Can You Name These Paul Newman Movies From an Image?

ENTERTAINMENT

By: William J. Wright

7 Min Quiz

Image: Campanile Productions / Newman-Foreman Company

About This Quiz

With a career spanning more than five decades, Paul Newman had the kind of career every actor dreams of. His filmography is comprised of box office blockbusters and critical favorites directed by a veritable who's who of the greatest filmmakers of the 20th century. A risk taker by nature, Newman never relied on his good looks and famous piercing blue eyes to nab the stereotypical romantic leading man roles for which he seemed tailor-made. Whether starring in westerns, dramas, crime thrillers or comedies, he refused to be hemmed in by genre. His very presence could make an average film good and a good film great.

Off-screen, Paul Newman was just as driven. With passions ranging from auto racing to political activism, he lived a life of both action and meaning. Channeling his celebrity into the causes he believed in, he founded a philanthropic legacy that continues to thrive years after his passing. Even his personal life was a challenge to the Holywood status quo. While his contemporaries changed spouses as frequently as they changed socks, Paul Newman remained married to his second wife Joanne Woodward from 1958 until his death from lung cancer in 2008.

From the early 1950s until the late 2000s, Paul Newman built a resume of more than 80 acting credits earning him numerous awards, nominations and critical accolades. For this quiz, we've compiled 40 of his best-known and most-beloved films with this challenge in mind: Can you name these Paul Newman movies from one image?


Can you name this Paul Newman film from 1961?

In one of his best-known roles, Paul Newman stars as small time pool hustler "Fast" Eddie Felson in "The Hustler." After being soundly beaten by "Minnesota Fats," masterfully portrayed by Jackie Gleason, Eddie learns a series of lessons about life, loyalty and ego.

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A pair of grifters are out to pull off the con of a lifetime in 1936 Chicago in this Oscar-winning movie. Do you recognize this film?

Paul Newman once again joined forces with his "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" cohorts Robert Redford and director George Roy Hill for 1973's "The Sting." The film swept the 1974 Oscars, earning seven awards, including "Best Picture" and "Best Director."

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Paul Newman faces intolerance and injustice as a white man raised by Native Americans in this 1967 Western. Can you ID it from this scene?

In his sixth film with director Martin Ritt, Newman plays John Russell, a caucasian raised by the Apache, who faces intolerance when he returns to white society. Considered a revisionist western, "Hombre" breaks with the genre and presents a positive portrayal of Native Americans.

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Paul Newman comes in like a wrecking ball in this 1984 family drama. Can you name it based on this image?

Paul Newman not only stars in, but he also wrote and directed this blue-collar drama from 1984. Newman plays Harry Keach, a widowed crane operator who's constantly at odds with his slacker son (Robby Benson) who aspires to be a writer. Unfortunately, "Harry & Son" was met with mostly negative reviews.

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Crooner Andy Williams sang the theme song to this western that features Paul Newman as an infamous Old West lawman. Can you identify it from this scene?

Based on the life of the West's infamous hanging judge, "The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean" was directed by John Huston in the first of two cinematic outings with Paul Newman. Screenwriter John Milius was unhappy with the casting of Newman whom he deemed too goodlooking for the gritty role.

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No parking meter is safe from this cool customer. What's the title of this Paul Newman classic?

"Cool Hand Luke" stars Paul Newman in his signature role as convict Luke Jackson. Jackson, facing a stint on a prison farm for "cutting the heads off parking meters," clashes with a sadistic warden (Strother Martin) in a struggle of wills. With his unbeatable spirit, Luke becomes a prison legend.

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What's the title of this 1958 movie based on a popular Tennessee Williams play?

Newman stars as alcoholic former athlete Brick Pollitt in this adaptation of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." Co-starring Elizabeth Taylor as Brick's fiery wife Maggie, and Burl Ives as overbearing family patriarch Big Daddy, "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" is a tense drama of passion and dysfunction.

