Cinema and literature are full of forgotten projects, technical hurdles, and eccentric creative decisions. This set of questions explores the stories behind famous films and the lives of the authors who shaped them.
You will see questions about the craft of makeup in early silents, the technical secrets of iconic animation, and the mystery conventions that define the locked-room genre. Some questions cover finished classics, while others dig into unfinished works.
If you enjoy these details, check out our pages on special effects techniques, literary adaptations, and the silent era.
Which 17th-century diary is world-renowned for its detailed, candid account of life in London during the Restoration, the Great Plague, and the Great Fire?
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole
The Diary of Anne Frank
The Diary of Anne Frank
The Diary of a Wimpy Kid
The Diary of a Wimpy Kid
The Diary of Samuel Pepys
The Diary of Samuel Pepys
Which Edgar Allan Poe story, published in 1841, is widely considered the first modern detective fiction to feature a ‘locked-room’ mystery?
The Locked Room Murder
The Locked Room Murder
The Big Sleep
The Big Sleep
The Murders in the Rue Morgue
The Murders in the Rue Morgue
Ten Little Indians
Ten Little Indians
Which silent film actor was famously known as ‘The Man of a Thousand Faces’ and applied his own intricate makeup for his iconic 1925 role?
Boris Karloff in Frankenstein
Boris Karloff in Frankenstein
Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight
Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight
Marlon Brando in The Godfather
Marlon Brando in The Godfather
Lon Chaney in The Phantom of the Opera
Lon Chaney in The Phantom of the Opera
Which legendary voice artist originated the distinct, rapid-fire Brooklyn-Bronx accent for the Looney Tunes character Bugs Bunny?
Frank Oz for Yoda
Frank Oz for Yoda
James Earl Jones for Darth Vader
James Earl Jones for Darth Vader
Andy Serkis for Gollum
Andy Serkis for Gollum
Mel Blanc
Mel Blanc
Which Orson Welles film, representing a lifetime of work, was left unfinished at the time of his death and finally completed in 2018?
Caligula
Caligula
Don Quixote
Don Quixote
The Other Side of the Wind
The Other Side of the Wind
Napoleon
Napoleon
Which famous author left instructions in his will for his personal diaries and manuscripts to be burned, a request his friend Max Brod famously ignored?
Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka
Virginia Woolf
Virginia Woolf
Sylvia Plath
Sylvia Plath
Leo Tolstoy
Leo Tolstoy
In Agatha Christie’s ‘The Hollow’, which detective must navigate a complex family dynamic and a corpse found near a swimming pool, a variation on the locked-room trope?
Father Brown
Father Brown
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Hercule Poirot
Hercule Poirot
C. Auguste Dupin
C. Auguste Dupin
What primary effect did character actor Lon Chaney Senior strive to achieve with his self-applied makeup techniques, particularly in the film ‘The Unholy Three’?
Ghoulish transformations
Ghoulish transformations
Alien creature biology
Alien creature biology
Physical aging and disfigurement
Physical aging and disfigurement
Historical period accuracy
Historical period accuracy
To create the unique, non-human voice for the character of Wall-E, what did sound designer Ben Burtt primarily rely on?
Forced perspective audio
Forced perspective audio
Animatronics
Animatronics
Phonetic layering techniques
Phonetic layering techniques
Vocal processing software
Vocal processing software
Which acclaimed British director spent years in pre-production on an adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s ‘Nostromo’ before being forced to abandon the project?
Charlie Chaplin’s The Freak
Charlie Chaplin’s The Freak
Cecil B. DeMille’s Cleopatra expansion
Cecil B. DeMille’s Cleopatra expansion
David Lean’s Nostromo
David Lean’s Nostromo
Stanley Kubrick’s A.I. Artificial Intelligence
Stanley Kubrick’s A.I. Artificial Intelligence
Which American author left behind a vast, often cynical collection of private journals and unfinished autobiographical notes, posthumously titled ‘Mark Twain’s Notebook’?
Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Lewis Carroll
Lewis Carroll
Which author is considered the ‘grandmaster’ of the locked-room mystery genre, having famously written ‘The Hollow Man’?
Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie
Arthur Conan Doyle
Arthur Conan Doyle
Gaston Leroux
Gaston Leroux
John Dickson Carr
John Dickson Carr
Which actress became famous for the radical physical transformation required to play Aileen Wuornos in the 2003 film ‘Monster’?
Charlize Theron
Charlize Theron
Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman
Natalie Portman
Natalie Portman
Tilda Swinton
Tilda Swinton
In the 1939 film ‘The Wizard of Oz’, how did the film crew achieve the distinct, high-pitched voices of the Munchkins?
Multiple recording takes played back simultaneously
Multiple recording takes played back simultaneously
Using a tube to distort the vocal cords
Using a tube to distort the vocal cords
The chipmunk voice effect
The chipmunk voice effect
Manipulating the playback speed of the original recording
Manipulating the playback speed of the original recording
Which ambitious historical epic, involving massive research and thousands of extras, was famously abandoned by Stanley Kubrick in favor of focusing on other projects?
