The Last Picture Show, Part Two Quiz

Answer: High Society

In "High Society" (1956) Kelly was again paired with Bing Crosby. They had previously worked together on "The Country Girl" (1954(. "High Society" was a musical remake of "The Philadelphia Story" and also featured Frank Sinatra and Celeste Holm.

Ironically, "The Swan" (1956) had Kelly cast as a Princess with Louis Jourdan and Alec Guinness. She made only eleven films but was paired with some of the best leading men in Hollywood including William Holden, Cary Grant, Ray Milland, James Stewart, and Clark Gable.

Although she had invitations to return to the screen, Prince Rainier did not believe it was a proper image for a Princess. She died in an auto accident in 1982.

Answer: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Because the film is a fantasy, the script was changed to allow the character played by Ledger to appear in alternate body shapes. Thus, Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, and Jude Law, friends of Ledger, filled out the role.

"The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus"(2009), a Terry Gilliam film, concerned a traveling theater troupe whose leader took audience members through a magic mirror to explore their choice between self-fulfillment or gratifying ignorance.

Answer: A Countess from Hong Kong

Marlon Brando, Sophia Loren, Tippi Hedren, and Sydney Chaplin starred in "A Countess from Hong Kong"(1967), in which a Russian countess stows away on a luxury liner to find a new life elsewhere. Sydney Chaplin had a speaking part and three of Chaplin's children had uncredited appearances. In spite of its 'star-power', it received mostly negative reviews. Chaplin himself appeared only as a ship's steward. All of the films cited were from the sound era.

Answer: To Be or Not To Be

Although Lombard played several dramatic roles in films, she most remembered for her comedic roles. She began acting at the age of 12 in silent films and had reached adulthood just in time for the sound era. She appeared in two classic 1930s comedies, "My Man Godfrey" (1936) and "Nothing Sacred" (1937).

"To Be or Not To Be"(1942) is a classic farce satirizing the foibles of the Nazis. Both Lombard and Benny are at their best augmented by Ernst Lubitsch's direction. Mel Brooks re-made the film in 1983 with more production values but not quite up to the standard of the original.

Aside: Character actor Tom Dugan's impersonation of Adolf Hitler is dead on.

Lombard was briefly married to William Powell. She later married Clark Gable who, it is reported, never really got over her sudden death.

Answer: He Ran All the Way

"He Ran All the Way" is a film noir and has the often used plot of a criminal hiding from the law by taking hostage an innocent family. Dalton Trumbo, a blacklisted screenwriter, wrote much of the script.

Garfield wrote an article titled "I Was a Sucker for a Left Cross" in which he denied being a communist. But he also refused to give the names of others. His wife was a communist and it was guilt by association with a spouse.

Garfield died at an apartment of a prostitute in 1952. Shortly afterward HUAC cleared him of all charges. His acting style influenced many others such as Marlon Brando, James Dean, and Robert De Niro.

Answer: Dead Man

"Dead Man" was a financial disaster, losing eight million dollars at the box office. Mitchum's role is slight and was mainly to put a recognizable name in the cast. He plays a shotgun carrying merchant who hired Depp as a bookkeeper but reneged on the deal when he arrived. Mitchum drove him from town without prospects and into a series of misadventures.

Roger Ebert, noted film critic, frankly admitted that he did not understand the film and gave it one and a half stars out of four. The film has a few defenders. Perhaps it is one of those films so 'bad' that it is 'good'.

Answer: They All Laughed

"They All Laughed" (1981) was written and directed by Peter Bogdanovich. The plot concerns private detectives investigating women for infidelity. Some internet sources report a lot of juicy gossip about the film and its sub-text, much of it speculation. Supposedly, Hepburn had an affair with Gazzara.

Audrey Hepburn is on a short list of celebrities who have won an Emmy ("Gardens of the World with Audrey Hepburn"(1993)) a Grammy ("Audrey Hepburn's Enchanted Tales")(1994), an Oscar ("Roman Holiday", 1953) and a Tony ("Ondine",1954). She also received several humanitarian awards.

Answer: The Score

DeNiro plays a gangster in "The Score"(2001) who wants to retire but he is kept in the life by Brando, his financier and fence. He also requires him to take on a new man played by Edward Norton. Norton did not like the script but could not pass up the opportunity to work with these two cinema giants. Frank Oz directed. Brando and DeNiro ad libbed much of their dialogue.

Brando also appeared in two "Superman" movies after "The Score" but those were flashbacks from stock footage.

Answer: I Could Go On Singing

In "I Could Go On Singing" Garland played a superstar singer who gave up her baby so that she could pursue her career as a singer. The child was being raised by her former lover, an English physician, played by Dirk Bogarde. On her concert tour of England, Garland attempted to unite with Bogarde and through him, her child.

Garland's death at Chelsea, London was attributed to an accidental overdose of sleeping pills. Judy was suffering also from cirrhosis of the liver due to long term alcohol consumption. She married five times, made suicide attempts, was hospitalized for depression and drug and alcohol addiction.

Answer: The Hunter

"Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light."
(Dylan Thomas)

This should be McQueen's epitaph. He did not go gently.

When he was told by doctors that his cancer was too advanced to treat, McQueen sought out Donald Kelley, a former dentist, who claimed to have a cure for cancer. Under Kelley's direction McQueen's treatment included frequent shampoos, injection of live cells from cows and sheep, and massages, amongst other things. He was also treated with laetrile, a drug derived from apricot seeds. Although he praised his treatment, he died in November 1980.

"The Hunter"(1980) was the story of a modern bounty hunter. It hearkened back to Steve McQueen's break-though role as Josh Randall in television's "Wanted Dead or Alive."