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Paul Newman is a disgraced lawyer who finds redemption in this 1982 film. Can you name it?

Based on the novel by Barry Reed, 1982's "The Verdict" stars Paul Newman as Frank Galvin, a disgraced attorney who was framed for jury tampering. An alcoholic, Frank takes on a medical malpractice suit for for some easy money, but soon realizes that the case is his shot at redemption.

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Which film is a 1981 crime drama starring Paul Newman as a veteran cop working in the toughest precinct in New York?

Paul Newman stars as cop John Murphy in 1981's "Fort Apache, the Bronx." Assigned to a crime-infested South Bronx precinct. Murphy and his new partner, Corelli (Ken Wahl), are up against both the crooks and their fellow officers while trying to maintain their honor in the face of a corrupt system.

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Can you name this disaster movie starring Paul Newman?

Irwin Allen's "The Towering Inferno" finds Paul Newman heading up an all-star cast in one of the greatest disaster movies of all time. Newman plays the architect of a San Francisco skyscraper whose worst nightmare becomes a reality when a fire breaks out during its opening ceremony.

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No stockade can hold Paul Newman in this wartime comedy. Can you name it?

1968's "The Secret War of Harry Frigg" stars Paul Newman in the title role as a troublemaking army private with a knack for busting out of the stockade. When a group of generals are captured, the top brass sends Frigg to break them out of a cushy Italian villa.

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This 1978 sports film is considered a cult classic. Can you name it based on this image?

Although it was met with mixed reviews and poor box office, 1978's "Slap Shot" has become a bonafide cult hit in the years since its release. Paul Newman stars as the coach of a losing minor league hockey team whose fortunes change when he recruits a trio of hyper-violent brothers.

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In which film did Paul Newman team up with Robert Redford for the first time?

Paul Newman and Robert Redford teamed up for the first time in 1969's "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." Starring as the Old West's best-looking outlaw duo, Newman and Redford's onscreen chemistry is electrifying.

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Paul Newman married his co-star, Joanne Woodward, after production wrapped on this film. Can you identify this movie based on this screenshot?

Paul Newman plays a charismatic drifter who wins the favor of a domineering plantation owner in "The Long Hot Summer." Released in April of 1958, Newman and co-star Joanne Woodward were married just after the film was completed. They were together until Newman's passing in 2008.

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Can you name the film for which Paul Newman won his only Academy Award for "Best Actor"?

As hard to believe as it may be, Paul Newman only won one Oscar for "Best Actor" despite having been nominated nine times. He finally nabbed the coveted honor with 1986's "The Color of Money" in which he reprised his 1961 role as "Fast" Eddie Felson from "The Hustler."

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He earned a "Best Supporting Actor" Oscar nomination for his role in this 2002 crime film. Can you identify the movie?

"The Road to Perdition," based on the graphic novel by Max Allan Collins, was Paul Newman's final on-screen appearance in a theatrical film. A complex tale of fathers and sons set in the world of 1930s organized crime, the film earned Newman an Oscar nomination for his role as crime boss John Rooney.

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Can you name this drama starring Paul Newman and Sally Field?

Miami liquor wholesaler Mike Gallagher (Paul Newman) finds himself the subject of a libelous plot to implicate him in a murder in 1981's "Absence of Malice." Sally Field co-stars as an eager reporter who tries to make amends for writing the story that nearly wrecks Gallagher's life.

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He's the black sheep son of a cattleman in this 1963 drama. What's the name of this film?

Paul Newman earned near-universal acclaim and an Academy Award nomination for his role as Hud Bannon in 1963's "Hud." Based on Larry McMurtry's 1961 novel, "Horseman, Pass By," "Hud" features Newman in one of his best performances as the callous, hard-drinking title character.

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What's the name of this biopic that stars Paul Newman as a famous champion boxer?

"Somebody Up There Like Me" from 1956 stars Paul Newman as real-life middleweight boxing champ Rocky Graziano. One of Newman's earliest starring roles, he replaced James Dean who was originally slated to play the part before his untimely death in an auto accident in 1955.

