The Last Picture Show Trivia Quiz

Answer: Texas

The film takes place in Anarene, Texas. It is roughly 150 miles northwest of the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Anarene is a small town, population 1131 (at least in 1952). There is an actual Anarene, about 8 miles south of Archer City.
Much of the film was shot in Archer City, Texas, which is fitting, as it was he hometown of author Larry McMurtry and the basis for the novel. Several members of the cast said that the people in the town were actually upset about the way McMurtry had portrayed them, so they weren't very enthusiastic about the film.
There is a brief part of the film set in Oklahoma, where Sonny and Jacy run off to get married.
At the high school graduation, students sing the state song of Texas. In the novel, the name of the town is Thalia.

Answer: Lion

Ben Johnson was Sam the Lion. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, largely based on the scene where Sam reminisces about his youth and "the one that got away". Johnson's performance was 9 minutes and 54 seconds. Jeff Bridges (Duane) was also nominated for Supporting Actor.
Ironically, Johnson was originally reluctant to take the role. Peter Bogdanovich called legendary director John Ford, who convinced Johnson to take the part.
Sam the Lion is a former cowboy who has become the heart of Anarene. He owns the pool hall, the diner and the movie theater. Sam dies near the center of the film, and it is the catalyst for the decline of the town.
Johnson got started in Hollywood as a stunt man and horse rider. It was Ford who made him an actor. Johnson appeared in many of the best westerns ever: "Rio Grande" (1950), "Shane" (1953) and "The Wild Bunch" (1969).
Bogdanovich had originally offered the role of Sam to James Stewart, but he couldn't get out of other commitments. That was when the director turned to Johnson.

Answer: Cybill Shepherd

Cybill Shepherd was a beauty pageant winner and model before she went into acting. Bogdanovich cast Shepherd as Jacy after seeing her on the cover of "Glamour" Magazine. She was in a relationship with Bogdanovich for much of the 1970s.
Shepherd had a notable role in "Taxi Driver" (1976) before taking a break to raise her daughter. She returned to television in 1985 with "Moonlighting", the show that launched the career of Bruce Willis. Shepherd won two Golden Globes as model turned detective Maddie Hayes.
Jacy starts out as innocent, but quickly learns she can use her looks to manipulate men. While she uses men, they also use her. By the end of the film, Jacy has left the small town to go to Dallas.
Kim Basinger made her film debut in "Hard Country" (1981). Jessica Lange's film debut was "King Kong" (1976). Lindsay Wagner started her film career with Timothy Bottoms as well; "The Paper Chase" (1973) was her second film.

Answer: Coach Poppper

Leachman is Ruth Popper. She won the Academy Award as Best Supporting Actress for playing a woman who is in a sexless marriage and seeks to fulfill her needs. It is implied that the coach is a homosexual. According to Leachman, the original script did have an explicit scene spelling out the coach's sexual orientation, but Bogdanovich left it out of the film.
The film closes with a scene between Sonny and Ruth, and Leachman gives a great monologue. She tears into Sonny for abandoning her, and tells him that their relationship is ultimately doomed. Ruth has the last line of the film: "Never you mind, honey, never you mind." The last scene is a tribute to the Orson Welles classic "The Magnificent Ambersons" (1942), whose "lost footage" contains a very similar scene. Welles was the one who convinced Bogdanovich to shoot "The Last Picture Show" in black and white.
The sheriff has a very small role in the film. Abilene (Clu Galanger) is either single or the world's worst husband. Chester (Noble Willingham) has a small role talking to Sonny about the football team.
Coach Popper is actually sort of responsible for the affair. He asks Sonny to take his wife to a clinic (the exact reason she is going is uncertain), and afterwards, she seduces Sonny.

Answer: Lois Farrow

Lois Farrow reveals to Sonny that she is the woman Sam was talking about. In her younger days, Lois and Sam went skinny dipping at the local dam.
Lois was played by Ellen Burstyn, who was nominated for Best Supporting Actress. Burstyn read for all three "older woman" roles, and Bogdanovich was so impressed he told her she could chose which one she wanted to play.
Lois is Jacy's mother, and is supportive even when Jacy makes bad decisions. She talks with Sonny about being in love with Sam, but being unable to leave her marriage.

