100 Fun Facts About Classic Movies

Which 1941 film, directed by Orson Welles, is often cited as the greatest movie ever made?

Citizen Kane (1941) was directed, produced, co-written by and starred Orson Welles; its deep-focus photography and fractured flashback structure topped the Sight & Sound critics' poll from 1962 to 2002.

In the 1942 film set in French Morocco, what nightclub is owned by Humphrey Bogart's character?

Rick's Café Américain mixes Vichy and German officials with refugees desperate to reach America; Sam's piano from the set sold at auction in 2014 for $3.4 million.

Who directed Psycho (1960)?

Alfred Hitchcock directed Psycho (1960), which became one of the most influential horror-thriller films in cinema history. The shower scene remains one of the most iconic moments in film.

What is the dying word of newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane in Orson Welles's 1941 classic?

"Rosebud" is the dying word of Charles Foster Kane. The entire film follows a reporter's quest to discover its meaning, which is revealed to be the name of Kane's childhood sled.

Which actor played Don Vito Corleone in The Godfather (1972)?

Marlon Brando played Don Vito Corleone in The Godfather, winning the Academy Award for Best Actor. He famously refused the Oscar in protest of Hollywood's treatment of Native Americans.

What color are Dorothy Gale's magical slippers in the 1939 MGM musical?

Dorothy's slippers are ruby red in the 1939 film. Interestingly, in L. Frank Baum's original novel, the slippers were silver. They were changed to ruby for the film to take advantage of the new Technicolor process.

Which 1975 shark thriller is credited with inventing the summer blockbuster?

Jaws (1975) opened wide on over 400 screens with heavy TV advertising, a then-unusual strategy that defined the summer blockbuster; the malfunctioning mechanical shark forced Spielberg to show it far less than planned.

What year was the original Star Wars film released?

1977's May 25 release in a small number of theaters became a surprise blockbuster and was quickly expanded.

Who played Scarlett O'Hara in the 1939 film of Margaret Mitchell's novel?

Vivien Leigh, a British actress, won the role over a famously long list of hopefuls and took the Academy Award for Best Actress.

Which classic film features the line 'Here's looking at you, kid'?

In Casablanca (1942) Bogart's Rick says 'Here's looking at you, kid' four times; the line was not in the draft screenplays and is thought to come from a poker lesson he gave Ingrid Bergman between takes.

In The Shawshank Redemption (1994), what does Andy Dufresne use to tunnel through his cell wall?

A rock hammer, hidden inside a hollowed-out Bible, takes Andy 19 years; the tunnel sits behind a poster of Raquel Welch.

Who directed Schindler's List (1993)?

Steven Spielberg's film tells the story of Oskar Schindler saving over 1,100 Jews during the Holocaust.

Which 1940 adaptation of a Daphne du Maurier novel was the 'Master of Suspense's' first American film?

Rebecca (1940), Hitchcock's first American film, won Best Picture, the only film he directed to do so, plus Best Cinematography, but nothing for acting, directing or writing.

In The Godfather (1972), what does Hollywood producer Jack Woltz wake up to find in his bed?

The horse, Khartoum, was worth $600,000. The production used a real severed horse's head for the shot, obtained from a dog-food company.

In which 1976 film does Travis Bickle ask his own reflection, 'You talkin' to me?'

The dialogue was improvised; the screenplay only said Travis talks to himself in the mirror. The line ranks tenth on the AFI's list of movie quotes.

How many Academy Awards did William Wyler's 1959 Charlton Heston epic win, a record at the time?

Ben-Hur won 11 Academy Awards at the 1960 ceremony, a total later tied by Titanic (1998) and The Return of the King (2004); Miklós Rózsa's score was the longest yet written for a film.

Who played the title character in Lawrence of Arabia (1962)?

Peter O'Toole earned his first Best Actor nomination for Lawrence of Arabia; he reached eight nominations without a competitive win and accepted an honorary Oscar at the March 2003 ceremony.

Which real-life newspaper tycoon banned any mention of Orson Welles's 1941 film from his papers?

Charles Foster Kane was a composite drawn partly from Hearst, and the tycoon did not take it well. Hearst's papers refused to run so much as an advertisement for the film.

Which classic film features the chariot race as its most famous scene?

Ben-Hur's nine-minute chariot race took five weeks spread over three months to shoot, cost about $1 million and needed more than 200 miles of racing to complete.

Who directed 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)?

Stanley Kubrick directed 2001: A Space Odyssey, which he co-wrote with Arthur C. Clarke. The film is renowned for its realistic depiction of space travel, pioneering special effects, and enigmatic storyline.

