It was Ustinov's second appearance as Poirot, after "Death on the Nile" (1978), and he was to follow it with several more television and film adaptations. The film follows the pattern set by "Murder on the Orient Express", featuring a large all-star cast including James Mason, Roddy McDowall, Sylvia Miles, Diana Rigg and Maggie Smith.

Answer: Up In Smoke

The letters spelling "In Smoke" are written leading upwards, giving "Up In Smoke".

This is a 1978 film starring Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong, a well-known comedy duo who had made their names with comic routines based about the American hippy drug culture. "Up In Smoke" was directed by Lou Adler, better known as a record producer, and is largely an expanded version of their drug-based comedy sketches. It proved to be a great success among its target audience of young stoners, and several other movies followed.

Answer: Back To The Future

The words "to the future" written backwards are a clue to the well-known film "Back To The Future".

Released in 1985 and directed by Robert Zemeckis, it tells of a teenager named Marty McFly (played by Michael J. Fox) who travels back to the year 1955 in a plutonium-powered DeLorean sportscar designed by the eccentric inventor Emmett Brown (Christopher Lloyd). He then accidentally prevents his parents from getting together, which threatens his future existence. The film's witty exploration of this well-known time-travel paradox made it an instant success and led to two sequels.

Answer: Man On The Moon

The word "man" written above "the moon" gives "Man On The Moon".

This is not, as you might expect, a film about NASA's Apollo program, but a 1999 biographical drama about the eccentric American comedian Andy Kaufman. The film was directed by Milos Forman and starred Jim Carrey as Kaufman. It follows his career from early nightclub appearances to wider fame as a member of the cast of the popular comedy show "Taxi", as well as performances in the character of a foul-mouthed lounge singer named Tony Clifton. Kaufman died of a virulent form of lung cancer in 1984, aged only 35.

Answer: Down Terrace

Although not a particularly well-known film, the letters of "terrace" written in descending order will hopefully have led you to "Down Terrace".

This is a 2009 low-budget British crime drama that was shot by director Ben Wheatley in a mere eight days on a minuscule budget. His first feature-length film, it is a black comedy about a criminal just released from prison who returns to his family in Brighton determined to find out who was responsible for betraying him.

Answer: Double Indemnity

The word "indemnity" appears twice, leading us to the 1944 crime thriller "Double Indemnity". This was directed by Billy Wilder, based on the novel by James M. Cain, and starring Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck and Edward G. Robinson.

MacMurray plays an insurance salesman who is seduced by Stanwyck into murdering her husband and then helping her to claim on his life insurance. Robinson plays a colleague of MacMurray who has doubts about the legitimacy of the claim. The film is acknowledged as one of the masterpieces of 1940s "film noir", and one of Wilder's finest works.

Answer: Death In Venice

The letters of the word "Death" are situated in the middle of the word "Venice", giving us "Death In Venice".

This is the name of a 1971 film directed by Luchino Visconti and starring Dirk Bogarde as a composer, Gustav von Aschenbach, who comes to Venice to recuperate from a serious medical condition. While there, he becomes unhealthily obsessed with a beautiful young boy, Tadzio, who is staying in Venice with his family. The film is based on a novella written in 1912 by Thomas Mann, which also inspired the 1973 opera by Benjamin Britten.