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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which historical figure was the focus of Hitchcock's first official film?
(a) Napoleon.
(b) Julius Caesar.
(c) Jack the Ripper.
(d) King Arthur.

2. In "The Birds", who happened to be on the scene when a group of women began to discuss the birds?
(a) A nematologist.
(b) An ornithologist.
(c) A paleozoologist.
(d) An apiologist.

3. Who appeared in each of Hitchcock's films?
(a) David O. Selznick.
(b) Edith Head.
(c) Hitchcock himself.
(d) James Stewart.

4. What was confiscated at a border crossing when Hitchcock was directing his first film?
(a) Fireworks.
(b) 10,000 feet of unexposed film.
(c) A fake gun.
(d) Gun powder.

5. For Hitchcock, what was different about working on his first American film as compared to his British films?
(a) Hitchcock could not relate to the film's story.
(b) The American actors were harder to direct.
(c) It was harder to get production money from the studio.
(d) Only the filming location.

6. What was originally to be the topic of Hitchcock's first American film?
(a) The Civil War.
(b) The sinking of the Titanic.
(c) The story of a serial killer.
(d) The Hindenburg Disaster.

7. What were caption cards used for?
(a) They were used as subtitles for foreign films.
(b) To help the actors get into character.
(c) To make up for the lack of sound in silent movies.
(d) To list the credits.

8. What did Hitchcock say it was important to find a balance between with a movie's plot?
(a) Being too realistic and unrealistic.
(b) Being too comedic and dramatic.
(c) Being too subtle and too obvious.
(d) Being too subjective and objective.

9. Where is the concept of a MacGuffin said to have originated?
(a) Sci-fi novels.
(b) Comic books.
(c) Spaghetti westerns.
(d) Kipling's stories.

10. What is said to be one of the most notable innovations of Hitchcock's films?
(a) Use of color.
(b) Camera angles.
(c) Sound effects.
(d) Lighting.

11. What happened to the little boy in Hitchcock's film, "The Woman Alone"?
(a) He ran away from home.
(b) He died.
(c) He killed another boy.
(d) He saved a lost camper.

12. At the time Hitchcock was making his foray into film, what was the opinion of American films?
(a) They were superior to British films.
(b) They were improving rapidly.
(c) They were inferior to British films.
(d) They were considered a highbrow art form.

13. What did Hitchcock explain a MacGuffin is in a short story?
(a) A trap to catch lions in Scotland.
(b) A staircase to nowhere.
(c) A file folder marked 'Confidential'.
(d) A mysterious unmarked door.

14. Over what span of time did the interview between Truffaut and Hitchcock take place?
(a) A month.
(b) Sixteen days.
(c) Twenty-four hour period.
(d) Fifty hour period.

15. What did the script of "The Man Who Knew Too Much" have to avoid showing?
(a) Deadly violence.
(b) Too much flesh.
(c) Policemen with firearms.
(d) Foreign products.

Short Answer Questions

1. What did Hitchcock assert that not every film needs?

2. How did Hitchcock shoot "Mr. and Mrs. Smith"?

3. What was the title of Hitchcock's first official film?

4. Who was Hitchcock's assistant after he became a director?

5. Before Hitchcock, how were films typically shot?

(see the answer keys)

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