True Patriot Love Trivia Quiz

Answer: Rose-Marie

In the 1936 version of "Rose-Marie", Jeannette MacDonald played Marie, an opera singer searching for her wayward brother in the Canadian wilderness. Nelson Eddy played Sergeant Bruce, the Mountie who fell in love with her. The soundtrack included the title song, performed by Eddy and "Indian Love Call" which they performed together.

The 1954 version with Howard Keel and Ann Blyth included those songs, but had a somewhat different story line, though still involving Mounties.

Answer: 49th Parallel

"49th Parallel" (1941) had a title that referred to the line of latitude that was designated as the border between Canada's western provinces and the adjacent American states. That the final scene played out in a railway car about to cross the border near Niagara Falls (well south of the 49th parallel) has long amused me.

The Canadian soldier in that scene was played by Canadian actor Raymond Massey. Eric Portman played the last of the Nazi crew (the others having met their fate in various places in their journey across Canada).

Answer: Captains of the Clouds

Bush pilots were important to the opening up of some of the more inaccessible regions of Canada, and those portrayed in the movie "Captains of the Clouds" (1942) were shown to be engaged in this endeavour. When WWII began their attempt to enlist was rejected due to their age, so they sought other means of serving.

In one memorable scene, one of the disgruntled pilots "buzzed" an RCAF "wings" (graduation) ceremony, being conducted by Canadian WWI ace Billy Bishop VC, playing himself. Americans James Cagney and Dennis Morgan played two of the bush pilots.

Answer: Mrs Mike

In "Mrs Mike" (1949), Evelyn Keyes portrayed Kathy, from Boston, who fell in love with Sgt Mike Flannigan (Dick Powell) of the Mounties, whilst visiting her uncle in Alberta. Kathy and Mike married, and moved together to his new posting further north, where they faced hardships of many varieties. Though set in Canada, this was filmed in California and the cast was largely American, as was the author of the novel on which the film was based.

Answer: Saskatchewan

"Saskatchewan" (1954) was filmed largely in Banff National Park, Alberta, in the Rocky Mountains, which dominated posters for the film. The problem here was that the title province is probably the flattest of all the Prairie Provinces, and has no mountains at all! The plot, that had Alan Ladd as one of a group of Mounties trying to stop an invasion by hostile Sioux, after the Battle of the Little Bighorn, had its problems too, considering that Sitting Bull's sojourn into western Canada was entirely peaceful.
Canadian Jay Silverheels appeared as Ladd's character's Cree half-brother.

Answer: The Raid

"The Raid" (1954) was based on an actual event during the American Civil War, in which a group of Confederate officers and men gathered in Montreal, then planned and executed the raid on St Albans, Vermont, not far south of Vermont's border with the province of Quebec.

The movie changed some names and inserted a young widow (Anne Bancroft) to distract the raid's leader (Van Heflin) but otherwise did the story justice. In reality, most of the raiders were subsequently arrested by Canadian authorities after re-crossing the border.

Answer: Campbell's Kingdom

Dirk Bogarde played Bruce Campbell, who had inherited a piece of land in western Canada from his grandfather. Having been told that he was terminally ill, Campbell just wanted to live out his life quietly in the so-called "Campbell's Kingdom" (1957) of the title, but the land was threatened by flooding if the proposed dam was built. Stanley Baker, Michael Craig and James Robertson Justice were also in the cast, and the Dolomites of Italy stood in for the Canadian Rockies.

Answer: The One That Got Away

"The One That Got Away" (1957) told the true story of pilot Franz von Werra (Hardy Kruger) who was said to be the only German prisoner of war of the British, to not only escape, but make it back to Germany, during WWII. The film showed his attempts whilst still in Britain being thwarted, and concluded with his successful wintertime escape from a moving train after being transported to Canada.
Sadly for von Werra (though not shown in the movie), he was killed six months after returning to Germany when his aeroplane crashed during a practice flight.

Answer: Sunrise at Campobello

"Sunrise at Campobello" (1960) was about Franklin D. Roosevelt's battle with polio, with which he was first taken ill whilst at his summer home on Campobello Island, New Brunswick in 1921. His recovery is shown to the point of being able to walk to and stand for some time at a podium, whilst giving a nominating speech for 1924 presidential candidate Al Smith (Alan Bunce). Ralph Bellamy played FDR, and Greer Garson was Oscar-nominated for her portrayal of Eleanor Roosevelt.
Canadian actor Hume Cronyn was also in the cast.

Answer: The Great Imposter

In "The Great Imposter" (1960), Tony Curtis portrayed a real person, Ferdinand Waldo Demara Jr (1921-82) who during his lifetime took on numerous different identities, including that of a surgeon in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Korean War. The movie was a fictionalised version of Demara's life, which was quite remarkable in itself.

He was not a con-artist, as he sought no financial gain from his deceptions, and was apparently not prosecuted for any of his impersonations. Other members of the cast included Edmond O'Brien, Karl Malden and Canadian Raymond Massey.