War Movies as Best Picture Trivia Quiz

Answer: William Holden

Winner of the Best Picture for 1957, "The Bridge on the River Kwai" is based on the novel by the French author Pierre Boulle, who himself was a POW in Asia. The storyline is about the building of a bridge over the River Kwai by British prisoners of war on the Death Railway during WWII.

The cast also includes Alec Guinness and Jack Hawkins. William Holden plays the role of US Navy Commander Shears who escapes from the POW camp and then is asked to go back and destroy the bridge. Although there was such a bridge built by British POWs during WWII, the characters and final climax to the movie are fictional.

The movie received eight Academy Award nominations, winning seven. Alec Guinness won the Oscar for Best Actor for his role as Lieutenant Colonel Nicholson.

Answer: Liam Neeson

Liam Neeson plays the role of Oskar Schindler in the Best Picture for 1993 "Schindler's List". The movie is based on the novel by Australian author Thomas Keneally, "Schindler's Ark" (1982) which won the Booker Prize. The story is based on the true story of Oskar Schindler, who although a member of the Nazi Party saved over 1,000 Jewish people from the gas chambers.

He employed them in his factories and paid bribes to Nazi officers to protect his employees from the extermination camps.

Answer: Clara Bow

"Wings" was the very first film to receive the Academy Award for Best Picture for 1927/28. Clara Bow (1905-1965) was Paramount Pictures' biggest star at the time and the silent movie is set during WWI. Although Clara Bow (as Mary Preston) is the film's draw card the film actually centres around Charles "Buddy" Rogers as Jack Powell and Richard Arlen as David Armstrong. Jack and David are buddies who go off to the war in France.

They are both pilots and Jack accidentally shoots down David's plane and kills him. Gary Cooper had a small part in this movie.

Answer: Robert De Niro

"The Deer Hunter" won the award for Best Picture for 1978. The film stars Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, John Savage, John Cazale and Meryl Streep. The film was nominated for nine Academy Awards, winning five. Meryl Streep received her first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

The story centres around three friends from a steelworks city in Pennsylvania who spend their time working at the steel mills and deer hunting. They then go off to the Vietnam War.

Answer: Myrna Loy

"The Best Years of Our Lives" won seven Academy Awards for the year 1946 including Best Picture. The story revolves around three ex-serviceman who return to the USA after WWII and their challenges adjusting to civilian life. Myrna Loy stars as Milly Stephenson, the wife of Platoon Sergeant Al Stephenson (Fredric March) who won the Academy Award for Best Actor. Harold Russell, who was a non-professional actor, won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

The film also starred Dana Andrews and Virginia Mayo.

There were also two other Academy Awards presented being an Honorary Award (Harold Russell) and a Memorial Award (Samuel Goldwyn).

Answer: Lew Ayres

Lew Ayres (1908-1996) plays the role of German soldier Paul Bäumer in the WWI epic "All Quiet on the Western Front". The movie won the Oscar for Best Picture for 1929/30 and follows the lives of young men who enlisted in the German Army to fight in WWI.

After some early challenges they become disillusioned about the futility of the war. The movie received mixed views in various countries, particularly Germany. Lew Ayres is best remembered as Dr. Kildare in nine movies in the 1930s and 1940s.

Answer: Jeremy Renner

At the 82nd Awards for 2009 "The Hurt Locker" won six Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Jeremy Renner plays the role of Sergeant First Class William James, the leader of a bomb disposal unit during the Iraq War. The film follows the men of the unit and their reactions to the stress and pressures of war.

Answer: Greer Garson

"Mrs. Miniver" starring Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon won the Oscar for Best Picture for 1942. The film won six Academy Awards with Garson winning Best Actress. The film follows the experiences of a housewife during WWII in rural England and the effect and tragedies the family experience, due to the war raging in Britain and Europe.

Answer: Charlie Sheen

For the 59th Awards for 1986 "Platoon" was nominated for eight Academy Awards, winning four, including Best Picture. Tom Berenger and Willem Dafoe were both nominated for Best Supporting Actor. The story revolves around a new recruit Private Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) who joins a hardened platoon during the Vietnam War.

The two leaders of the platoon Berenger and Dafoe oppose each other and attempt to kill each other. Taylor is one of the few survivors of the platoon and after being wounded twice is shipped back to the USA.

Answer: Clark Gable

At the 12th Awards for 1939 the blockbuster movie "Gone with the Wind" was nominated for 13 Academy Awards, winning in eight categories. The wins included Best Picture, Best Actress (Vivien Leigh) and Best Supporting Actress (Hattie McDaniel). The movie is set during the American Civil War and is an adaption of the novel of the same name by Margaret Mitchell in 1936. Clark Gable was nominated for Best Actor but lost out that year to Robert Donat in "Goodbye, Mr. Chips".

In addition to the eight winning nominations, there were two other Honorary Awards also presented for the movie.