100 Classic Movie Trivia Questions for Seniors (Golden Age of Hollywood)

The TriviaTalent Team · 11 min read

Think back to a Saturday night at the picture house: the velvet seats, the hush as the lights went down, the beam of the projector catching the dust in the air. For a quarter you could sit through a newsreel, a cartoon, and a feature that carried you clear out of your own life for two hours.

Here are 100 questions on the Golden Age of Hollywood — the stars, the studios and the lines you can still recite by heart. Answers sit right under each question, so read them quietly to yourself or call them out with friends. See how many you still carry from those long-ago evenings at the movies.

The Dawn of Sound

1. The 1927 film widely called the first feature-length “talkie,” starring Al Jolson, was titled what?

The Jazz Singer.

2. Al Jolson’s famous ad-libbed line in that film promised, “You ain’t heard nothin’ yet.” True or false?

True.

3. Walt Disney released the first full-length animated feature film in 1937. Name it.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

4. Which English-born comedian created the beloved character known as the Little Tramp?

Charlie Chaplin.

5. Which silent comedian, nicknamed “The Great Stone Face,” starred in The General (1926)?

Buster Keaton.

6. Chaplin’s 1936 film satirizing factory life and modern machinery was called what?

Modern Times.

7. The 1933 adventure film about a giant ape climaxes atop which New York skyscraper?

The Empire State Building.

8. Bela Lugosi played a Transylvanian count in Universal’s 1931 horror classic. Name it.

Dracula.

9. Boris Karloff played the monster in Universal’s 1931 adaptation of which Mary Shelley novel?

Frankenstein.

10. In the Marx Brothers, which brother was known for his comic piano playing?

Chico.

The Studios and the Star System

11. Which studio boasted “More stars than there are in heaven” and used a roaring lion as its logo?

MGM (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer).

12. The lion mascot in that logo is popularly known by what name?

Leo the Lion.

13. Which studio, founded by four brothers, was known for gangster pictures and for releasing the first talkie?

Warner Bros.

14. A ring of stars around a mountain peak is the logo of which studio?

Paramount Pictures.

15. Under the star system, actors were bound to a single studio by long-term what?

Contracts.

16. The 1948 Supreme Court ruling that forced studios to sell off their theater chains is known as the Paramount what?

The Paramount Decree (the Paramount Case).

17. The industry’s self-censorship rules, enforced from 1934, were known as the Production Code, or the ___ Code after the man who led the office.

The Hays Code.

18. Low-budget films shown as the second feature on a double bill were nicknamed what?

B-movies (B-pictures).

19. The Hollywood sign originally read “Hollywoodland” to advertise what?

A real-estate (housing) development.

20. The vivid color process that lit up films like The Wizard of Oz was called what?

Technicolor.

1939: Hollywood’s Greatest Year

21. The 1939 Civil War epic that won eight competitive Academy Awards was titled what?

Gone with the Wind.

22. Who played Scarlett O’Hara in it?

Vivien Leigh.

23. Who played Rhett Butler?

Clark Gable.

24. Hattie McDaniel won Best Supporting Actress for the film, becoming the first Black performer to do what?

Win an Academy Award.

25. Gone with the Wind was the first color film to win which top award?

Best Picture.

26. The 1939 fantasy in which a Kansas farm girl is whisked to a magical land was called what?

The Wizard of Oz.

27. Who played Dorothy in it?

Judy Garland.

28. The song “Over the Rainbow” from that film won the Oscar for Best Original what?

Song.

29. The Wizard of Oz famously shifts from sepia tones into full color when Dorothy steps where?

Into the Land of Oz (Munchkinland).

30. The 1939 John Ford Western that turned John Wayne into a star was titled what?

Stagecoach.

Casablanca and the War Years

31. The 1942 wartime romance set in a Moroccan city under Vichy control was called what?

Casablanca.

32. Who played the cynical café owner Rick Blaine?

Humphrey Bogart.

33. Who played Ilsa Lund opposite him?

Ingrid Bergman.

34. How many Academy Awards did Casablanca win, including Best Picture?

Three.

