Can You Crack It? Ultimate 20-Question Mystery Movie Trivia Quiz Challenge!

Answers Below – No Peeking!

Are you a master of whodunits and film noir? Test your knowledge of iconic mystery movies with this 20-question quiz, featuring questions from easy warm-ups to devilishly tricky brain-teasers. Grab a notebook, no Googling, and see if you can crack the case!

20 Trivia Questions on Mystery Movies

Question 1: Which 1941 film starring Humphrey Bogart is often credited as the first major film noir?

A. Double Indemnity
B. Casablanca
C. The Maltese Falcon
D. The Big Sleep

Question 2: In Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window (1954), what injury keeps the protagonist confined to his apartment?

A. Arm in a cast
B. Sprained ankle
C. Broken leg
D. Concussion

Question 3: Who is revealed to be the master criminal Keyser Söze in The Usual Suspects (1995)?

A. Dean Keaton
B. Kobayashi
C. Hockney
D. Verbal Kint

Question 4: Who directed the 1995 mystery thriller Se7en?

A. Ridley Scott
B. Quentin Tarantino
C. David Fincher
D. Michael Mann

Question 5: From which city does Marion Crane steal $40,000 in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960)?

A. Los Angeles
B. Chicago
C. San Francisco
D. Phoenix

Question 6: Who plays detective Philip Marlowe in Howard Hawks’ 1946 adaptation of The Big Sleep?

A. Robert Mitchum
B. James Garner
C. Humphrey Bogart
D. Elliott Gould

Question 7: The 1985 comedy mystery Clue is based on what?

A. A novel series
B. A true crime story
C. A stage play
D. A board game

Question 8: Who directed the 2001 ensemble mystery Gosford Park?

A. Kenneth Branagh
B. Robert Altman
C. P.D. James
D. Julian Fellowes

Question 9: Who played Hercule Poirot in the 1974 adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express?

A. Peter Ustinov
B. Kenneth Branagh
C. David Suchet
D. Albert Finney

Question 10: What phobia afflicts Scottie Ferguson, played by James Stewart, in Hitchcock’s Vertigo (1958)?

A. Claustrophobia
B. Agoraphobia
C. Arachnophobia
D. Acrophobia

Question 11: Who wrote and directed the 2019 whodunit Knives Out?

A. Jordan Peele
B. Rian Johnson
C. Bong Joon-ho
D. Ari Aster

Question 12: What is the profession of J.J. Gittes, played by Jack Nicholson, in Chinatown (1974)?

A. Reporter
B. Police detective
C. Lawyer
D. Private investigator

Question 13: Which 1944 film first introduced Raymond Chandler’s detective Philip Marlowe to cinema (as Murder, My Sweet)?

A. The Big Sleep
B. Farewell, My Lovely
C. The Long Goodbye
D. Poodle Springs

Question 14: Who directed the 2007 serial killer mystery Zodiac?

A. Christopher Nolan
B. David Fincher
C. Denis Villeneuve
D. James Mangold

Question 15: Edward Norton’s screen debut was in which 1996 courtroom mystery?

A. The People vs. Larry Flynt
B. Fight Club
C. Primal Fear
D. American History X

Question 16: How many guests are invited to Soldier Island in the 1945 adaptation of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None?

A. Eight
B. Six
C. Twelve
D. Ten

Question 17: In L.A. Confidential (1997), who plays ambitious detective Ed Exley?

A. Russell Crowe
B. Kevin Spacey
C. James Cromwell
D. Guy Pearce

Question 18: The Maltese Falcon (1941) is based on a novel by which author?

A. Raymond Chandler
B. Ross Macdonald
C. Mickey Spillane
D. Dashiell Hammett

Question 19: Christopher Nolan’s Memento (2000) tells its story primarily in what narrative style?

A. Linear chronology
B. First-person perspective
C. Flashbacks only
D. Reverse chronological order

Question 20: What is the name of the psychiatric facility in Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island (2010)?

A. Shutter Asylum
B. Federal Hospital
C. Boston State
D. Ashecliffe Hospital

Answers

  1. C. The Maltese Falcon – Directed by John Huston, this 1941 adaptation of Dashiell Hammett’s novel is widely regarded as the first film noir; Double Indemnity (1944), Casablanca (1942), and The Big Sleep (1946) followed later.
  2. C. Broken leg – Stewart’s character, L.B. ‘Jeff’ Jeffries, breaks both legs in a racing accident, forcing him to spy on neighbours; the other injuries do not match the plot.
  3. D. Verbal Kint – The film’s iconic twist reveals Kevin Spacey’s Verbal Kint is the legendary Keyser Söze; the others are other suspects who are killed.
  4. C. David Fincher – Fincher helmed this dark thriller about two detectives hunting a serial killer; Scott directed Blade Runner, Tarantino Pulp Fiction, and Mann Heat.
  5. D. Phoenix – Marion (Janet Leigh) flees Phoenix, Arizona, after embezzling from her employer; the other cities appear in different Hitchcock films.
  6. C. Humphrey Bogart – Bogart’s portrayal opposite Lauren Bacall defined the role; Mitchum (1975), Garner (1969), and Gould (1973) played Marlowe in later films.
  7. D. A board game – Clue (aka Cluedo) adapts the classic whodunit board game with multiple endings; it is not based on books or real events.
  8. B. Robert Altman – Altman directed this upstairs-downstairs murder mystery written by Julian Fellowes; Branagh did Murder on the Orient Express (2017).
  9. D. Albert Finney – Finney earned an Oscar nomination for Poirot in Sidney Lumet’s film; Ustinov (1978+), Suchet (TV), and Branagh (2017) came later.
  10. D. Acrophobia – Scottie’s fear of heights stems from a prior rooftop chase; the other phobias are not featured.
  11. B. Rian Johnson – Johnson crafted this modern whodunit with an all-star cast; Peele did Get Out, Bong Parasite.
  12. D. Private investigator – Gittes uncovers corruption and incest in 1930s LA; he is not a cop, reporter, or lawyer.
  13. B. Farewell, My Lovely – Dick Powell starred as Marlowe in Edward Dmytryk’s Murder, My Sweet (retitled from Chandler’s novel); others are later adaptations.
  14. B. David Fincher – Fincher’s meticulous film chronicles the real Zodiac case; Nolan did Insomnia, Villeneuve Prisoners.
  15. C. Primal Fear – Norton won acclaim (and a Golden Globe nom) as Aaron Stampler; his other films followed later.
  16. D. Ten – Ten strangers are lured to the island and systematically killed off, per Christie’s plot; the 1945 film stays faithful.
  17. D. Guy Pearce – Pearce’s Exley clashes with Crowe’s Bud White; Spacey is Jack Vincennes, Cromwell Dudley Smith.
  18. D. Dashiell Hammett – Hammett’s 1930 novel stars Sam Spade; Chandler wrote Marlowe stories, Spillane created Mike Hammer.
  19. D. Reverse chronological order – The colour scenes run backwards to mimic the protagonist’s memory loss; black-and-white are forward.
  20. D. Ashecliffe Hospital – The remote island facility hides dark secrets; other names are fabricated distractors.

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