LORDS AND LOVERS
May, 1979
ALTHOUGH HER MOM WAS played to perfection by Genevieve Bujold in 1970's Anne of the Thousand Days, to date no Canadian has portrayed England's Virgin Queen on the big theatre screen. (Television is another matter. Margot Kidder had the Elizabeth I role in a 2001 episode of Mentors.) Of course, Canadian performers have played their share of other historic movers and shakers. From the brief descriptions given below, identify the the picture containing the following epic turns:
1. Born an Austrian princess, this 18th century French queen's indifference to the plight of her people helped bring about one of history's bloodiest revolutions. Norma Shearer played the role in the 1936 film whose title recalls the queen's name.
2. Fascinated by the autobiography of a notorious countryman, Italian director Federico Fellini developed a 1977 film all about him. Donald Sutherland was cast as the legendary Venetian, a lover and scholar whose name has become synonymous with sexual excess.
3. He is remembered as an architect of empire, a man who amassed a fortune and had an African country named after him. As played by Walter Huston, though, he is just another crusty old diamond miner, an Englishman who sees his duty and does it. He is the right-thinking hero of a 1936 movie that bears his name.
4. His people considered him a god as well as their king. As Atahualpa, Christopher Plummer finds himself a prisoner of the Spaniard Pizarro, a man who has come for gold but finds himself drawn to the Incan leader's certainty in his own religion throughout this 1969 feature.
5. The Emperor Commodus was a madman. He poisoned his father, played by Alec Guinness, ignored his best advisor, James Mason, banished his best general, Stephen Boyd, and was quite unspeakable to Sophia Loren, who played his sister. Christopher Plummer had the role in this 1964 epic, and his reign is said to have marked the beginning of the end for an empire.
BONUS QUESTION:
Contributing to the Emperor Commodus's troubles were the barbarian invasion led by a fur-clad old warrior named Ballomar. Beneath Ballomar's bushy beard was another Canadian face. Whose?
ALTHOUGH HER MOM WAS played to perfection by Genevieve Bujold in 1970's Anne of the Thousand Days
1. Born an Austrian princess, this 18th century French queen's indifference to the plight of her people helped bring about one of history's bloodiest revolutions. Norma Shearer played the role in the 1936 film whose title recalls the queen's name.
2. Fascinated by the autobiography of a notorious countryman, Italian director Federico Fellini developed a 1977 film all about him. Donald Sutherland was cast as the legendary Venetian, a lover and scholar whose name has become synonymous with sexual excess.
3. He is remembered as an architect of empire, a man who amassed a fortune and had an African country named after him. As played by Walter Huston, though, he is just another crusty old diamond miner, an Englishman who sees his duty and does it. He is the right-thinking hero of a 1936 movie that bears his name.
4. His people considered him a god as well as their king. As Atahualpa, Christopher Plummer finds himself a prisoner of the Spaniard Pizarro, a man who has come for gold but finds himself drawn to the Incan leader's certainty in his own religion throughout this 1969 feature.
5. The Emperor Commodus was a madman. He poisoned his father, played by Alec Guinness, ignored his best advisor, James Mason, banished his best general, Stephen Boyd, and was quite unspeakable to Sophia Loren, who played his sister. Christopher Plummer had the role in this 1964 epic, and his reign is said to have marked the beginning of the end for an empire.
BONUS QUESTION:
Contributing to the Emperor Commodus's troubles were the barbarian invasion led by a fur-clad old warrior named Ballomar. Beneath Ballomar's bushy beard was another Canadian face. Whose?
ANSWERS
1. Marie Antoinette (Born 1753, beheaded 1793)
2. Rhodes Of Africa (Based on the life of Cecil John Rhodes, 1853-1902)
3. Casanova (Very loosely based on the life of Giovanni Jacopo Casanova, 1725-1798)
4. The Royal Hunt Of The Sun (Atahualpa, ca. 1500-1533)
5. The Fall Of The Roman Empire (Suggested by the reign of Lucius Aurelius Commodus, 180-192)
BONUS ANSWER
John Ireland
The above is a restored version of Quiz 26, one of 78 included in The Canadian Movie Quiz Book by Michael Walsh, originally published in 1979. For additional information on this archived material, please visit my FAQ.