MOVIE QUIZ
Today is Groundhog Day, and thanks to the 1993 Bill Murray comedy of the same name, it’s now synonymous with repeating the same time period endlessly.
What better time for a quiz about … movies with repetitive titles? Think “Girls! Girls! Girls!” or “The Russians Are Coming The Russians Are Coming.”
We’ll give you the year, the film’s plot and pertinent facts about it, and one of its cast members, who may or may not be one of the main stars.
1. 1930: This musical-comedy was an adaptation of the Broadway hit that introduced the song “Tea for Two.” The Atlantic City-set plot features a Bible publisher and his wayward young female ward. Yes, yes, for real (That’s a hint.). Fun fact: the original stage musical of the same name was itself adapted from a 1919 non-musical play called “My Lady Friends,” a production financed by the Boston Red Sox’s sale of Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees, leading to “the Curse of the Bambino.” Zasu Pitts.
2. 1942: This comedy, remade in 1983, was set in Poland, not melancholy Denmark as its literary title might suggest. – Robert Stack
3. 1950: The Oscar-winning animated short was based on a Dr. Seuss story, spawned two later TV series and featured a boy who speaks only in sound effects. Narrated by Marvin Miller (who performed the same task on shows like “The F.B.I.”, “Police Squad!” and “Electra Woman and Dyna Girl,” as well as voicing Robby the Robot in “Forbidden Planet”)
4. 1968: The Big Bad in this Oscarnominated musical fantasy, the Child Catcher, gave many children (your quizmaster included) nightmares for many years. Benny Hill.
5. 1977: A musical drama named after its now-iconic theme song (which was a begrudging replacement created by the songwriters after their first was rejected), this flop was called a “film noir musical” by its director and has a fight scene in a taxi (prophetic) that landed both stars and the director in the hospital. Clarence Clemons.
6. 1982: Another box office and critical bust, this comedy-drama about a playwright struggling with parenthood starred one of three actors who were considered arguably the greatest movie actors of the ’70s and ’80s. One of the other two was the lead in question number 5’s answer, and the third, Dustin
Former enemies the United States and Japan came together to co-produce the 1970 war epic "Tora! Tora! Tora!" - a movie so nice (?) they named it thrice. And one of its biggest stars, Joseph Cotten, was already familiar with repetitive titles; six years before he was in "Hush ... Hush, Sweet Charlotte."
Hoffman, had his own echoing movie examples with “Kramer vs. Kramer” and “Alfredo, Alfredo.” Tuesday Weld.
7. 1997: The star of this comedy hit was paid $20 million for his efforts for the second time; he earned the same amount — the first actor ever to do so — for his previous movie the year before. And that’s the truth. Maura Tierney.
8. 2005: This cult-classic actioncomedy shares its title with the original theme song to “Thunderball,” a phrase that has come to define the James Bond genre itself. Corbin Bernsen
9. 2011: When the actor playing one of the two lead characters in this comedy-drama shaved his head for real on screen, his co-star’s reactions are genuine. The scene even became the movie’s poster. Anna Kendrick.
10. 2021: This indie about surrogacy earned its female lead a Film Independent Spirit Award nomination, but her biggest milestone that same year was being the first trans woman in a Disney animated movie, “Raya and the Last Dragon.” Ed Helms.