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Hard-Boiled Lit Trivia Quiz

The film noir genre of the 40's owes to the hard-boiled stories that began in the pulps of the 20' and 30's. They were tough, brooding tales of crime in the mean streets of asphalt jungles. See how much you know of them.

A multiple-choice quiz by tjoebigham. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
tjoebigham

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
22,823

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
5 / 10

Plays
683

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Which novel did Dashiell Hammett NOT write? Hint

The Maltese Falcon

Red Harvest

The Glass Key

The Long Goodbye

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Question 2 of 10

2. Where did Horace McCoy place his 'They Shoot Horses, Don't They'? Hint

In a 1930's dance marathon

In a race stable

In a opium den

In a ballet school

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Question 3 of 10

3. What word did William Lindsay Gresham introduce to a broader audience in his 'Nightmare Alley'? Hint

nerd

geek

dude

gnarly

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Question 4 of 10

4. Which novel wasn't written by Cornell Woolrich? Hint

The Bride Wore Black

The Black Curtain

Phantom Lady

Bright Orange for the Shroud

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Question 5 of 10

5. What sport was portrayed in English writer Gerald Kersh's 'Night and the City'? Hint

steeplechase racing

boxing

pro wrestling

volleyball

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Question 6 of 10

6. What was the job of the lead character in Jim Thompson's 'The Killer Inside Me'? Hint

sheriff

country music star

bootlegger

hotel manager

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Question 7 of 10

7. Who was Nelson Algren's 'Man With The Golden Arm'? Hint

Frankie Majinek(Machine)

Cincinatti Kid

Fast Eddie Felson

Jake LaMotta

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Question 8 of 10

8. Name the female author who doesn't belong in the group: Hint

Dorothy B. Hughes

Jacqueline Susann

Vera Caspary

Martita Wolff

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Question 9 of 10

9. Who wrote the original short story that became the film noir classic 'The Killers'? Hint

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Ernest Hemingway

William Faulkner

Micky Spillane

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Question 10 of 10

10. How did the first movie version of 'The Killers' influence the classic cop show 'Dragnet'? Hint

Dragnet used the movie's da-da-da-dum motif

Siodmak directed the pilot episode

Lancaaster beacme Joe Friday

Hemingway was a series writer

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Which novel did Dashiell Hammett NOT write?

Answer: The Long Goodbye

Raymond Chandler wrote Goodbye long after Hammett stopped writing.

2. Where did Horace McCoy place his 'They Shoot Horses, Don't They'?

Answer: In a 1930's dance marathon

McCoy's grim 1935 novel became a 1969 film starring Jane Fonda.

3. What word did William Lindsay Gresham introduce to a broader audience in his 'Nightmare Alley'?

Answer: geek

In carny slang, geek is a chronic drunk taught to bite off chickens' heads(!); Tyrone Power became one in the 1947 film version.

4. Which novel wasn't written by Cornell Woolrich?

Answer: Bright Orange for the Shroud

Woolrich's work became many a film noir in the {40's;} he's best known for 'Rear Window', filmed by the incomparable Hitchcock.

5. What sport was portrayed in English writer Gerald Kersh's 'Night and the City'?

Answer: pro wrestling

Richard Widmark was the unscrupulous lead in the 40's film version.

6. What was the job of the lead character in Jim Thompson's 'The Killer Inside Me'?

Answer: sheriff

Before Psycho's Norman Bates, Sheriff Lou Ford indulged in serial murder(Stacy Keach played him in the film version).

7. Who was Nelson Algren's 'Man With The Golden Arm'?

Answer: Frankie Majinek(Machine)

Frankie was a drug-addicted card dealer.

8. Name the female author who doesn't belong in the group:

Answer: Jacqueline Susann

Believe it or not, women wrote hard-boiled fiction too! (Caspary penned the classic 'Laura')

9. Who wrote the original short story that became the film noir classic 'The Killers'?

Answer: Ernest Hemingway

Hemingway's 1920's story became Robert Siodmak's seminal noir thriller, starring Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner.

10. How did the first movie version of 'The Killers' influence the classic cop show 'Dragnet'?

Answer: Dragnet used the movie's da-da-da-dum motif

Miklos Rozsa composed the famous four-note theme for 'The Killers', then Jack Webb cribbed it for his Dragnet.

Source: Author tjoebigham

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor looney_tunes before going online.
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