Memorable Hitchcock Movie Moments: Reel 3 Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. A fugitive is on the run from a gang that wants to kill him. As he makes his way through the American Midwest, a plane circles above him. He hides in a maize field, but the plane swoops and unleashes a spray of choking chemicals. In which Alfred Hitchcock movie is this a memorable scene?

Answer: North By Northwest

'North by Northwest' was released in 1959 and starred Cary Grant, Eve Marie Saint and James Mason.
Roger Thornhill (Grant) is an advertising executive who is mistaken for a secret agent by a gang led by Philip Vandamm (Mason). They try to kill him, but he escapes. Thornhill flees from the gang but is pursued by them across the US, picking up Eve Kendall (Saint) along the way. Together they must find the real secret agent so that Thornhill can clear his name of murder.
In September 2008, film critics of 'The Times' placed the 'crop dusting scene' at number 5 in a list of Hitchcock's 50 most memorable scenes.

2. Two people have died and others want to know what happened. As the sister of one of the victims searches a basement room, she sees an old woman sitting in a chair with her back to her. She reaches out to touch the old woman... In which Alfred Hitchcock movie is this a memorable scene?

Answer: Psycho

Psycho was released in 1960 and starred Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Galvin and Martin Balsam.
Marion Cane (Leigh) is on a journey across country to meet her boyfriend when she stops for the night at the Bates Motel. Norman Bates (Perkins) seems a nice lad, if a little dominated by his mother. But the Bates Motel has secrets and after Marion is killed in THAT famous shower scene and a Private Detective (Balsam) also dies, Marion's sister (Miles) goes to look for them, and meets 'mother' in the basement.
In September 2008, film critics of 'The Times' placed 'the discovery of mother' at number 2 in a list of Hitchcock's 50 most memorable scenes. The 'shower scene' in which Janet Leigh played the first murder victim was placed at number one on the same list.

3. Some accuse Alfred Hitchcock of being a misogynist, and certainly his heroines frequently face shocking experiences. One of his movies features a hate-filled diatribe by a serial killer who describes rich widows as "Horrible, faded, fat, greedy women. Are they human or are they wheezing animals?" In which movie does the scene appear?

Answer: Shadow Of A Doubt

'Shadow of a Doubt' was released in 1943 and starred Teresa Wright, Joseph Cotten, Macdonald Carey, Patricia Collinge and Henry Travers
Hitchcock has long faced accusations about the treatment of women in his movies. In an interview in September 2008, Tippy Hedren (star of 'The Birds') said of Hitchcock: "He was extremely complicated. I think he was a misogynist - absolutely, no doubt about it. But I wasn't a wimpy girl. New York had made me tough. I wasn't afraid."
At the centre of the story in 'Shadow Of A Doubt' are the seemingly normal Newtown family (Harry Travis, Patricia Collinge and their daughter, Teresa Wright). The daughter learns that her Uncle Charlie (Joseph Cotten) is on his way to stay with the family. Two strangers also turn up and it transpires they are detectives who believe Uncle Charlie is one of two serial killer suspects. When the other man dies, they are satisfied the killer is dead and leave. But the girl begins to suspect her uncle is the serial killer after all, and as he becomes aware of her suspicions, strange things seem to happen to her.
In September 2008, film critics of 'The Times' placed the 'fat greedy women' scene at number 33 in a list of 50 memorable Hitchcock scenes.

4. A 12-minute scene free of any dialogue cuts to a shot of an orchestra playing at the Royal Albert Hall. A couple desperately race to save the life of a top European leader who appears at the mercy of an assassin. The woman screams as the assassin fires... In which Alfred Hitchcock movie does this scene appear?

Answer: The Man Who Knew Too Much

'The Man Who Knew Too Much' was released in 1956 and starred James Stewart and Doris Day as a husband and wife couple. It won a 'Best Music, Original Song' Oscar for "Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera, Sera)".
Dr Ben McKenna (Stewart) and his wife Jo (Day) are in holiday in Africa with their son when they uncover a plot to kill a political leader in London. They go there to try to prevent the assassination, but things take a twist when their son is kidnapped by the plotters.
In September 2008, film critics of 'The Times' placed the scene in the concert hall at number 42 in a list of 50 memorable Hitchcock scenes.

5. Alfred Hitchcock made cameo appearances in many of the movies he directed. In one of them the audience sees a picture of him as the 'before' figure in a newspaper diet advertisement. In which of these movies did the scene appear?

Answer: Lifeboat

'Lifeboat' was released in 1944 and starred Tallulah Bankhead, William Bendix, Walter Slezak and Mary Anderson.
In a mid-Atlantic battle in WW2, a ship and a Nazi U both both sink. The survivors from the ship are a mixed bunch from many backgrounds. Then they pull a man out of the sea and he turns out to be one of the U-Boat crew. He has a compass and they allow him to take charge to take them to safety. Later in the movie, the photograph of 'Hitch' is seen in a paper carried by one of the survivors.
In September 2008, film critics of 'The Times' placed the shot of the newspaper in the hands of a survivor at number 38 in a list of 50 memorable Hitchcock scenes.

