What made the film Lost Boundaries peculiar?
1. There were no women’s roles
2. Adults played the roles of children
3. Black roles were played by white actors
4. Men played the roles of women
Black roles were played by white actors
In the film, Lost Boundaries (1948), a film about an African American family passing for white, the leading roles were all cast with white actors.
Which film was an adaptation of a stage play by LeRoi Jones (Amiri Baraka)?
1. "Preface to a 20 Volume Suicide Note"
2. "Dante’s Hell"
3. "Dutchman"
4. "Flying Dutchman"
"Dutchman"
The film "Dutchman" (1967) was based on the last play (by the same name) produced by Baraka under his government name, LeRoi Jones.
Which film was based on a novel written by Alice Childress and features Cicely Tyson as mother to the wayward teenaged lead character?
1. "A Man Called Adam"
2. "Sounder"
3. "Odds Against Tomorrow"
4. "A Hero Ain’t Nothin’ but a Sandwich"
"A Hero Ain’t Nothin’ but a Sandwich"
"A Hero Ain't Nothin' but a Sandwich" is a 1978 film based on Childress’ novel with the screenplay also written by the author.
The energetically great Tina Turner was the star of what action flick in the 80s?
1. "Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome"
2. "Fort Apache: The Bronx "
3. "Vamp"
4. "A View to Kill"
"Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome"
"Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome" (1985), not only featured Tina Turner as a star of the film, but it also featured her hit, "We Don't Need Another Hero".
Which film was based on the primarily Black trucking operation of World War II?
1. 'War Dogs'
2. 'Red Ball Express'
3. 'War Lords'
4. 'Hit Man'
'Red Ball Express'
'Red Ball Express' is a 1952 World War II war film based on the real Red Ball Express convoys.
Which film opened the door to what is known as the “Blaxploitation” film era?
1. "Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasss Song"
2. "Shaft"
3. "Black Jesus"
4. "Superfly"
"Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasss Song"
"Sweetback's Baadasssss Song" (1971) is an independent film, written, produced, scored, directed by, and starring Melvin Van Peebles.
Which of the following was NOT a film starring Eddie Murphy?
1. 48 Hours
2. Beverly Hill’s Cop
3. Golden Child
4. Five on the Black Hand Side
Five on the Black Hand
Five on the Black Hand Side was not a film starring Eddie Murphy; rather it was a comedy that featured then virtually unknown Black actors.
Who was the white film maker who defied censors in 1928 by casting a Black priest giving last rites to a dying white woman and what was the film?
1. D. Paul Sloan, "Hearts of Dixie"
2. Eric Von Stroheim, "Queen Kelly"
3. Erich Von Stroheim, "Wedding March"
4. D.W, Griffith, "Birth of a Nation"
Eric Von Stroheim, "Queen Kelly"
Erich Von Stroheim was encouraged to modify his film "Queen Kelly" by making the African priest white instead of Black to avoid offending Catholics and angering the Ku Klux Klan; however, Stroheim stood his ground which cost him greatly and the film was never completed.
Who was the film beauty whose roles included the archetypal tragic mulatto figure in films such as "Carmen Jones" (1954) and "Porgy and Bess" (1959)?
1. Ruby Dee
2. Dorothy Dandridge
3. Louise Beavers
4. Eartha Kitt
Dorothy Dandridge
Dorothy Dandridge was a film and theatre actress, singer and dancer who is best known for being the first Black actress to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the 1954 film "Carmen Jones".
What movie, set in Nigeria and released shortly after "The Exorcist," starred William Marshall and was sometimes called the "The Blackorcist"?
1. "Abby"
2. "Brother from Another Planet"
3. "Judas Priest"
4. "Scream, Blacula, Scream"
"Abby"
"Abby" is the 1974 blaxploitation horror film often compared to "The Exorcist".
Which film was NOT about a boxing great?
1. "The Joe Louis Story"
2. "The Greatest Story Ever Told"
3. "The Great White Hope"
4. "The Greatest"
"The Greatest Story Ever Told"
"The Greatest Story Ever Told" is a 1965 epic film retelling the story of Jesus Christ from birth to crucifixion.
Which talented dancer taught Shirley Temple to tap dance up the staircase in "The Little Colonel"?
1. Bill “Bojangles” Robinson
2. Clarence Muse
3. Stepin' Fetchit
4. Daniel Haynes
Bill “Bojangles” Robinson
Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, tap dancer and actor, was the most celebrated and highly paid African American entertainer in the first half of the 20th century and is best known for dancing with Shirley Temple in a series of films during the 1930s, and for starring in the musical "Stormy Weather" (1943).
Which of the following actors was persecuted during the McCarthy-era communist witch-hunt?
1. Ossie Davis
2. Sidney Poitier
3. Canada Lee
4. Brock Peters
Canada Lee
After careers as a jockey, boxer and musician, Canada Lee became a well-known actor of the 30s and 40s. His success was cut short when he was blacklisted because of his political activism.
