We Are On the Map! Trivia Quiz

In the western "Nevada Smith" (1966), Steve McQueen played a young man who was seeking revenge for the murder of his parents. Young Nevada (also known as Max Sand) went about his search in many ways, even going so far as to go to prison to get close enough to one of the killers to take his revenge. The character had appeared in "The Carpetbaggers" (1964), with Alan Ladd playing an older version of Smith.

Steve McQueen (1930-1980) was often described as the King of Cool, having played cool characters in films such as "The Magnificent Seven" (1960),"The Great Escape" (1963), "Bullitt" (1968) and many others. His single Oscar nomination for Best Actor was for the role of Jake Holman in "The Sand Pebbles" (1966).

In "Scarface" (1983), Al Pacino played Tony Montana, a Cuban immigrant to Miami, who turned to crime as his way of chasing the "American dream". The film was both violent and irreverent, with at least one quote that makes it to many lists of memorable quotes.

Pacino's other roles have included Michael Corleone in "The Godfather" films, and the title cop of "Serpico" (1973). His first Oscar win, after several nominations, came for "Scent of a Woman" (1992).

Johnny Utah, played by Keanu Reeves in "Point Break" (1991), was an FBI agent who was sent undercover to investigate a group of surfers who were believed to also be a gang of bank robbers. Patrick Swayze played the main surfer/robber.

Reeves, who was born in Lebanon, and raised in Toronto, is also known for playing Neo in "The Matrix" movies, Ted in the "Bill and Ted" films, and Jack Traven in "Speed" (1994) amongst many other credits.

Directed by the Coen brothers, "Raising Arizona" (1987) starred Nicolas Cage and Holly Hunter as a couple who decided to kidnap one of Nathan Arizona, Sr.'s five babies to raise as their own, with predictably unfortunate consequences. Trey Wilson played the father of the abducted child, believed to be Nathan Arizona, Jr. (though he wasn't sure).

Trey Wilson (1948-1989) was also remembered for his roles in "Twins" (1988) and "Bull Durham" (1988).

The movie was "Rio Bravo" (1959). Ricky Nelson played young cowboy Colorado Ryan, who teamed up with sheriff John T. Chance (John Wayne - the Duke), a drunk called Dude (Dean Martin - Dino) and an old man named Stumpy (Walter Brennan) to stop the local villain from springing his brother from jail before he could be brought to justice. There's also a girl called Feathers, played by Angie Dickinson. Colorado and Dude get together to sing "My Rifle, My Pony and Me" whilst they are holed up in the sheriff's office/jail, to the amusement of Chance and Stumpy.

Ricky Nelson (1940-1985) had appeared in his parents' television show, "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" (1952-1966) and also had something of a career in music, unfortunately cut short by an airplane crash.

"Incendiary Blonde" (1945) was a musical biopic of entertainer Texas Guinan, portrayed by Betty Hutton. Songs included "Ragtime Cowboy Joe" and "It Had to Be You", performed by Hutton and others as part of Guinan's club and showtime routines. The real Guinan, first name Maria, was born in Texas in 1884 and became known for running a speakeasy during Prohibition.

Betty Hutton (1921-2007), born Elizabeth Thornburg, was also known for such films as "Annie Get Your Gun" (1950), for which she received a Golden Globe nomination, and "The Greatest Show on Earth" (1952) in which she played a trapeze artist in a circus.

Jackie Gleason played pool champion Minnesota Fats in "The Hustler" (1961). The film followed the career of young pool player "Fast Eddie" Felson (Paul Newman) in his quest to defeat Minnesota Fats in a career-making match. Gleason and Newman were both Oscar-nominated for their roles, as were other cast and crew members, the director and the film itself. Wins came for cinematography and art direction only.

Jackie Gleason (1916-1987) is probably best remembered as Ralph Kramden, in TV's "The Honeymooners" (1955-56) or perhaps, as Sheriff Buford T. Justice in "Smokey and the Bandit" (1977) and its sequel.

Dr Henry Jones, Jr., better known as Indiana Jones, has been portrayed by Harrison Ford, in a long series of adventure films, beginning with "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981) and extending into the 2020s. Subsequent films in the franchise followed the title form of "Indiana Jones and the (something exciting)", for the most part. Indy was an archaeology professor, given to venturing outside the lecture hall to go adventuring around the world, taking on all sorts of adversaries.

Harrison Ford is a bit of an adventurer himself, holding a private pilot's license and owning a ranch in Wyoming. His acting career includes another iconic character, Han Solo in the "Star Wars" franchise, as well as stand alone performances in films such as "Witness" (1985) for which he was Oscar-nominated. In later years he has turned to television comedy, receiving an Emmy nomination for his performance in "Shrinking" (2023- ).

"True Romance" (1993) was directed by Tony Scott and written by Quentin Tarantino, which might give one an idea of its content. Drugs, murder and a bit of romance? Sure thing. Patricia Arquette played Alabama Whitman, a reluctant call girl, who got mixed up with Christian Slater's character, who accidentally stole drugs from her pimp, who... You probably have already guessed.

Patricia Arquette, one of the acting Arquette family, has been acting since the late 1980s both on television and the big screen. She won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for "Boyhood" (2014).

In "A Star Is Born" (2018), Bradley Cooper played Jackson Maine, a country singer who was on the way down whilst his love interest, Ally (Lady Gaga), was becoming a big star. Their complicated relationship and intertwined careers provide the plot of the movie, which is (at least) the fourth retelling of the tale. (I was tempted to use James Mason as the representative here, but thought that might be cruel. He played Norman Maine to Judy Garland's Vicki Lester in the 1954 version. Like Cooper, Mason was Oscar-nominated for the role.)

Bradley Cooper, besides the acting nomination for "A Star Is Born", has received multiple Oscar nominations for this and other films, for acting, writing and producing. He has also directed a number of movies, including "A Star Is Born".