6. Two men argue over which of them should push a third man off a cliff to his death. The scene is intercut with images of the victim's dog whimpering at home for his master. In which Alfred Hitchcock movie does this scene appear?

Answer: Secret Agent

'Secret Agent' was released in 1936 and starred John Gielguid and Peter Lorre. It was based on a book by W. Somerset Maugham.
The story is set in WW1 when Edgar Brodie (Gielguid), a novelist turned agent, is sent to Switzerland by the British to kill a German spy. In his company are two professional spies, The General (Lorre) and Elsa Carrington (Madeline Carroll). However, the man they kill is not the target but an innocent old man. The General does not seem to care, but the others begin to question the morality of the mission.
In September 2008, film critics of 'The Times' placed the 'death of a tourist in the Swiss Alps' scene at number 43 in a list of 50 memorable Hitchcock scenes.

7. A man accused of murder, comes across the sleeping serial killer who had framed him. He smashes an iron bar into his head, only to find it is the body of a girl he has struck. In which Alfred Hitchcock movie does this scene appear?

Answer: Frenzy

'Frenzy' was released in 1972 and starred Jon Finch, Barry Foster, Barbara Leigh-Hunt and Anna Massey.
A sex killer strikes in London and one of the victims is the ex-wife of Richard Blaney (Finch). That does not stop the police from suspecting him, especially when his girlfriend is also killed. Blaney is arrested, but escapes to try to find the real killer (who is played by Foster).
As a passing note, Foster went on to play a Dutch cop in 32 episodes of 'Van Der Valk' on British TV from 1972 to 1992.
In September 2008, film critics of 'The Times' placed this scene at number 8 in a list of 50 memorable Hitchcock scenes.

8. Even the simplest of devices can provide vital clues in an Alfred Hitchcock movie. Which of these movies opens with a camera shot of two sets of hurrying male feet?

Answer: Strangers On A Train

'Strangers On A Trail' was released in 1951 and starred Farley Granger, Ruth Roman, Robert Walker, Leo G. Carroll and Patrica Hitchcock (the daughter of director Alfred Hitchcock and Alma Reville.)
Bruno Anthony (Walker) and Guy Haines (Granger) meet on a train. Anthony wants his father dead and Haines wants his wife dead. Anthony offers to kill the woman, if Haines will kill his father. Haines takes this as a joke, but then his wife dies. Haines will not carry out his side of the 'bargain', so Anthony sets out to prove that he killed the woman.
In September 2008, film critics of 'The Times' placed the opening shot of the feet hurrying to catch a train at number 15 in a list of 50 memorable Hitchcock scenes.

9. Two men discuss committing murder. Each will kill someone close to the other and the criss-cross murder swap will enable each to escape detection. In which Alfred Hitchcock movie does this chilling conversation take place?

Answer: Strangers On A Train

'Strangers On A Trail' was released in 1951 and starred Farley Granger, Ruth Roman, Robert Walker, Leo G. Carroll and Patrica Hitchcock (the daughter of director Alfred Hitchcock and Alma Reville.)
When two strangers (played by Farley and Grainger) meet on a train, the conversation turns to the people who are holding them back, the father of one and the wife of the other. They talk about swapping partners and each killing the one who is in the way of the other. One of the men takes it all as a joke, but then his wife dies.
In September 2008, film critics of 'The Times' placed the criss-cross scene at number 27 in a list of 50 memorable Hitchcock scenes.

10. A man saves a woman from a lingering death by poisoning, then carries her from a house past suspicious German agents. To which Alfred Hitchcock movie is this a tense climax?

Answer: Notorious

'Notorious' was released in 1946 and starred Cary Grant, Claude Raines and Ingrid Bergman.
Alicia Huberman (Bergman) is recruited to be a secret agent by US intelligence. She is sent to Brazil to spy on a group of her father's former Nazi friends, but falls in love with Devlin, her handler (Grant). He orders her, though, to marry the Nazi leader (Raines). The woman discovers what the gang are up to, but the leader rumbles her and decides to kill her slowly with poison. Devlin finds this out and goes to rescue Alicia.
In September 2008, film critics of 'The Times' placed the tense climax to 'Notorious' at number 29 in a list of 50 memorable Hitchcock scenes.

Source: Author darksplash

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Nannanut before going online.
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Alfred Hitchcock, it seems, is a hugely admired director among FunTrivia quizzers. By popular demand - one person asked for more - here are some more 'Hitch' movies for you to identify from memorable scenes.

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