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Quiz about Randall Adams and The Thin Blue Line
Quiz about Randall Adams and The Thin Blue Line

Randall Adams and 'The Thin Blue Line' Quiz


This quiz is on Errol Morris' documentary and the events it concerns. Not all of this information is available in the movie itself. Enjoy!

A multiple-choice quiz by rj211. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
rj211
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
75,845
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
7 / 10
Plays
184
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Question 1 of 10
1. What crime was Randall Adams charged with? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. What is true of most of the interviews conducted in the film? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. David Harris was the other person possibly involved in the crime. Why couldn't he have been given the death sentence? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. One of the interviews is with a a Vidor police detective. He tells us about an attack David Harris committed against a woman. He hit her with something, and thought she was unconscious, but she was actually faking and called the cops. What did he hit her with? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. How long did the court-ordered psychologist spend with Adams before deciding that he was a definite danger to society? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. The female surprise eyewitness conveniently remembered seeing Adams in the car just before the shooting. She received a reward for providing this helpful testimony. Shortly after Adams' trial, she came forward with another convenient testimony, this time to help whom? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. What was the female cop drinking that evening? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. Who scored the film? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. How far was Adams from his execution when his sentence was overturned? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. True or False. After 'The Thin Blue Line' resulted in Adams' being freed from prison, Adams sued Errol Morris.



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. What crime was Randall Adams charged with?

Answer: murdering a police officer

Randall Adams was convicted of this crime and sentenced to death, but the film actually resulted in the overturning of his conviction and he was later released from prison.
2. What is true of most of the interviews conducted in the film?

Answer: The people being interviewed look directly into the camera.

Errol Morris used a particular set-up using a one-way mirror so that the interviewees could see him in the reflection and feel as though they were talking to him, while being filmed from straight on through the mirror. Morris also avoided asking too many questions, instead letting his subjects just ramble on.

It had an interesting result, in that the people seem to be giving testimonials, speaking directly to the audience, and the role of Morris isn't obvious. Additionally, many things became obvious when the subjects just continued to speak, and Morris was able to cut the interviews together in a way that very effectively manipulated his audience.
3. David Harris was the other person possibly involved in the crime. Why couldn't he have been given the death sentence?

Answer: He was only 16.

The film suggested that the reason why the cops didn't legally pursue the obviously criminal Harris was because they wanted to get death penalty to avenge the death of the cop. Adams made a convenient scapegoat, as someone eligible for (though not necessarily deserving of) the sentence.
4. One of the interviews is with a a Vidor police detective. He tells us about an attack David Harris committed against a woman. He hit her with something, and thought she was unconscious, but she was actually faking and called the cops. What did he hit her with?

Answer: a rolling pin

The Vidor cop also told us that there was a time when Harris tried to kidnap a woman out of her apartment, but her boyfriend followed them into the parking lot so Harris shot him. He sure sounds stable, and the prosecution used him to implicate Adams!
5. How long did the court-ordered psychologist spend with Adams before deciding that he was a definite danger to society?

Answer: 15 minutes

The psychologist spent 15 minutes with Adams. He asked him what his interpretations were of such proverbs as 'a rolling stone gathers no moss' and had him copy line drawings. Apparently this was all he needed to verify Adams' blood-thirsty state.
6. The female surprise eyewitness conveniently remembered seeing Adams in the car just before the shooting. She received a reward for providing this helpful testimony. Shortly after Adams' trial, she came forward with another convenient testimony, this time to help whom?

Answer: her daughter

She provided a too-convenient alibi for her daughter to keep her out of jail. Not the most reliable of witnesses, but her testimony was basically credited with putting Adams in jail.
7. What was the female cop drinking that evening?

Answer: a malt

It was debated whether or not she was in the car drinking it when she should have been outside following procedure by being prepared to offer back up.
8. Who scored the film?

Answer: Philip Glass

The score really aided in setting the unnerving tone for the film.
9. How far was Adams from his execution when his sentence was overturned?

Answer: 3 days

The sentence was overturned on a technicality, and he was later exonerated.
10. True or False. After 'The Thin Blue Line' resulted in Adams' being freed from prison, Adams sued Errol Morris.

Answer: True

He sued Morris for supposedly making an unfair profit from the film, even though Morris had bought the rights to Adams' life (for {$10).} I'm not sure what the result of the lawsuit was, but I doubt Adams got much of anything, since Morris didn't really make much money off of the movie.
Source: Author rj211

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