What are Norma Desmond's last words as she descends the stairs in Sunset Boulevard (1950)?

'All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up' ends Sunset Boulevard: Gloria Swanson's faded silent star Norma Desmond believes the newsreel cameras at the foot of the stairs are filming her comeback.

Which 1994 film won the Academy Award for Best Picture over The Shawshank Redemption and Pulp Fiction?

Forrest Gump took six Oscars at the 67th Academy Awards, including Best Director and Best Actor for Tom Hanks, beating two films now often ranked among the greatest ever.

Which film was the top-grossing release of the 1990s and the first to pass $1 billion?

Titanic (1997) was the highest-grossing film of the 1990s, earning over $1.8 billion worldwide. It held the record for highest-grossing film of all time until Avatar surpassed it in 2010.

Who played Norman Bates in the original Psycho (1960)?

Anthony Perkins was typecast for life; the character was inspired by the real-life killer Ed Gein.

Which film features the famous 'I coulda been a contender' speech?

In On the Waterfront (1954) ex-boxer Terry Malloy says 'I coulda been a contender' to his brother Charley in the back of a taxi; the AFI ranked it the third-greatest movie quote.

What was the first feature-length animated film by Walt Disney?

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) was Walt Disney's first feature-length animated film. Critics called it "Disney's Folly" during production, but it became a massive critical and commercial success.

In Rear Window (1954), what is Jimmy Stewart's character's profession?

L.B. Jefferies is a photojournalist laid up with a broken leg, so he watches his neighbours through a telephoto lens and comes to suspect one of them of murder.

Which classic film popularized the phrase 'Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn'?

In Gone with the Wind (1939) Clark Gable's Rhett Butler says it to Scarlett as he walks out; 'damn' was contentious under the Production Code, and the AFI voted it the greatest movie quote.

Who composed the two-note theme that signals the shark in the 1975 film set on Amity Island?

John Williams wrote the Jaws theme; the score won the Academy Award and the AFI later ranked it the sixth-greatest film score. One music scholar argued the two notes mimic the shark's heartbeat.

What does HAL 9000 reply when Bowman asks it to open the pod bay doors?

HAL answers 'I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that' because it has learned Dave and Frank plan to disconnect it; the request 'Open the pod bay doors, HAL' made the AFI's quotes list.

Which actress starred in Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)?

Audrey Hepburn starred as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's. Her little black Givenchy dress from the opening scene became one of the most iconic costumes in film history.

In The Silence of the Lambs (1991), what is Hannibal Lecter's profession?

Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) is a brilliant forensic psychiatrist and cannibalistic serial killer. Hopkins won the Best Actor Oscar despite only appearing on screen for about 16 minutes.

Which film first won Academy Awards for Picture, Director, Actor, Actress and Screenplay?

It Happened One Night (1934), directed by Frank Capra, was the first film to sweep the five major Oscars; the feat was later matched by One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) and The Silence of the Lambs (1991).

In Cameron's 1997 film, what is the blue diamond necklace Brock Lovett seeks called?

The Heart of the Ocean is the blue diamond Brock Lovett's 1996 dive team hunts in the wreck; Cameron filmed the real Titanic wreck for the opening, making a dozen dives in 1995.

Who played Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)?

Tom Selleck was actually cast first, but his Magnum, P.I. contract forced him to withdraw. Ford got the part only weeks before shooting.

Which 1959 Cary Grant thriller ends with a chase across the faces of Mount Rushmore?

In North by Northwest Grant plays ad man Roger Thornhill, mistaken for a government agent; Hitchcock had long wanted a Mount Rushmore chase, and the Park Service barred filming it on the real faces, so a studio mock-up was used.

In The Godfather Part II (1974), who plays the young Vito Corleone?

Robert De Niro played the young Vito Corleone in The Godfather Part II, winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He spoke mostly in Sicilian dialect for the role.

What was the first 'talkie' — the first major feature film with synchronized dialogue?

The Jazz Singer (1927) starring Al Jolson is considered the first major feature film with synchronized dialogue sequences, marking the end of the silent film era.

What is the name of Scarlett O'Hara's family cotton plantation in the 1939 Civil War epic?

Tara is the O'Hara place; Twelve Oaks is the neighbouring Wilkes plantation where Scarlett first meets Rhett Butler, and Manderley belongs to a different 1940 Best Picture winner.

Who plays the dual role of Madeleine Elster and Judy Barton opposite James Stewart in Vertigo (1958)?

Kim Novak replaced Vera Miles, who dropped out when she became pregnant; the film topped Sight & Sound's 2012 critics' poll of the greatest ever made.

