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Oh! What a Lovely War Trivia Quiz

As this is the centenary of the start of World War 1, I thought I would create a quiz about a film of that event. There will, of course, be spoilers. Enjoy.

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

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Author
geowyn

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
371,740

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
154

Question 1 of 10

1. Who directed "Oh! What a Lovely War"? Hint

David Lean

Alfred Hitchcock

Mike Leigh

Richard Attenborough

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Question 2 of 10

2. Although set during WW1 the actual film is set in a completely different place. Can you name it? Hint

A Circus

A Park

A School

Brighton Pier

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Question 3 of 10

3. What is the name of the family whose fortunes we follow during the course of the war? Hint

White

Brown

Smith

Jones

4. We see an actor playing a number of roles during the film including photographer and soldier. He is everyman and we see the film through his eyes from the death of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife onwards. Can you name this actor? Hint

Sam Kydd

George Cole

Harry H Corbett

Joe Melia

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Question 5 of 10

5. There is a host of British stars of film and TV in this film including several knights and a Dame. Who was not in the film? Hint

John Geilgud

James Mason

Ralph Richardson

Michael Redgrave

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Question 6 of 10

6. The Suffragettes put their activities on hold to support the war, however the film shows Sylvia Pankhurst making a speech at a railway station. Can you name the actress who plays her? Hint

Vanessa Redgrave

Maggie Smith

Lynne Redgrave

Diana Rigg

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Question 7 of 10

7. What happens whenever a poppy is seen in the film? Hint

A bomb goes off

Someone dies

Someone buys flowers

A lady's hat is blown off

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Question 8 of 10

8. The Christmas Day Truce is shown, with British and German soldiers together in No Man's Land. Which carol do we hear the Germans singing? Hint

Away in a Manger

Silent Night

Oh Come all ye Faithful

In the Deep Midwinter

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Question 9 of 10

9. Who plays Douglas Haig, Commander of the British Expeditionary Force from 1915 to 1918? Hint

John Mills

Jack Hawkins

Thorley Walters

Kenneth More

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Question 10 of 10

10. At the end of the film, when the war is over, we see a group of people enjoying a picnic on a grassy hillside. Who is in this group? Hint

Harry, Freddie and Bertie Smith

Mary Smith with her son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter

Jack, George, Harry and Bertie with the Smith women

The women of the Smith family

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Who directed "Oh! What a Lovely War"?

Answer: Richard Attenborough

Richard Attenborough started his film career as an actor in 1942 in the film "In Which We Serve" and in 1960 he produced his first film "The Angry Silence". "Oh What A Lovely War" was his fifth film as producer and first as director.

2. Although set during WW1 the actual film is set in a completely different place. Can you name it?

Answer: Brighton Pier

Events are played out on the pier, "World War 1" is spelled out in lights and people queue to buy entrance tickets from General Haig.

3. What is the name of the family whose fortunes we follow during the course of the war?

Answer: Smith

The Smiths are a large family when the war starts, all but the grandfather, mother and baby girl enlist for some kind of war work.

Answer: Joe Melia

Joe Melia is one of those actors whose face everyone knows but few remember his name. His first film was "Too Many Crooks" in 1959 as a member of George Cole's gang. In the 1980 film "The Wildcats of St Trinians" he took over George Cole's role as Flash Harry.
He also appeared on TV with one of his roles being Mr Prosser, the man who wants to knock down Arthur Dent's house in the 1981 production of "The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy".

5. There is a host of British stars of film and TV in this film including several knights and a Dame. Who was not in the film?

Answer: James Mason

James Mason is just about the only big British star of the time who is not in this film.
John Geilgud plays Count Leopold Berchtold, Imperial Foreign Minister of Austria-Hungary.
Ralph Richardson plays Sir Edward Grey who served as British Foreign Secretary
from 1905 to 1916. It was he who said, "The lights are going out all over Europe. We shall not see them lit again in our life-time."
Michael Redgrave plays Sir Henry Wilson, Sub Chief of Staff, one of the senior British Army staff officers.

6. The Suffragettes put their activities on hold to support the war, however the film shows Sylvia Pankhurst making a speech at a railway station. Can you name the actress who plays her?

Answer: Vanessa Redgrave

Vanessa Redgrave is the daughter of Michael Redgrave who is also in the film, Lynne is her sister. Maggie Smith has a wonderful role as a music hall artist encouraging young men to join up. Diana Rigg is not in the film.

7. What happens whenever a poppy is seen in the film?

Answer: Someone dies

The first time you see this is when the Archduke of Austria and his Duchess are killed. The photographer (Joe Melia) hands each of them a poppy then after a gunshot you see them fall, thus starting the war.

8. The Christmas Day Truce is shown, with British and German soldiers together in No Man's Land. Which carol do we hear the Germans singing?

Answer: Silent Night

"Silent Night" is a beautiful carol, originally called "Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht." It was written at the beginning of the 19th Century to be accompanied by a guitar rather than an organ.

9. Who plays Douglas Haig, Commander of the British Expeditionary Force from 1915 to 1918?

Answer: John Mills

John Mills had an acting career spanning seven decades, beginning with "The Midshipman" in 1932 and ending 120 films later with "Lights2" in 2004.
In 1970 he won Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in "Ryan's Daughter" where he played a mute cripple.
Most of his work was in film or on the stage but he did appear occasionally on TV, probably most famously as Thomas Devon aka The Elephant in the 1974 series "The Zoo Gang".
He appeared in several films with his younger daughter Hayley, the first being "Tiger Bay" in 1959.
His elder daughter Juliet appears in "Oh, What a Lovely War" as a nurse.

10. At the end of the film, when the war is over, we see a group of people enjoying a picnic on a grassy hillside. Who is in this group?

Answer: The women of the Smith family

At the end of the film we see the four Smith women enjoying a picnic on the grass while the men are lying together a little way away. Then the camera pulls back as they walk through the poppies and we see crosses where the men were lying. The whole hillside is covered with thousands of white crosses. None of the Smith men came back from the war.

Source: Author geowyn

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