Answer: Mexico

They drive down to the border. On the way back, we can see they have sombreros in the car. Right before they leave, Sam gives them some money and warns them about the dangers that can be found along the border, such as drinking bad booze and catching venereal diseases. It is a poignant moment, because when the boys return to town they discover that Sam has died over the weekend.

Answer: Army

Duane is shown wearing an army uniform. He tells Sonny that he will be shipped to Korea the next day. They spend Duane's last night in town at the movie theater. Duane gets on the Trailways bus and leaves the next morning. Jeff Bridges played Duane Jackson.

It was his second film; his first was "Halls of Anger" (1970), about school integration. Bridges got his start in small parts on his father Lloyd's show "Sea Hunt" in the late 1950s. Bridges was nominated for Best Supporting Actor, but lost to his co-star Ben Johnson.

He would be nominated three more times, but it was not until 2010 that he finally won an Oscar for "Crazy Heart" (2009). Other films on his resume include "Thunderbolt and Lightfoot" (1973), "Starman" (1985), "The Contender" (2000) and of course, his legendary role as The Dude in "The Big Lebowski" (1996).

Answer: Hit by a truck

Billy is sweeping in the middle of the street when he is run over by a cattle truck. As the sheriff and others berate Billy for causing his own death, Sonny runs over to find his friend dead. He gently picks up Sam's body, lays him in front of the movie theater, and covers him with his lettermans' jacket.

The scene has echoes of the final scene of "Rebel Without a Cause" (1955). Billy was mentally disabled and mute, which made him the target of ridicule and mean jokes. Billy was played by Sam Bottoms, Tim's brother, in his movie debut. Sam had come to visit Tim on the set.

When Bogdanovich saw him, he realized that Sam had the look he wanted for Billy, and so he offered him the job.

Answer: Robert L Surtees

Robert Surtees was a master cinematographer, receiving 16 Academy Award nominations, and winning three Oscars: "King Solomon's Mines" (1950), "The Bad and the Beautiful" (1952) and "Ben-Hur" (1959). He also worked on "The Graduate" (1967) and "The Sting" (1973). He was nominated for his work on "Last Picture Show" as well as another 1971 coming-of-age drama "Summer of '42".
Bruce was the son of Robert. He was a close associate of Clint Eastwood, and served as Director of Photography on 14 Eastwood films. Haskell Wexler was one of the biggest cinematographers of the 1960s and 1970s. He served as DP on "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" (1965) and "One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest" (1975).
Oswald Morris beat out Surtees for the Oscar with "Fiddler on the Roof" (1971). Morris was a veteran DP, working from 1950 to 1982; his credits include "Oliver!" (1968) and "Lolita" (1962).
Bogdanovich wanted to paint the town of Anarene as beaten down and desolate. He felt that using color would make things too "pretty". When he explained his vision to Orson Welles, the legendary director told him, "Then you have to shoot it in black and white." To Bogdanovich's surprise, the studio agreed to let him film in black and white.

Answer: "Red River" (1948)

Yes, it was a John Wayne film, but not "The Sands of Iwo Jima", and a western, but not "Wagon Master", which leaves the classic Howard Hawks film "Red River".
"Red River" is a great western about cattle ranching in Texas starring Wayne and Montgomery Clift. And like all great 1940s westerns, it has Walter Brennan.
"Father of the Bride" was shown early in the film. Sonny was looking at Elizabeth Taylor while making out with Charlene. There are posters for "The Sands of Iwo Jima" (1949) and "Wagon Master" (1950) in the theater. "Wagon Master" starred Ben Johnson, who played Sam.
There were also posters for the James Cagney drama "White Heat" (1949) and the James Stewart western "Winchester '73" (1950). In the McMurty novel, the film was the Audie Murphy western "The Kid from Texas" (1950).
The movie theater was the Royal. If you would like to visit it, go to 116 S. Sycamore Street in Archer City, Texas.