In the film, The Wiz (1978), based on The Wizard of Oz, the role of Dorothy was played by what actor?
1. Natalie Cole
2. Diana Ross
3. Melba Moore
4. Pam Grier
Diana Ross
Viewers of the film, The Wiz, still wonder how a 33 year old Diana Ross obtained the role of Dorothy, a 12 year old girl, but it happened.
Which of the following films featured Oprah Winfrey?
1. "Hollywood Shuffle"
2. "The Color Purple"
3. "Beverly Hills Cops"
4. "Blazing Saddles"
"The Color Purple"
In 1986, Oprah Winfrey was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in "The Color Purple" (1985)based on the novel by the same name by Alice Walker.
Which of the following was NOT a film that showcased the legendary stand-up comic, Richard Pryor?
1. "Richard Pryor Live in Concert"
2. "Richard Pryor Here and Now"
3. "Richard Pryor Live on Sunset Strip"
4. "Richard Pryor at Carnegie Hall"
"Richard Pryor at Carnegie Hall"
"Richard Pryor at Carnegie Hall" is NOT a Richard Pryor film as the legendary comic never performed at Carnegie Hall.
Which film is set in South Africa and starred veteran actor, Canada Lee, as an old village priest and a young Sidney Poitier as a Catholic priest?
1. "The Great White Hope"
2. "Another Country"
3. "Things Fall Apart"
4. "Cry, The Beloved Country"
"Cry, The Beloved Country"
The critically acclaimed film, "Cry, the Beloved Country". is based on a 1948 novel of the same name by Alan Paton and starred both Canada Lee and Sidney Poitier.
Which film earned Lou Gossett, Jr, an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor in a role that was originally written for a white actor?
1. "An Officer and a Gentleman"
2. "The Landlord"
3. "The River Niger"
4. "Red Ball Express"
"An Officer and a Gentleman"
Lou Gossett earned an Oscar for his portrayal of a hard-driving Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant in the film "An Officer and a Gentleman".
Who was the actor who broke the color barrier by playing serious, intelligent characters in such films as "The Edge of the City" (1957) and "The Defiant Ones"(1958)?
1. Eddie “Rochester” Anderson
2. Sidney Poitier
3. Spike Lee
4. Ralph Ellison
Sidney Poitier
Sidney Poitier also became the first Black Academy Award winner for Best Actor in 1964 for his performance in "Lilies of the Field" (1963).
Which movie depicted diva Diana Ross as the tragic songstress, Billie Holliday?
1. "Blues Loving"
2. "Lady Sings the Blues"
3. "Lady Day"
4. "Billie, Billie"
"Lady Sings the Blues"
"Lady Sings the Blues" is a 1972 biographical film directed by Sidney J. Furie about jazz singer Billie Holiday and starring Diana Ross.
Which film used a script written by Maya Angelou?
1. "Georgia, Georgia"
2. "A Raisin in the Sun"
3. "Georgia on My Mind" "
4. Mahogany"
"Georgia, Georgia"
"Georgia, Georgia", a 1972 film written by Maya Angelou, is the first screenplay written by a black woman; she also wrote the film's soundtrack.
Which film in 1934 exposed the problem of intra-racial strife in a Black family as it also spoke simultaneously about racism in America? "
1. The Homesteader"
2. "Imitation of Life"
3. "Birth of a Natio"
4. "Green Pastures"
"Imitation of Life"
Based on the novel of the same name by Fannie Hurst, "Imitation of Life", which was made in 1934 and remade in 1959, was selected in 2005 for preservation in the United States National Film Registry and in 2007 it was named by Time as one of "The 25 Most Important Films on Race".
What was the title of the 1922 film that featured the heroic feats of Black rodeo star Bill Pickett?
1. "The Cowboy"
2. "The Bull Dogger"
3. "Rodeo King"
4. "The Flying Ace"
"The Bull Dogger"
"The Bull-Dogger" is a silent western film starring Bill Pickett, the Black cowboy credited with inventing bulldogging or steer wrestling.
Which of the following was NOT an early 20th Century Black filmmaker?
1. Jack Warner
2. Emmett J. Scott
3. Noble Johnson
4. Oscar Micheaux
Jack Warner
Jack Warner, was not a Black filmmaker, but was a Canadian American filmmaker who with his three brothers, founded Warner Bros. Studios.
Who was the Black Prince Charming: who starred in "Mahogany" (1975), and appeared in supporting roles in "Nighthawks" (1981) and "The Empire Strikes Back" (1980)?
1. Lou Gossett, Jr.
2. Billy Day
3. Billy Dee Williams
4. Sidney Poitier
Billy Dee Williams
Billy Dee Williams actor, artist, singer, and writer has been the heart throb of a generation of women movie goers because of his portrayal of handsome and debonair characters in films.