Orson Welles’ The Deep
Orson Welles’ The Deep
Marilyn Monroe’s Something’s Got to Give
Marilyn Monroe’s Something’s Got to Give
Akira Kurosawa’s Runaway Train
Akira Kurosawa’s Runaway Train
Stanley Kubrick’s Napoleon
Stanley Kubrick’s Napoleon
Which of the following does NOT describe the content of a historically famous published diary?
The diary of a Japanese girl during the 1923 earthquake
The diary of a Japanese girl during the 1923 earthquake
The diary of a soldier in the American Civil War
The diary of a soldier in the American Civil War
The diary of a naval administrator during the Great Fire of London
The diary of a naval administrator during the Great Fire of London
The diary of a young girl hiding from Nazis
The diary of a young girl hiding from Nazis
In the purest form of a ‘locked-room mystery’, what is the defining paradox?
The victim being outside the room during the entire time of the crime
The victim being outside the room during the entire time of the crime
The murder weapon having mysteriously vanished
The murder weapon having mysteriously vanished
The crime being impossible to commit given the physical constraints of the exits
The crime being impossible to commit given the physical constraints of the exits
The room being entirely airtight, making entry impossible
The room being entirely airtight, making entry impossible
Which of these performances featured extreme physical makeup effects that the actor created without the help of a modern makeup department?
Boris Karloff in The Mummy
Boris Karloff in The Mummy
Lon Chaney in West of Zanzibar
Lon Chaney in West of Zanzibar
Max Schreck in Nosferatu
Max Schreck in Nosferatu
Bela Lugosi in Dracula
Bela Lugosi in Dracula
How did sound engineers create the primal, unintelligible language of the character Chewbacca in the ‘Star Wars’ films?
Breathing helium before recording sessions
Breathing helium before recording sessions
Recording backwards playback audio
Recording backwards playback audio
Layering animal sounds with human vocal tracks
Layering animal sounds with human vocal tracks
Using primitive digital synthesizers from the 1970s
Using primitive digital synthesizers from the 1970s
Which monumental film project about the history of Mexico remained unfinished, leading to long-standing disputes over the ownership of the original footage?
Alfred Hitchcock’s The Blind Man
Alfred Hitchcock’s The Blind Man
Sergei Eisenstein’s Que Viva Mexico!
Sergei Eisenstein’s Que Viva Mexico!
Marlon Brando’s One-Eyed Jacks expansion
Marlon Brando’s One-Eyed Jacks expansion
Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis original attempt
Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis original attempt
Which of these hidden purposes for using shorthand in his diary was directly related to Samuel Pepys’s professional duties in the Royal Navy?
To hide his private life from his wife, Elizabeth Pepys
To hide his private life from his wife, Elizabeth Pepys
To record the weather in 17th-century London
To record the weather in 17th-century London
To track the daily movements of his staff at the Admiralty
To track the daily movements of his staff at the Admiralty
To keep a secret account of political corruption in the Royal Navy
To keep a secret account of political corruption in the Royal Navy
What is commonly referred to as the ‘impossible crime’ in mystery literature?
A crime that appears impossible to commit given the physical constraints of the crime scene
A crime that appears impossible to commit given the physical constraints of the crime scene
The victim accidentally locking themselves in while dying
The victim accidentally locking themselves in while dying
The room having no windows or doors
The room having no windows or doors
The murderer escaping through a secret passage unknown to the victim
The murderer escaping through a secret passage unknown to the victim
Which of these is a widely accepted historical fact regarding Lon Chaney’s pioneering makeup methods?
Lon Chaney often refused to let directors see him before his makeup was finished
Lon Chaney often refused to let directors see him before his makeup was finished
Lon Chaney carried his makeup kit in a modified camera case
Lon Chaney carried his makeup kit in a modified camera case
Lon Chaney’s makeup was largely made of collodion and fish skin
Lon Chaney’s makeup was largely made of collodion and fish skin
Lon Chaney’s makeup kit was auctioned for millions
Lon Chaney’s makeup kit was auctioned for millions
Why was the voice of Darth Vader in the original 1977 ‘Star Wars’ film eventually provided by James Earl Jones instead of the actor inside the suit?
The original actor David Prowse’s voice was deemed unsuitable due to his West Country accent
The original actor David Prowse’s voice was deemed unsuitable due to his West Country accent
George Lucas wanted the voice to sound like a computer-generated synthesizer
George Lucas wanted the voice to sound like a computer-generated synthesizer
The voice was recorded by five different actors and blended together
The voice was recorded by five different actors and blended together
James Earl Jones did not want credit for the voice of Vader
James Earl Jones did not want credit for the voice of Vader
What was the primary reason the film ‘The Deep’, directed by Orson Welles in the late 1960s, was never finished?
The lead actor died, making further filming impossible in his role
The lead actor died, making further filming impossible in his role
The film was deemed too controversial for the Vatican
The film was deemed too controversial for the Vatican
Persistent financial difficulties plagued the production, eventually halting it
Persistent financial difficulties plagued the production, eventually halting it
The director lost interest and abandoned the project for other pursuits
The director lost interest and abandoned the project for other pursuits
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When you finish, continue seeing how movies come together by browsing our collections on troubled film sets, animation history, and noted directors.
