About six months ago I did a post which had some incredibly detailed trivia questions about John Carpenter's version of "The Thing" (see my post on November 7, 2020). Today I'd like to do the same with another horror classic, George Romero's "Night of the Living Dead," the original, 1968 version. Don't feel bad if you don't know most or even any of these, since they're very tough. I doubt anyone could answer all of these unless they've seen the movie like 100 times, and/or have a eidetic (photographic) memory. And it probably goes without saying, but there are obviously some spoilers in these questions. The questions are mostly tied to the order in which they're revealed in the film, too. The answers are at the end, in case you want to write down or remember your guesses.
1) What time of day is it when Johnny and Barbra arrive at the cemetery?
2) What day of the week is it when they arrive?
3) What time of the year is it? As in, what month, and what part of that month?
4) How long a drive is it, one way, from Johnny and Barbra's house to the cemetery?
5) How many of the undead do we see Ben "kill" (i.e. completely destroy)?
6) The filmmakers seem to take care to not show brand names as much as possible. But some snuck in. For example, we see one in the drawer when Ben is searching for nails. What is it?
7) The audience briefly sees a calendar in the farmhouse. What month and year does it show?
8) At what business establishment did Ben get the truck he was driving?
The next batch of questions are based on information revealed during the radio and then television news broadcasts.
9) Three city mayors are quoted as saying the National Guard may be called out soon to deal with the outbreak. Which cities are these?
10) Approximately what fraction of the U.S. is being affected by the outbreak?
11) A police chief is quoted on the radio broadcast giving people safety advice. Who is he, and where is he a police chief?
12) According to the broadcast, the outbreak started two days before when a family of seven was found slaughtered. Where was this?
13) No zombies/ghouls have been noted west of the Mississippi River with one exception. What is it?
14) Where is the first place that a doctor reveals that the murderous attackers are consuming their victims?
15) A sheriff then quickly confirms that the attackers are eating their victims. Where is he from?
16) What brand of radio are the people in the farmhouse listening to?
17) What station number is it tuned to?
18) What brand of television is the group watching at the farmhouse?
19) What is the first thing we see a living dead person eat?
20) Some scientists theorize that the outbreak occurs from the radiation brought back by a probe to Venus. What is the name of this satellite?
21) Which rescue station (flashed on the television screen) is closest to the farmhouse, and about how far away is it, in miles?
22) Who are the only members of the group who are from the local area?
23) What brand name is featured on a box carried by both Tom and then Harry?
24) Reporter Bill Cardille (actor used his real name) works for what television station?
25) What is the name of the sheriff leading the search and destroy mission?
26) How many undead does this sheriff say his team has already killed?
27) What station owns the helicopter seen in the movie?
28) What is the name of the posse member who shoots Ben?
29) What make and model is the rifle that Ben uses in the movie?
30) What is the make and model of the firearm that the posse member uses to kill Ben?
31) What is the year, make, and model of car that Johnny drives?
32) True or False: There is no nudity in this movie.
33) True or False: No one refers to the undead as "zombies" in the film.
34) During the scene in Washington, D.C., one of the doctors, and one of the reporters are named. Who are they?
35) Later another scientist is interviewed. What is his or her name?
36) There are four instances seen when a zombie uses a tool. Describe all four.
Answers
1) 8:00 pm.
2) Sunday.
3) Barbra and Johnny talk about it being the first day of daylight savings, when they lose an hour, meaning it's in the spring. Since the movie strongly appears to be set in the late 1960's, that would make it in late April.
4) 3 hours, according to Johnny.
5) 6 total. 3 with a crowbar during his first moments in the farmhouse. Another one with the rifle after the Coopers, Tom, and Judy come up from the basement. And finally the reanimated corpses of Harry and Helen Cooper, again with rifle bullets.
6) A box for Lipton's orange pekoe & pekoe tea bags.
7) December of 1966.
8) Beekman's Diner, located down the road, according to Ben.
9) Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Miami. Also several unidentified governors of unnamed states.
10) The eastern third of the U.S.
11) Chief TK Dunbar of Camden, North Carolina. Which is a real community.
12) Near Gulfport, Louisiana. Which is fictitious, although there is a Gulfport in nearby Mississippi.
13) Southeast Texas, including the Houston and Galveston areas.
14) Cumberland, Maryland.
15) He's from Butler County, Pennsylvania.
16) A Zenith. According to radio enthusiasts online, a 1939 model 7S363, a very popular model.
17) This one's not definite. But the needle appears to be on 110, and simultaneously on 15 or so. From what I've seen online, the 110 probably corresponds to AM station 1100, and the 15 to a shortwave radio station. FM didn't get common until the 1960's, and the model is clearly from the late 1930's. Given the apparent distance of the signal, it's probably AM 1100 or so.
18) A Motorola. Again, tech enthusiasts claim more specifically that it's a 1952 Motorola 17T5E
19) A butterfly or moth, taken off a tree by a female zombie, played by the woman who did most of the makeup effects and played Helen Cooper, Marilyn Eastman.
20) Explorer. (Kind of a generic name, isn't it?)
21) Willard, which is fictional. However, most of the other rescue stations are real towns in Western Pennsylvania, and one in Ohio. It's about 17 miles away from the farmhouse.
22) Tom and Judy are the only locals.
23) Ball's Mason Jars, used to make the Molotov cocktails.
24) WIIC TV 11, out of Pittsburgh. Which is also the real station Cardille worked for.
25) Sheriff Conan McClellan. Although someone calls him "Gus" at one point, so I guess that's a nickname.
26) 19. Although this total is quickly added to right after this statement.
27) KQV. Once again, this was a real radio station, out of Pittsburgh, and their actual helicopter.
28) Vince. Played by Vince Survinski, who was also the movie's production manager.
29) Gun enthusiasts confirm it's a Winchester Model 1894. Which normally shoots 30-30 rounds. One online source says the box of ammo that's briefly seen is for Remington, Kleanbore 32 rounds, so maybe that's what Ben actually used.
30) It's an Ithaca Model 37 shotgun. Which surprised me, since it didn't appear to be firing a shotgun shell. Some shotguns can fire solid slugs, so presumably that's what he used.
31) It's a 1967 Pontiac LeMans. Owned by Russ Streiner's ("Johnny") real life mother.
32) False. A nude female zombie is briefly shown--you can see her from behind, and topless. You also see several male zombie that are topless, if that counts.
33) True. The undead are referred to as "those things," "monsters," and mostly, "ghouls." I may be misremembering, but I don't think they were called "zombies" in a Romero "Dead" film until 2005's "Land of the Dead," the 4th entry.
34) Reporter Don Quinn, and Dr. Keller.
35) He's Dr. Grimes, from NASA.
36) The first zombie seen (Bill Hinzman), uses a rock to break the car window while Barbra is trying to escape. Then an unidentified zombie picks up a chair or table leg (possibly the torch Ben used earlier, now not on fire) and uses it as a club to break into the farmhouse near the end. Another zombie throws a rock or brick to break a window in the farmhouse right after this. Finally, zombie Karen Cooper uses a larger trowel to kill her mother, Helen.
Hope this was a fun trip down memory lane for everyone. And yes, I realize that this quiz is really for obsessive fans. If you're interested in yet more information on "Night of the Living Dead," including photographs and movie stills, you can look at my Evans City Cemetery tour post on October 28, 2013.
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