Twice Told Tales Trivia Quiz

Answer: Alfred Hitchcock

Hitchcock's 1935 film made in London is a murder mystery set in Switzerland and starring Leslie Banks and Edna Best (remember them? - me either!). On the second go 'round, Hitchcock made the movie in Hollywood in 1956, set it in Morocco and cast James Stewart and Doris Day as the couple involved in an assassination plot and the kidnapping of their son. Que Sera Sera...
Speaking of "The Master of Suspense", did you know that, although he won many awards, Hitchcock never received an Academy Award for Best Director?

Answer: Ishtar

Actually, the 1987 movie "Ishtar" starring Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman set a new standard for bad movies and should not have been made even once. The plot is about two incredibly untalented American lounge singers who book a gig in Morocco - 'nough said! King Kong made his first appearance in 1933 and starred Fay Wray ("twas beauty killed the beast") with the giant gorilla fighting off war planes on top of the Empire State Building; remade in 1976 and again in 2005, they couldn't 'top' the original. 'Ben-Hur" was silent in 1907 and 1925, given voice in 1959 with Charlton Heston, and forgettably done with Joseph Morgan as a TV mini-series in 2010. "Scarlet Letter's" Hester Prynn appeared in 1926, 1934 and 1995.

Answer: Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison

"Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison" is a 1957 movie starring Robert Mitchum and Deborah Kerr as a US Marine and a Catholic nun stranded on a Japanese occupied island during World War II. "Here Comes Mr. Jordan" (1941) has Robert Montgomery playing Joe Pendleton, a boxer who dies too soon in a plane crash; "Heaven Can Wait" is a 1978 film with Warren Beatty as Joe Pendleton, the Rams quarterback who dies too soon in a car accident; "Down to Earth" (2001) is about Chris Rock as Lance Barton, a comedian who dies too soon (you knew that was coming!) and gets reincarnated as a wealthy, unlikeable businessman.

Answer: Akira Kurosawa

One of the world's greatest directors, Akira Kurosawa, was a Japanese filmmaker whose career spanned almost 60 years and included such classics as "Rashomon" (1950), "Seven Samarai" (1954), "Yojimbo" (1961) and "Ran (1985). "Seven Samarai" is the story of a village which requests protection from bandits from a samarai (and six others) to teach the villagers to defend themselves.

In 1960, Kurosawa's movie was remade into "The Magnificent Seven" with Yul Brynner and Steve McQueen (and five others) as gunfighters hired to protect a Mexican village from bandits. "Yojimbo" was remade as the Spaghetti Western, "A Fistful of Dollars", in 1964 with Clint Eastwood.

Answer: Jeff Bridges

Most of us know that John Wayne played the one-eyed lawman, Rooster Cogburn, in the original 1969 version. He won an Academy Award for his portrayal of the hard-nosed, boozy US Marshal, opposite Kim Darby's feisty teenager, Mattie Ross, who is bent on finding her father's murderer in Indian territory. Same plot, 41 years later, we find Jeff Bridges playing US Marshal Reuben J. 'Rooster' Cogburn, opposite Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie Ross. Jeff Bridges, the son of actor Lloyd and brother of Beau ("The Fabulous Baker Boys") started acting at nine years old; he won a Best Actor Oscar for "Crazy Heart" (2009) and he WAS "The Big Lebowski", dude!

Answer: Vince Vaughn

Actually, the first question which should be asked is why... why would Gus Van Sant take Hitchcock's iconic 1960 film, which kept people from taking showers for decades, and redo it? How do you improve upon perfection? You don't! As for who played the role which originally made Anthony Perkins a household name, that answer is Vince Vaughn in 1998's version, with Anne Heche playing the Janet Leigh role of embezzler Marion Crane. My second question is: did anyone go to see this movie? As for Vince Vaughn, his breakout role was in the 1996 movie "Swingers", and he is a member of 'the frat pack' with Will Ferrell, Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Owen Wilson.

Answer: Invasion of the Body Snatchers

"Invasion of the Body Snatchers" was first made in 1956, in black and white, and starred Kevin McCarthy as Dr. Miles Bennell and Dana Wynter as Becky Driscoll. I think the movie capitalized on the fear and paranoia of the 1950s, the bomb and Communism taking over the world if you let your guard down, i.e. fell asleep; it was pretty scary at the time.

The newer version in 1978 was in color and updated to the world of the late 1970s with Donald Sutherland playing health inspector Matthew Bennell and Brooke Adams as Elizabeth Driscoll; but the message was still basically the same.

Answer: Tracy Turnblad

"Hairspray" was a 1988 movie and a 2007 remake, both worth seeing. Set in Baltimore in 1962, we are introduced to the pleasantly plump protagonist, Tracy Turnblad, originally played by Ricki Lake and later by Nikki Blonsky. It centers around the "Corny Collins Show", a local (pre "American Bandstand") dance show, of which Tracy's mother, Edna, does not approve. Tracy's mother is played by Divine and, in the more recent version, by John Travolta (yes, you read it right!). Anyway, Tracy gets picked by Corny Collins, becomes a teen icon and, with help, proceeds to integrate the show and prove that plump people can dance too!

Answer: Cape Fear

"Cape Fear" is another example of a thriller and a remake which are both worth seeing. "Cape Fear" came out in 1962 and starred Robert Mitchum (Cady) as the ex-con seeking vengeance on his lawyer (Gregory Peck/Bowden) and family, for helping to put to put him in prison for fourteen years on a rape charge. Cady is both relentless and terrifying in his attempt to get retribution.

The remake in 1991 was directed by Martin Scorsese; this time the tattoo-riddled, psychotic Cady was played by an equally terrifying Robert De Niro, with Nick Nolte portraying the lawyer with a past. Either one will probably scare the life out of you!

Answer: D.O.A.

"D.O.A." (for 'Dead on Arrival') first came out in 1950 and starred Edmond O'Brien as accountant Frank Bigelow who goes to San Francisco for 'a night on the town' before his upcoming marriage. When he wakes up with more than a hangover, he goes to a doctor who advises him he has been given a "luminous toxin" for which there is no antidote and he has about a week to live.

The remake of this film is from 1988 with Dennis Quaid as an English Professor named Dexter Cornell (the names were changed to protect the innocent?) who enlists his student (played by Meg Ryan) to help him unravel the mystery of his death.