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49 free American Graffiti trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This American Graffiti trivia quiz covers George Lucas's 1973 film from the first pitch to the last title card. It asks about the one night in September 1962, the characters Lucas based on his own Modesto youth, the town that threw the production out after two days, and the cast of unknowns who went on to Jaws, Happy Days and Star Wars. There are questions on the blonde in the white Thunderbird, Wolfman Jack, the Pharaohs, the drag race on Paradise Road and the epilogue Pauline Kael hated. It also covers the business side: the studios that passed, why Coppola's name was on the poster, the $777,000 budget that returned more than $200 million, the missing Elvis on the soundtrack and the five Oscar nominations. About a third of the questions are easy for anyone who has seen the film, a third are medium, and the rest are for people who know which airline's DC-7 appears in the final scene. Every answer was checked against Wikipedia and the production histories it cites, and each question carries the sentence that establishes it. If you think one is wrong, use the report button and we will look again.
30 of 49 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Who directed American Graffiti?
George Lucas
George Lucas directed it as his second feature; the 1973 film was Lucasfilm's first production and earned him a Best Director Oscar nomination.
Q 02The film is set over one night in which California city?
Modesto
Modesto, Lucas's home town, whose early-sixties cruising scene the film recreates; he judged the real town too changed a decade later and filmed elsewhere.
Q 03In what year is American Graffiti set?
1962
1962: the tagline asks 'Where were you in '62?', and the story plays out on the last night of summer before two of the friends are due to fly east to college.
Q 04Which burger joint is the friends' meeting place at the start of the film?
Mel's Drive-In
The scenes were shot at the real Mel's in San Francisco, which was demolished soon after filming.
Q 05Who plays Curt Henderson, the graduate having second thoughts about leaving for college?
Richard Dreyfuss
Richard Dreyfuss: Lucas liked his audition so much he let him choose between Curt and Terry, and Dreyfuss picked Curt.
Q 06Ron Howard plays which character?
Steve Bolander
Steve Bolander, the graduate who lends Terry his '58 Impala for the year, is Ron Howard's role; Howard took it hoping to shed his child-star image.
Q 07What is the nickname of Terry Fields, played by Charles Martin Smith?
The Toad
The Toad is Terry's nickname, which he hates; Charles Martin Smith's character tells Debbie people call him 'Terry the Tiger' instead.
Q 08The blonde who mouths 'I love you' to Curt is driving what car?
A white Ford Thunderbird
A white Ford Thunderbird, a 1956 model driven by Suzanne Somers; Curt spends the night chasing the mystery blonde and never catches her.
Q 09What is the greaser gang called that makes Curt hook a chain to a police car?
The Pharaohs
The Pharaohs grab Curt after he sits on their car and make him prove himself with the police-car prank before letting him go.
Q 10Which vehicle does Terry actually own, as he finally admits to Debbie?
A Vespa scooter
A Vespa scooter: Terry's opening arrival, bumping it into a wall as he pulls up, was a real mishap by Charles Martin Smith that Lucas kept in the film.
Q 11How old is Carol, the girl who talks her way into John Milner's car for the night?
12
12: Carol is the bratty twelve-year-old Milner gets stuck with after she hops into his car; Mackenzie Phillips, who plays her, was the same age during the shoot.
Q 12What did Harrison Ford insist on before taking the part of Bob Falfa?
Not cutting his hair
Not cutting his hair: the script wanted Falfa in a flattop and Ford refused; he was mainly working as a carpenter when he took the part.
Q 13Where does the climactic drag race between Milner and Falfa take place?
Paradise Road
Q 21How much did Universal add to the $600,000 budget when a famous director became producer?
$175,000
$175,000: the producer's name persuaded Universal to lift the $600,000 budget to roughly $775,000, on a film that went on to gross over $100 million worldwide.
Q 22Filming began in San Rafael, but the city withdrew permission after how many days?
Two
Two: a local business complaint led San Rafael to pull its permit after the second night, and Lucas moved the unit to a town further north.
Q 23Most of the film was shot in which small town north of San Rafael?
Petaluma
Petaluma, whose downtown stood in for the cruising strip; the town adopted the film, staging an annual Salute to American Graffiti car show.
Paradise Road, the open strip outside town where Milner and Falfa race at dawn; Falfa's car leaves the road and burns while Milner's coupe survives.
Q 14Where does Curt drive to late at night, hoping to reach the mystery blonde?
The radio station
The radio station: Curt drives out to the lonely station building, where the man who claims the Wolfman's shows are taped turns out to be the Wolfman himself.
Q 15According to the epilogue, what became of Curt Henderson?
A writer living in Canada
A writer living in Canada is Curt's fate in the closing title cards; Lucas based Curt on his own college-age self.
Q 16Near which place does the epilogue say Terry Fields went missing in action in 1965?
An Loc, South Vietnam
An Loc, South Vietnam: the closing title card reports Terry missing in action there in December 1965, the only one of the four fates tied to the war.
Q 17Which producer challenged Lucas to write a mainstream coming-of-age film during the making of THX 1138?
Francis Ford Coppola
Coppola's name went on the film after The Godfather so Universal could sell it as 'from the man who gave you The Godfather'.
Q 18Which Fellini film did Lucas cite as an inspiration for the story?
I Vitelloni
I Vitelloni, Fellini's 1953 film about young men drifting through a provincial town, was the model Lucas cited for his own cruising friends.
Q 19Which husband-and-wife team shares the screenplay credit with Lucas?
Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz
Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz share the screenplay credit with Lucas; they paused mid-project to direct their own horror film, Messiah of Evil, then returned to rewrite.
Q 20Which studio gave Lucas $10,000 to develop the treatment into a screenplay, then rejected the script?
United Artists
United Artists advanced Lucas $10,000 for the script, then rejected it, as it also rejected his space-opera pitch; Universal picked the film up instead.
Q 24Which cast member ended up in hospital after an allergic reaction to walnuts?
Paul Le Mat
Paul Le Mat was hospitalised after an allergic reaction to walnuts; the hard-living actor also threw a co-star into a motel pool, gashing his forehead before close-ups.
Q 25Le Mat, Ford and Bo Hopkins were said to hold nightly climbing competitions up which structure?
The Holiday Inn sign
The Holiday Inn sign at the cast's motel; the same trio's late-night drinking also got Ford thrown out of his room.
Q 26Lucas shot the film in which inexpensive widescreen format that uses only half of each 35mm frame?
Techniscope
Techniscope, a two-perforation process that halves film costs, gave the grainy documentary look Lucas wanted; Haskell Wexler came in as 'visual consultant' to solve its lighting problems.
Q 27Which editor did Universal insist on hiring for the first rough cut?
Verna Fields
Verna Fields: Universal wanted an experienced hand over Marcia Lucas, so Fields assembled the first cut; Marcia Lucas finished the edit, and Fields went on to cut Jaws.
Q 28How long was the first cut of the film?
Three and a half hours
Three and a half hours: the first assembly had to be trimmed to under two hours, which broke Lucas's strict 'ABCD' rotation between the four storylines.
Q 29Which sound designer created the film's layered 'worldized' radio soundtrack from Wolfman Jack's show?
Walter Murch
Walter Murch, credited for sound montage, re-recorded the music through speakers in real spaces so the radio seemed to drift between cars, a technique he called worldizing.
Q 30Which major star is absent from the soundtrack because his label refused Universal's flat-fee deal?
Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley: his label RCA refused the flat per-song fee every other rights holder accepted, so none of his hits appear; the cleared oldies serve as the film's entire score.