35. The song the piano player Sam performs at Rick’s is “As Time Goes ___.”

By (“As Time Goes By”).

36. Rick toasts Ilsa with the line, “Here’s looking at you, ___.”

Kid.

37. The 1941 detective film with Bogart as Sam Spade, chasing a jeweled statuette, was titled what?

The Maltese Falcon.

38. Greer Garson starred in the 1942 Best Picture winner about an English family enduring the war. Name it.

Mrs. Miniver.

The Leading Men

39. Which actor, dubbed “The King of Hollywood,” also starred in It Happened One Night (1934)?

Clark Gable.

40. James Stewart played an idealistic senator in Frank Capra’s 1939 political drama. Name it.

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.

41. Cary Grant was born in England under what real name?

Archibald (Archie) Leach.

42. Gary Cooper won an Oscar playing WWI hero Alvin York in which 1941 film?

Sergeant York.

43. Spencer Tracy made nine films with which actress, his longtime screen partner?

Katharine Hepburn.

44. Henry Fonda played Tom Joad in the 1940 adaptation of which Steinbeck novel?

The Grapes of Wrath.

45. Which swashbuckling star played the title role in 1938’s The Adventures of Robin Hood?

Errol Flynn.

46. Marlon Brando bellowed “Stella!” in the 1951 film of which Tennessee Williams play?

A Streetcar Named Desire.

47. Brando won his first Oscar playing a dockworker in which 1954 film?

On the Waterfront.

48. James Dean made only three films before his 1955 death; name the one with “Rebel” in the title.

Rebel Without a Cause.

49. Which actor, a master of noir cool, played both Sam Spade and Rick Blaine?

Humphrey Bogart.

50. Gregory Peck starred in the 1945 Hitchcock psychological thriller Spellbound. True or false?

True.

The Leading Ladies

51. Katharine Hepburn holds the record for most Best Actress Oscars, with how many?

Four.

52. Bette Davis starred in the 1950 drama about an aging stage star and her scheming understudy, titled All About ___.

Eve (All About Eve).

53. Which blonde star appeared in both Some Like It Hot (1959) and The Seven Year Itch (1955)?

Marilyn Monroe.

54. Audrey Hepburn won an Oscar for her first major Hollywood role, in which 1953 film?

Roman Holiday.

55. Grace Kelly left Hollywood in 1956 to become the princess of which country?

Monaco.

56. Who was the top box-office draw of the mid-1930s while still a small child?

Shirley Temple.

57. Ingrid Bergman won Best Actress for a 1944 thriller in which her husband tries to drive her mad. Name it.

Gaslight.

58. Elizabeth Taylor played a Southern wife opposite Paul Newman in Cat on a Hot Tin ___ (1958).

Roof.

59. Who was Fred Astaire’s most famous dancing partner?

Ginger Rogers.

60. Lauren Bacall made her screen debut opposite, and later married, which leading man?

Humphrey Bogart.

61. Marilyn Monroe’s white dress billowed up over a subway grate in which 1955 film?

The Seven Year Itch.

62. Judy Garland starred in the 1954 musical remake A Star Is ___.

Born (A Star Is Born).

Musicals and Dance

63. The 1952 musical often called the greatest ever made, set during Hollywood’s switch to sound, was titled what?

Singin’ in the Rain.

64. Who performed the title number, splashing through puddles, in that film?

Gene Kelly.

65. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers danced “Cheek to Cheek” in which 1935 film?

Top Hat.

66. Judy Garland sang “The Trolley Song” in which 1944 MGM musical?

Meet Me in St. Louis.

67. Which 1961 film about rival New York street gangs, adapted from a Broadway musical, won ten Oscars?

West Side Story.

68. Yul Brynner played a king of Siam in which 1956 Rodgers and Hammerstein film?

The King and I.

69. Gene Kelly danced with an animated mouse named Jerry in which 1945 film?

Anchors Aweigh.

70. The 1958 Best Picture winner, a musical with the song “Thank Heaven for Little Girls,” was titled what?

Gigi.

71. Bing Crosby first sang “White Christmas” in which 1942 film?

Holiday Inn.