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Paul Newman's cup runneth over in this historical epic from 1954. Can you identify this film?

1954's "The Silver Chalice" marked Paul Newman's film debut. Based on a 1952 novel by the same name, the film casts Newman as an artisan tasked with creating a silver chalice to house the holy grail. Paul Newman was not a fan of this film and hated his performance in it.

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Can you ID this 1994 comedy co-starring Paul Newman as a scheming corporate executive?

Paul Newman's a scheming executive who meets his match in "The Hudsucker Proxy." Directed by the Coen Brothers, the film focuses on a scam hatched by a greedy businessman (Newman) to seize control of a manufacturing company. When he installs a dupe (Tim Robbins) as president, his plot unravels.

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Paul Newman co-stars with his wife Joanne Woodward in this 1990 drama set in the '40s. Can you name it based on this screenshot?

Paul Newman frequently co-starred with Joanne Woodward whom he married in 1958. Their most poignant performance, however, may be 1990's "Mr. and Mrs. Bridge" from Merchant Ivory Productions. Portraying an aging couple struggling with changing times, the onscreen duo's chemistry is perfection.

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Alfred Hitchcock directed this Cold War thriller starring Paul Newman as a double agent. Do you know the title of this film?

In "Torn Curtain," his only outing with master of suspense Alfred Hitchcock, Paul Newman is an American nuclear physicist who seemingly defects to East Germany. However, his traitorous ways are a ruse to steal Soviet secrets. Taking issue with the actor's approach, Hitchcock frequently clashed with Newman.

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Can you name the 1963 film that stars Paul Newman as a Nobel Prize-winning author?

"The Prize" is a 1963 Cold War espionage thriller based on a novel by Irving Wallace. In the film, Paul Newman plays a hard-drinking author who has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. While in Stockholm for the award ceremony, he becomes entangled in a plot to kidnap a noted physicist.

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Paul Newman didn't get along with director Otto Preminger while making this film. What's its title?

Based on Leon Uris' 1958 novel by the same name, 1960's "Exodus" directed by Otto Preminger is a dramatized account of the events leading to the founding of the State of Israel. Paul Newman, who stars as a rebel who helps smuggle Jews into Mandate Palestine, famously clashed with director Preminger.

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Paul Newman faces a series of moral dilemmas as a lawyer in search of wealth, love and prestige in this 1959 drama. Do you recognize it from this scene?

Directed by Vincent Sherman, "The Young Philadelphians" showcases Paul Newman's skills as a lawyer who faces a series of conflicts that test his morals. After finally establishing himself a successful tax lawyer, he faces a test of character when a friend is accused of murder.

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This 2000 crime comedy was Paul Newman's penultimate on-screen theatrical appearance. Can you identify it from this still?

Paul Newman plays an elderly convict who finds a novel way to get out of prison in "Where the Money Is." After faking a stroke, career criminal Henry Manning (played by Newman) is released from prison to a nursing home. However, a shrewd nurse (Linda Fiorentino) is on to him, and he's soon back to his larcenous old ways.

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Paul Newman proves that maturity doesn't necessarily come with age in this 1994 comedy. What's the title of this movie?

1994's "Nobody's Fool" found a 69-year-old Paul Newman still at the top of his game playing a character nine years his junior. In the film. Newman plays Donald "Sully" Sullivan, a man who has led a life devoid of responsibility. His life is changed, however, when his estranged son returns.

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What's the title of this neo-noir thriller?

A pastiche of film noir style, "Harper" stars Newman as P.I. Lew Harper. Harper is contracted to find the wealthy husband of Elaine Sampson (Lauren Bacall), but the case becomes more complex as he uncovers layer after layer of deceit. Newman would reprise this role in 1975's "The Drowning Pool."

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What's the name of this revisionist Western film starring Paul Newman and directed by Robert Altman?

"Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson" turns the Western genre on its ear with its myth-busting plot. Paul Newman stars as showman Buffalo Bill Cody who's insistence at pushing the legend of Custer's Last Stand puts him at odds with his star, Chief Sitting Bull.

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Do you recognize this 1962 drama based on a play by Tennessee Williams?

Four years after his acclaimed turn in 1958's "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," Paul Newman returned to the works of Tennessee Williams with 1962's "Sweet Bird of Youth." In the film, Newman stars as Chance Wayne, a failed actor who returns to his hometown with an aging movie star (Geraldine Page) in tow.

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Do you know the title of this espionage thriller in which Paul Newman worked with the legendary director of "The Maltese Falcon"?

"The Mackintosh Man" is an espionage thriller directed by John Huston from a script co-written by Walter Hill. Starring Paul Newman as a spy posing as a jewel thief, this 1973 film is a fast-moving tale of international intrigue. James Mason co-stars in a typically villainous role as a double agent.

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Which film stars Paul Newman as a jazz musician?

Paul Newman and Sidney Poitier co-star as expatriate jazz musicians torn between love and music in "Paris Blues." Finding both artistic freedom and racial acceptance in the French jazz scene, Poitier and Newman face a dilemma when they each fall in love with women intent on returning to the States.

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A board game is a matter of life and death in this post-apocalyptic misfire from Robert Altman. Can you name this 1979 sci-fi movie starring Paul Newman?

Paul Newman stars as a nomadic seal hunter struggling to survive during a new ice age in 1979's "Quintet," a rare critical and box office bomb from celebrated filmmaker Robert Altman. When his pregnant wife (Brigitte Fossey) is killed, Newman is drawn into a literal game of life and death.

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Paul Newman is tasked with beating the Germans to the atomic bomb in this historical drama. Can you name it based on this scene?

1989's "Fat Man and Little Boy" stars Paul Newman as Colonel Leslie Groves, the head of the Manhattan Project. Selecting Robert Oppenheimer (Dwight Schultz) as his lead scientist, Groves must surmount both technical and personal obstacles to beat Germany to the bomb in this tense drama.

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Can you ID this 1964 comedy in which Paul Newman plays one of Shirley MacLaine's six husbands?

A bearded Paul Newman has a small but memorable role as the bohemian husband of Shirley MacLaine in "What a Way to Go!" MacLaine is unlucky in love as each of her husbands is killed just as they become successful. Comically killed by a painting machine he invented, Newman goes out with a bang.

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Can you name the 1958 western that stars Paul Newman as infamous outlaw Billy the Kid?

"The Left Handed Gun" directed by Arthur Penn stars Paul Newman as the infamous Billy the Kid. It marked the second time Newman took on a role that was originally intended for James Dean. Breaking with genre conventions, the film bombed in the United States, but was praised by French critics.

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Can you name this 1976 Mel Brooks comedy in which Paul Newman plays himself?

In 1976's "Silent Movie," comedy legend Mel Brooks, hoping to revive silent movies, is on a slapstick quest to secure big stars for his new film. Hoping to nab Paul Newman, Mel and company engage the injured star on a wheelchair in a hilarious chase that parodies Newman's love of auto racing.

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Can you name the 1989 movie in which Paul Newman plays an eccentric politician who has an affair with a burlesque performer?

Loosely based on a true story, 1989's "Blaze" stars Paul Newman as the legendarily eccentric Louisiana Governor Earl Long and his relationship with burlesque dancer Blaze Starr (Lolita Davidovich). Despite his opponents' attempts to use the affair against him, the feisty politician refuses to back down.

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Paul Newman considered this 1970 film his most significant work of the decade. Can you name this politically charged drama?

Paul Newman stars as Rheinhardt, a hard-drinking cynic who takes a job as an announcer at a far right radio station in 1970's "WUSA." Politically ambivalent, Rheinhardt is content to spout the station's rhetoric and collect his pay until he becomes aware of sinister machinations behind the scenes.

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