So as part of last week’s Mensa event (which had an “escape” theme), I contributed a quiz dealing with both Escapes and Traps. So here it is; if you want to try it, no Google or Wikipedia!
1. Steve McQueen was among the stars in what film about World War II prisoners busting out of a Nazi prison camp?
2. What piece of gym equipment did they use to cover up an escape tunnel?
3. Name the William Holden film in which a group of World War II POWs suspect one of them is informing the guards about their escape plans.
4. The creators of a 1960s TV sitcom set in a Nazi prison camp were accused of ripping off the movie in #3. Name the show.
5. In Michael Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, the title characters are comic-book writers. What was the name of their creation?
6. In The Shawshank Redemption, what does Tim Robbins use to cover his escape tunnel?
7. What phrase describes provisions in an otherwise binding document that allow one of the parties to back out without a penalty?
8. “He cheats death! He defies man! No trap can hold him!” Name this “super escape artist” created by Jack Kirby?
9. One iconic early 20th-century entertainer took his stage name in tribute to a famous 19th century predecessor. Name that predecessor.
10. In this 1960s TV series, the first episode of the week left the protagonist in a death trap, the second showed the escape. What was the show?
11. Three hundred Jews escaped one concentration camp in World War II, though most of them were recaptured or killed. Name the camp.
12. Intelligent chimpanzee Roddy McDowell travels back in time in what 1970s SF movie?
13. When something on Earth travels at 7 miles a second, it attains what significant speed?
14. Clint Eastwood busts out of a maximum-security prison in which of his films?
15. In Escape From New York, the Big Apple has been turned into a giant prison. Give the name of the leading actor and the name of his character.
II
16. Name the Agatha Christie play has been running continuously in London for over 60 years, making it the world’s longest-running stage play.
17. Christopher Reeve and Michael Caine starred onscreen in this elaborately tricky murder mystery, based on a stage play.
18. The Trapster was a Marvel Comics criminal originally known by a much goofier name. What was it?
19. According to an old saying, if you want the world to beat a path to your door, you have to build what?
20. Two identical twins plot to reunite their divorced parents in what Disney comedy?
21. One character from MASH went on to have his own series as an unconventional stateside surgeon. Name the character played by Wayne Rogers and Parnell Roberts.
22. What’s the popular term for a stretch of road where cops wait to ticket you for going too fast?
23. Which Rudyard Kipling story has a team of publicists and writers get revenge for being caught on one of those roads?
24. According to the title of this 1955 film, Frank Sinatra and Debbie Reynolds are caught in what?
25. Rather than spinning an obvious web, one type of spider spins a tunnel, closes the entrance, then pops out to catch prey. What’s the collective name for these creatures?
26. A snare or weapon designed to be triggered by its target is sometimes called by what name?