In which film does Judy Garland sing 'Over the Rainbow'?

Judy Garland sings "Over the Rainbow" as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz (1939). The song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song and became Garland's signature tune.

What is Humphrey Bogart's character name in The Maltese Falcon (1941)?

Humphrey Bogart plays private detective Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon, directed by John Huston. It's considered one of the first film noir classics.

Which 1960 film by Billy Wilder stars Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine?

The Apartment (1960) stars Jack Lemmon as an insurance clerk who lends his apartment to executives for their affairs, and Shirley MacLaine as an elevator operator he falls for. It won Best Picture.

Who played Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)?

Gregory Peck's Atticus was voted the greatest hero of American cinema by the American Film Institute in 2003.

In Singin' in the Rain (1952), who performs the iconic title song in the rain?

Gene Kelly performs the iconic title number, dancing and singing in the rain. He reportedly had a 103°F fever during filming. The scene is widely regarded as one of the greatest musical sequences in film history.

Which 1971 film stars Malcolm McDowell as Alex DeLarge, leader of a gang of 'droogs'?

A Clockwork Orange was withdrawn from British cinemas at Kubrick's own request after copycat-violence claims, and stayed unavailable there until after his death in 1999.

In which 1959 comedy does Marilyn Monroe play Sugar Kane, a band's ukulele-playing singer?

Some Like It Hot has two musicians hiding from the mob in drag in an all-female band; the closing line, 'Well, nobody's perfect', is one of cinema's most quoted.

Which film features the quote 'I see dead people'?

Haley Joel Osment as Cole Sear whispers "I see dead people" in The Sixth Sense (1999), directed by M. Night Shyamalan. The film is famous for its twist ending.

Who directed Goodfellas (1990)?

Martin Scorsese directed Goodfellas, based on the true story of mobster Henry Hill. The film is known for its innovative use of voice-over narration and a famous unbroken tracking shot through the Copacabana nightclub.

In E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), what candy does Elliott use to lure E.T.?

Reese's Pieces got the part after Mars turned down a placement for M&M's; Hershey's sales of the candy reportedly jumped 65% after release.

The Sound of Music (1965) is set in which Austrian city?

The Sound of Music is set in Salzburg, where location shooting ran from April to July 1964 at sites such as the Mirabell Gardens and Nonnberg Abbey; the real von Trapp family had lived in the city's Aigen district.

Which folk-rock duo's songs fill the soundtrack of The Graduate (1967)?

Simon & Garfunkel's 'The Sound of Silence' opens The Graduate, and 'Mrs. Robinson', written for the film, went to No. 1 in 1968 and won Record of the Year.

Raging Bull (1980) chronicles the turbulent life of which middleweight boxing champion?

Raging Bull follows Jake LaMotta, middleweight champion from 1949 to 1951; De Niro gained roughly 60 pounds to play the bloated older LaMotta, and Joe Pesci was a near-unknown when cast.

Bicycle Thieves (1948) follows a father hunting his stolen bike in which city?

Bicycle Thieves is set in post-war Rome, shot on its streets with non-professional actors; De Sica could find no studio backing and raised the money himself from friends.

In The Seventh Seal (1957), a knight challenges Death to which game?

Knight Antonius Block challenges Death to chess, believing he will live as long as the game lasts; the closing Dance of Death silhouette became one of cinema's most famous images.

In West Side Story (1961), the Jets brawl with which rival gang?

The Sharks are the Puerto Rican gang led by Bernardo; the 1961 film won 10 of its 11 Oscar nominations, a record haul for a musical.

In Blade Runner (1982), what are the bio-engineered synthetic humans called?

Replicants are built by the Tyrell Corporation for off-world labor, and a blade runner's job is to 'retire' any that return to Earth; the Nexus-6 models have a four-year lifespan.

In Back to the Future (1985), what speed must the DeLorean reach to travel through time?

88 mph is hit by accident while Marty flees Libyan terrorists, landing him in 1955 without the plutonium he needs to get home.

The ending of Planet of the Apes (1968) reveals the ruins of which landmark?

The Statue of Liberty's exact state of decay changed across several storyboards before the final shot was settled.

A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) is set in a rundown apartment in which city?

Blanche DuBois arrives from Mississippi to stay with her sister and brother-in-law; the film made Marlon Brando a star.

In Ghostbusters (1984), what giant form does the god Gozer finally take?

Gozer becomes the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man after Ray, told to choose the form of the destructor, pictures the harmless sailor-hatted mascot from his childhood.

The Matrix (1999) popularized which slow-motion camera-sweep effect?