72. Director Busby Berkeley was famous for overhead shots arranging dozens of what into kaleidoscopic patterns?

Dancers (chorus girls).

Hitchcock and Suspense

73. Which British-born director was known as the “Master of Suspense”?

Alfred Hitchcock.

74. His first American film won Best Picture in 1940. Name it.

Rebecca.

75. In Rear Window (1954), James Stewart spies on his neighbors while laid up with what injury?

A broken leg (confined to a wheelchair).

76. The 1958 Hitchcock film about a detective tormented by a fear of heights was titled what?

Vertigo.

77. The 1959 Hitchcock chase film climaxing on Mount Rushmore was called what?

North by Northwest.

78. Hitchcock’s 1960 shocker, remembered for its shower scene, was titled what?

Psycho.

79. Hitchcock made a brief personal appearance in most of his films; what are these called?

Cameos.

80. Orson Welles wrote, directed and starred in a 1941 film often voted the greatest ever, whose dying clue is “Rosebud.” Name it.

Citizen Kane.

Westerns and Epics

81. John Wayne starred in the 1956 John Ford Western about a years-long search for a kidnapped niece. Name it.

The Searchers.

82. The 1959 chariot-racing epic that won a record eleven Academy Awards was titled what?

Ben-Hur.

83. Who played the title role in Ben-Hur?

Charlton Heston.

84. Cecil B. DeMille directed the 1956 biblical epic about Moses, also starring Charlton Heston. Name it.

The Ten Commandments.

85. High Noon (1952) starred which actor as a marshal facing killers alone?

Gary Cooper.

86. The 1960 Western about seven hired gunmen defending a Mexican village was titled what?

The Magnificent Seven.

87. Which sweeping desert valley in the American Southwest served as the backdrop for many John Ford Westerns?

Monument Valley.

88. The 1962 epic about a British officer uniting Arab tribes won Best Picture. Name it.

Lawrence of Arabia.

Famous Lines, Oscars and Odds & Ends

89. Rhett Butler’s parting line to Scarlett ends, “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a ___.”

Damn.

90. The Academy Award statuette is affectionately nicknamed what?

Oscar.

91. In what year was the first Academy Awards ceremony held?

1929.

92. Wings (1927) was the first film to win which top Oscar?

Best Picture (then called Outstanding Picture).

93. The 1950 Billy Wilder film about a faded silent star, opening with a body in a swimming pool, was titled what?

Sunset Boulevard.

94. “All right, Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my close-up” is the closing line of which film?

Sunset Boulevard.

95. Walt Disney holds the record for most competitive Academy Awards won by an individual, with how many?

Twenty-two.

96. The long robe-and-sandals dramas set in ancient times, like Ben-Hur, belong to which genre nickname?

Sword-and-sandal (biblical) epics.

97. The 1946 Frank Capra film about a despairing man shown what life would be like had he never been born is titled what?

It’s a Wonderful Life.

98. Which angel earns his wings in that film by saving George Bailey?

Clarence.

99. Which 1953 widescreen biblical drama was the first film released in the new CinemaScope format?

The Robe.

100. The red carpet gathering where stars accept their Oscars takes place in which California city, the home of the film industry?

Los Angeles (Hollywood).

Frequently asked questions

What counts as the “Golden Age of Hollywood”?

Film historians usually mean the studio era that ran from the arrival of sound in 1927 through about the early 1960s, when a handful of big studios made most of the movies and kept their stars under contract. A few questions here reach just past that line to classics like Lawrence of Arabia, because those still feel of a piece with the era.

Is this a good activity to do with a group?

Very much so. Read each question aloud, let folks call out an answer, then reveal it. The titles tend to open the floodgates — someone always remembers the theater, the date they were on, or the cartoon that played first.

Want more questions like these?

If you enjoyed these, saddle up for our classic Western TV show trivia, or settle in with our old TV show trivia for seniors.

Where can I check these facts?

Every film, name and date above is drawn from the reputable sources listed just below.

Sources

Ready for your close-up? Play our trivia quizzes and find out how much of the silver screen you still remember.