Can You Score 20/20? Ultimate Gangster Movie Trivia Quiz: Who Ruled the Underworld?

Answers Below – No Peeking!

Test your mastery of silver screen mobsters and underworld kingpins in this 20-question gangster movie trivia challenge. From timeless classics like The Godfather and Goodfellas to gritty gems, questions span easy warm-ups to fiendishly tough ones. Grab a notepad and dive in!

20 Trivia Questions: Who Ruled the Underworld?

Question 1: In which year was The Godfather released?

A. 1970
B. 1972
C. 1974
D. 1976

Question 2: Who directed Goodfellas?

A. Francis Ford Coppola
B. Brian De Palma
C. Martin Scorsese
D. Quentin Tarantino

Question 3: Which actor played Tony Montana in Scarface (1983)?

A. Robert De Niro
B. Joe Pesci
C. Ray Liotta
D. Al Pacino

Question 4: What is the name of the fictional New York crime family led by Vito Corleone in The Godfather?

A. Colombo
B. Gambino
C. Lucchese
D. Corleone

Question 5: In The Godfather, whose prized racehorse Khartoum has its head placed in his bed?

A. Johnny Fontane
B. Moe Greene
C. Jack Woltz
D. Virgil Sollozzo

Question 6: In The Godfather, who says the line “Leave the gun. Take the cannoli”?

A. Michael Corleone
B. Sonny Corleone
C. Pete Clemenza
D. Tom Hagen

Question 7: Marlon Brando refused the Academy Award for Best Actor for which gangster film?

A. A Streetcar Named Desire
B. On the Waterfront
C. The Godfather
D. Last Tango in Paris

Question 8: Joe Pesci won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role as Tommy DeVito in which film?

A. Casino
B. Goodfellas
C. JFK
D. Raging Bull

Question 9: Sean Connery won his first Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in which gangster film?

A. The Untouchables
B. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
C. The Hunt for Red October
D. Dr. No

Question 10: The 1983 Scarface is a remake of which 1932 film starring Paul Muni?

A. Little Caesar
B. The Public Enemy
C. Angels with Dirty Faces
D. Scarface

Question 11: Who plays the hustler Ginger in Martin Scorsese’s Casino?

A. Gina Gershon
B. Sharon Stone
C. Julianne Moore
D. Nicole Kidman

Question 12: Johnny Depp plays which real-life gangster in Michael Mann’s Public Enemies?

A. Baby Face Nelson
B. Alvin Karpis
C. John Dillinger
D. Machine Gun Kelly

Question 13: Denzel Washington plays which real-life Harlem drug lord in American Gangster?

A. Bumpy Johnson
B. Frank Lucas
C. Nicky Barnes
D. Huey Lucas

Question 14: Who directed the epic gangster saga Once Upon a Time in America?

A. Martin Scorsese
B. Francis Ford Coppola
C. Brian De Palma
D. Sergio Leone

Question 15: In White Heat, how does James Cagney’s character Cody Jarrett meet his end?

A. Shot by Big Ed
B. Blows up amid exploding gas tanks
C. Jumps from a tower
D. Poisoned by his mother

Question 16: The famous scene where a grapefruit is smashed into a woman’s face is from which classic gangster film?

A. Angels with Dirty Faces
B. Little Caesar
C. The Public Enemy
D. Blonde Crazy

Question 17: Edward G. Robinson’s breakthrough gangster role was Rico Bandello in which film?

A. Key Largo
B. Little Caesar
C. Scarlet Street
D. House of Strangers

Question 18: Donnie Brasco stars Al Pacino alongside which actor as the undercover FBI agent?

A. Johnny Depp
B. Robert De Niro
C. Val Kilmer
D. Donnie Wahlberg

Question 19: Tom Hanks plays which character, a mob enforcer and hitman, in Road to Perdition?

A. Michael Sullivan
B. John Rooney
C. Connor Rooney
D. Rance Bolton

Question 20: Miller’s Crossing was directed by which filmmaking brothers?

A. Coen brothers
B. Farrelly brothers
C. Marx brothers
D. Wright brothers

Answers

  1. B. 1972 – The Godfather premiered on 24 March 1972, winning Best Picture that year; the other years are close but incorrect for this landmark film.
  2. C. Martin Scorsese – Scorsese directed the 1990 masterpiece Goodfellas, earning a Best Director nomination; Coppola helmed The Godfather, De Palma Scarface, and Tarantino Pulp Fiction.
  3. D. Al Pacino – Pacino iconic as Cuban refugee-turned-drug lord Tony Montana in the 1983 remake; De Niro was in Goodfellas, Pesci in Casino, Liotta in Goodfellas.
  4. D. Corleone – The Corleone family is the central fictional Sicilian-American mafia clan led by Vito in Mario Puzo’s novel and Coppola’s film; others are real New York families.
  5. C. Jack Woltz – Hollywood producer Jack Woltz wakes to find his horse’s severed head after refusing Johnny Fontane a role; Greene, Fontane, and Sollozzo are other characters.
  6. C. Pete Clemenza – Clemenza delivers the line to Rocco after a hit, blending business with domesticity; Michael is the heir, Sonny the hothead, Hagen the consigliere.
  7. C. The Godfather – Brando won but refused the 1973 Best Actor Oscar, sending Sacheen Littlefeather to protest; he previously won for On the Waterfront.
  8. B. Goodfellas – Pesci won Best Supporting Actor in 1991 for his volatile Tommy DeVito; he was nominated for Casino and Raging Bull but didn’t win those.
  9. A. The Untouchables – Connery won Best Supporting Actor in 1988 as cop Jimmy Malone; other films were earlier Bond or adventure roles without Oscar wins.
  10. D. Scarface – The 1983 De Palma film remakes Howard Hawks’ 1932 original with Muni as Camonte; Cagney was in The Public Enemy, Robinson in Little Caesar.
  11. B. Sharon Stone – Stone earned a Best Actress nomination as Sam Rothstein’s volatile wife Ginger; others appeared in mob films but not this role.
  12. C. John Dillinger – Depp portrays the notorious 1930s bank robber Dillinger in Mann’s 2009 film; others were associates but not the lead.
  13. B. Frank Lucas – Washington plays Lucas, who smuggled heroin from Asia in the 1970s; Johnson was his mentor, Barnes a rival, Huey fictional.
  14. D. Sergio Leone – Leone directed the 1984 epic starring Robert De Niro as Jewish gangster David Aaronson; others made other mob classics.
  15. B. Blows up amid exploding gas tanks – Jarrett detonates chemicals atop a tank farm, yelling “Made it, Ma! Top of the world!”; other deaths occur differently.
  16. C. The Public Enemy – In the 1931 film, Cagney’s Tom Powers smashes the grapefruit into girlfriend Gwen’s face; others have Cagney but no grapefruit.
  17. B. Little Caesar – Robinson plays ambitious Rico “Caesar” Bandello in the 1931 film that defined the genre; other roles came later.
  18. A. Johnny Depp – Depp stars as real-life agent Joe Pistone infiltrating the Bonanno family opposite Pacino’s Lefty; others not in the film.
  19. A. Michael Sullivan – Hanks is the hitman father on the run in Mendes’ 2002 film; Newman plays Rooney, Law the assassin, Craig the son-killer.
  20. A. Coen brothers – Joel and Ethan Coen directed the 1990 Prohibition-era tale starring Gabriel Byrne; others are comedy or different directors.

How did you score? Share your results in the comments and challenge mates to rule the trivia underworld!