Bullet time froze Neo mid-dodge using a ring of still cameras fired in sequence; Will Smith turned down Neo partly because the effect's pitch baffled him, choosing Wild Wild West instead.

What is the name of George Bailey's hometown in It's a Wonderful Life (1946)?

George Bailey never leaves Bedford Falls, which becomes Pottersville in the world where he was never born; the film flopped in 1946 and became a Christmas staple after its copyright lapsed in 1974.

In Jurassic Park (1993), the dinosaur park sits on which fictional island?

Isla Nublar lies off Costa Rica in the story, while Isla Sorna is the breeding 'Site B' of the sequel; the film was actually shot on Kauai and in California.

Which fighter jet do Maverick and Goose fly in Top Gun (1986)?

Maverick and Goose fly the two-seat F-14 Tomcat, the Navy's carrier interceptor, while training at the Fighter Weapons School at Miramar in San Diego; the sequel arrived 36 years later.

Who plays Bonnie Parker opposite Warren Beatty in Bonnie and Clyde (1967)?

Faye Dunaway's Bonnie earned her first Oscar nomination; Beatty also produced the film, which drew 10 nominations and won two, including Estelle Parsons for Best Supporting Actress.

In the unauthorized 1922 Dracula adaptation Nosferatu, what is the vampire called?

Max Schreck's Count Orlok was Dracula renamed, but Bram Stoker's widow sued anyway and a German court ordered every copy destroyed; the film survived through prints already sent abroad.

Which actress screams her way through the original King Kong (1933) as Ann Darrow?

Fay Wray played Ann Darrow, recording her screams in a single studio session and reacting to a Kong that was an 18-inch stop-motion model; the role made her the original 'scream queen'.

What is Walter Neff's job in the 1944 film noir Double Indemnity?

Walter Neff is an insurance salesman who sells Phyllis Dietrichson's husband an accident policy; its double indemnity clause pays double for a rare death such as falling from a train, which is the murder plan.

High Noon (1952) is famous for telling its story in what unusual way?

Gary Cooper was 50 and Grace Kelly 21 when cast as newlyweds; John Wayne had turned down the marshal role first.

Which 1973 film was the first horror movie nominated for the Best Picture Oscar?

The Exorcist earned ten nominations, including Best Picture, and won two, for Sound and Adapted Screenplay; Georgetown University's priests and streets served as its backdrop.

Chinatown (1974) is loosely inspired by real Los Angeles fights over which resource?

The real-life California water wars let Los Angeles drain the Owens Valley; Robert Towne's script won the film's only Oscar from 11 nominations.

What is the name of the commercial space tug in Alien (1979)?

The Nostromo, a tug hauling a refinery for Weyland-Yutani, carries seven crew who wake from stasis alongside the ship's cat, Jones, who outlives nearly all of them.

In The Shining (1980), which door number at the Overlook Hotel is Danny told to avoid?

Room 237 replaced the novel's 217 because Oregon's Timberline Lodge, the Overlook's exterior, asked Kubrick not to scare guests away from a real room.

Who won the Best Actor Oscar for playing the jealous Salieri in Amadeus (1984)?

F. Murray Abraham won Best Actor as Salieri, beating co-star Tom Hulce, nominated in the same category for Mozart; Amadeus took eight Oscars in all.

Which top prize did Pulp Fiction (1994) win at the Cannes Film Festival?

Pulp Fiction won the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1994 under jury president Clint Eastwood, then earned seven Oscar nominations and revived John Travolta's career almost overnight.

Who plays the rebel gladiator in the title role of Spartacus (1960)?

Kirk Douglas starred and produced, firing director Anthony Mann and bringing in Stanley Kubrick, the only Kubrick feature on which he lacked full control.

In Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), the outlaws flee to which country?

Butch pitches Bolivia as a robber's paradise, and the pair die there in a shootout; the real outlaws are believed to have been killed at San Vicente, Bolivia, in 1908.

In Duck Soup (1933), Groucho Marx becomes leader of which fictional country?

Wealthy widow Mrs. Teasdale will bail out bankrupt Freedonia only if Rufus T. Firefly is made its leader; war with neighboring Sylvania follows.

Who plays 'the Ugly' in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)?

Eli Wallach plays Tuco, the Ugly, alongside Lee Van Cleef's Bad and Clint Eastwood's Good, all hunting a cache of Confederate gold during the Civil War.

The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) was actually filmed on which island?

It was shot in Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, where a full-size bridge built over the Kelani River at Kitulgala was really blown up for the climax; Alec Guinness won Best Actor as Colonel Nicholson.

