Final Jeopardy: The Oscars (9-21-12)
The Final Jeopardy question (9/21/2012) in the category “The Oscars” was:
The only remake of a U.S. film to win Best Picture. The original was made in the 1920s, the Oscar-winning remake in the 1950s.
New champ, Erin Zwiener dethroned a 2-day champ and racked up $16,200 in winnings yesterday. Today she is up against two new opponents: Natalie Knowles, from Raleigh, NC and Peter Hansen, from New York, NY.
Peter found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “Official Languages” before the first commercial break. He and Erin were tied in second place with $200, $800 less than Natalie, in the lead. He bet the $1,000 allowance and he was RIGHT.
In the Republic of Cypress: these 2 languages.
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Peter finished in the lead with $5,600. Erin was a close second with $5,000 and Natalie was last with $1,600.
Erin found the first Double Jeopardy Daily Double in “Prologues.” She was now in the lead with $9,000, $1,800 more than Peter in second place. She bet $3,000 and she was RIGHT.
A prologue by this author says: “I am an invisible man. No, I am not a spook like those who haunted Edgar Allan Poe.”
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Natalie found the last Daily Double in “States by County.” She was in last place with $6,800, $12,800 less than Erin’s lead. She bet $2,000, picked Kentucky and Tennessee, and that was WRONG.
2 States, please: Franklin, Crockett, Knox.
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Erin finished in the lead with $21,200. Peter was next with $13,200 and Natalie was in third place with $4,800.
NONE of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.
“The 1959 film ‘Ben Hur’ seriously cleaned up at the 1960s Oscar. Besides Best Picture, Charlton Heston won Best Actor, Hugh Griffith won Best Supporting Actor and William Wyler won Best Director. It also claimed 7 other categories. The 1925 version “Ben Hur: A Tale of the Christ” is a silent film starring Ramon Navarro and Francis X. Bushman. It was actually not the first “Ben Hur” film though. There was an earlier 15-minute silent film made in 1907.
Natalie bet $4,700 on ‘Cleopatra.’ She ended up with $100.
Peter bet $8,001 on ‘Cleopatra.’ He wound up with $5,199.
Guess they were thinking of the 1963 version starring Elizabeth Taylor, which was nominated for Best Picture but lost to ‘Tom Jones.’ A 1934 Cleopatra starring Claudette Colbert was also nominated for Best Picture but lost to “It Happened One Night” which also starred Ms. Colbert.
After crossing out 1927’s ‘The Jazz Singer,’ Erin came up with 1930’s Best Picture “All Quiet on the Western Front.” No remakes of either ever won Best Picture. That cost her $5,201 but she still had plenty left to win the game with $15,999. Her 2-day total is $32,199.