Which blacklisted writer secretly scripted Roman Holiday (1953) without credit?

Ian McLellan Hunter fronted for him and collected the Oscar for Best Story; full credit was finally restored in 2011.

Whose voice dubbed Eliza Doolittle's songs in My Fair Lady (1964)?

Only 'Just You Wait' kept the star's own voice in its harsh chorus; Nixon later ghosted for other leading ladies too.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) was shot inside a real hospital in which state?

It was shot at Oregon State Hospital in Salem, the setting of Ken Kesey's novel, with real patients as extras; the film became only the second to sweep the five major Oscars.

Which Mary Poppins (1964) song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song?

'Chim Chim Cher-ee' won the Sherman brothers the Best Original Song Oscar; the film's 13 nominations set a Disney record, and Julie Andrews took Best Actress in her film debut.

Airplane! (1980) is a near scene-for-scene parody of which 1957 disaster film?

Zero Hour! supplied the food-poisoned crew, the shell-shocked ex-pilot and even the name Ted Striker; the Zucker brothers and Jim Abrahams found it while taping late-night TV and bought its remake rights.

In Rain Man (1988), which classic car does Charlie Babbitt inherit from his father?

Charlie gets only the 1949 Buick Roadmaster convertible and the rosebushes, while the rest of the $3 million estate goes into a trust for the brother he never knew he had.

Marge Gunderson in Fargo (1996) is police chief of which Minnesota town?

Seven months pregnant, she starts investigating after a trooper's routine stop turns deadly; McDormand won Best Actress.

Who conducts the classical pieces in Disney's Fantasia (1940)?

Leopold Stokowski conducted, shaking hands with Mickey Mouse on screen; seven of the eight segments use his Philadelphia Orchestra, and Fantasound made it the first commercial film shown in stereo.

Doctor Zhivago (1965) could not shoot in the USSR, so it was filmed mostly where?

David Lean shot mostly in Spain, building a Moscow street set outside Madrid and filming the 'Russian' plains near Soria, because Pasternak's novel was banned in the Soviet Union for decades.

Kurosawa won the Silver Lion for directing Seven Samurai (1954) at which festival?

Seven Samurai took the Silver Lion at the 1954 Venice Film Festival; for the climactic rain-soaked battle Kurosawa shot with multiple cameras and telephoto lenses, an approach that became standard for action.

Cary Grant donated his entire Philadelphia Story (1940) salary to which cause?

Cary Grant gave his entire fee, reported at $137,500, to the British War Relief Society, having taken the role only with top billing over Katharine Hepburn and James Stewart.

The bird noises in The Birds (1963) were created on which electronic instrument?

Oskar Sala generated the shrieks and wingbeats on his Mixtur-Trautonium with Remi Gassmann; the film has no conventional score, and Bernard Herrmann served only as sound consultant.

Which novelist co-wrote Metropolis (1927), adapting her own 1925 book?

Thea von Harbou, then married to director Fritz Lang, wrote the novel Metropolis as a treatment for the film and co-wrote the screenplay; the couple divorced in 1933.

The Great Escape (1963) dramatizes a mass breakout from which German POW camp?

Stalag Luft III, near Sagan in Silesia, saw 76 airmen escape through the tunnel Harry in March 1944, and 50 were executed; Steve McQueen's motorcycle jump was invented for the film.

Whose 1975 title fight with Muhammad Ali inspired Stallone to write Rocky?

Chuck Wepner, the 'Bayonne Bleeder', knocked Ali down and lasted into the 15th round at Richfield, Ohio, in March 1975; Stallone wrote the Rocky screenplay in about three and a half days afterward.

Dog Day Afternoon (1975) dramatizes a 1972 Brooklyn bank robbery led by whom?

John Wojtowicz held up a Chase Manhattan branch in Gravesend, Brooklyn, on August 22, 1972, partly to pay for his partner's gender-affirming surgery; Al Pacino's Sonny Wortzik is based on him.

The con in The Sting (1973) takes place in which Depression-era year?

The Sting opens in Joliet in September 1936, where Hooker's $11,000 grift gets his partner Luther killed and sends him to Chicago to learn the big con from Henry Gondorff.

Miracle on 34th Street (1947) was first released in the UK under what title?

British audiences first saw it as The Big Heart; Edmund Gwenn won Best Supporting Actor as Kris Kringle, the Macy's Santa who insists he is the real thing.

The steelworker friends in The Deer Hunter (1978) live in which Pennsylvania town?

The friends live in Clairton, a steel town on the Monongahela south of Pittsburgh; the Russian roulette scenes came from a separate Las Vegas script, The Man Who Came to Play.