Can You Identify These '60s Bad Boys?

By: Weston Whitener
Estimated Completion Time
4 min
Can You Identify These '60s Bad Boys?
Image: Eon Productions

About This Quiz

These questions will ask you to identify the tough guys, womanizers and cool cats who played famous movie characters in the 1960s. Can you guess each bad boy?
His name was Bond, James Bond, in the very first 007 caper, "Dr. No."
Pierce Brosnan
Sean Connery
Roger Moore
Timothy Dalton
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Sean Connery first appeared as Agent 007 sitting at a poker table in 1962's "Dr. No." Connery's turn as MI6's most suave agent launched him into super-stardom!

Who played George Hanson, the drunken lawyer who joined up with the Mardi Gras-bound bikers in "Easy Rider"?
Marlon Brando
Danny Devito
Steve McQueen
Jack Nicholson
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Jack Nicholson had a breakout performance in 1969's "Easy Rider." He was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar!

He played the "Cooler King" who raced away from Nazis on a motorcycle in "The Great Escape."
James Coburn
Tommy Lee Jones
Steve McQueen
Clint Eastwood
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Steve McQueen raced automobiles in his spare time and did most of his own motorcycle riding for the memorable chase in "The Great Escape." Bud did you know that he didn't do the most memorable stunt? Stuntman Bud Ekins pulled off the famous motorcycle fence jump.

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Who played Lt. Fletcher Christian in the 1962 remake of "Mutiny on the Bounty"?
Marlon Brando
Robert Duvall
Martin Sheen
Laurence Olivier
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Marlon Brando has been widely regarded as one of the greatest actors in film history. His ego was almost as famous. He was a definitive bad boy on the "Mutiny" set. He single-handedly drove up production costs by showing up late to set, constantly demanding rewrites and even demanding new directors!

He ran from the law as Clyde Barrow in "Bonnie and Clyde."
Dustin Hoffman
Dennis Hopper
Warren Beatty
Jack Nicholson
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

1967's "Bonnie and Clyde" broke ground for boldly violent cinema. Warren Beatty starred in and produced the film, and was known for his maverick mentality in Hollywood.

Who played the MI6 operative nearly assassinated by a SPECTRE agent in "From Russia with Love"?
Sean Connery
Steve McQueen
Dean Martin
Lee Marvin
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

In Connery's second outing as James Bond, 007 faces a killer trained specifically to assassinate him. Unfortunately for the killer, Connery went on to make five more films as Bond.

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He was the "Tunnel King" in "The Great Escape," even if he dug a tunnel 20 feet short.
Robert Mitchum
Charles Bronson
Clint Eastwood
Dean Martin
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Charles Bronson had unique experience for a role centered on digging expertise. Bronson was born and raised in a Pennsylvania coal mining town, where he started working in the mines at the age of 16!

Who searched for answers as the haggard Major Bennett Marco in 1962's "The Manchurian Candidate"?
Dean Martin
Sammy Davis Jr.
Frank Sinatra
Bing Crosby
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Frank Sinatra may have played a man pursued by shady authorities in "The Manchurian Candidate," but did you know he was also investigated by the FBI? Justice officials thought he might have illegal connections to the Italian mob!

This "Dude" assisted John Wayne's sheriff and resisted alcohol in "Rio Bravo."
Dean Martin
Sammy Davis Jr.
Bing Crosby
Jeff Bridges
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Dean Martin, the Clown Prince of the Rat Pack, is most famous for his music. But his performance as the boozing deputy Dude in Rio Bravo was critically acclaimed!

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He played Max Cady, the psychotic who pursued his former lawyer in 1962's "Cape Fear."
Robert Duvall
Robert Vaughn
Robert Mitchum
Robert Downy Jr.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Robert Mitchum had a history of playing bad guys very well in film. Besides his terrifying role in "Cape Fear" (to be remade in 1991 by Martin Scorsese starring Robert De Niro, with Mitchum in a cameo role) Mitchum was famous for playing a psychotic preacher in "The Night of the Hunter."

Who played the fast-talking Butch Cassidy in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"?
Paul Newman
John Wayne
Clint Eastwood
Charles Bronson
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Paul Newman was arrested and kicked off the football team in college, then decided to study theater so he wouldn't have so study so much. The actor went on to star as many anti-heroes and wise guys, and was nominated for numerous Academy Awards for his performances.

Who played the fast-shooting Sundance Kid in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"?
Robert Wagner
Robert De Niro
Robert Redford
Robert Blumfeld
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Robert Redford wore the fasted gun and finest mustache in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." Redford went on to star in many films, including "The Sting" beside Paul Newman. He established the Sundance Film Festival--aptly named--for the discovery and promotion of independent film.

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Who played the crusty Bernardo O'Reilly in "The Magnificent Seven"?
Warren Beatty
Steve McQueen
James Coburn
Charles Bronson
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Bronson played the leathery gunman who became a mentor to young villagers in "The Magnificent Seven." One critic once described Bronson's looks as like "Clark Gable...left out in the sun too long."

Who played the sardonic second member of "The Magnificent Seven," Vin?
Ving Rhames
Steve McQueen
Charles Bronson
John Coburn
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Steve McQueen and Yul Brynner, who was slated as the star of the film, often butted heads. Brynner thought McQueen was always trying to upstage him with little, attention-grabbing actions onscreen like fiddling with his cowboy hat.

Who played Billy, the free-spirited motorcycle man of "Easy Rider"?
Marlon Brando
Dennis Hopper
Sean Connery
Anthony Quinn
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Dennis Hopper directed the break-out hit "Easy Rider." He became known as a wild-card, insane performer in the 1970s--he was once called "the patron saint of the deranged!" He later tried to kick the crazy image he'd cultivated.

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Who played the titular antagonist to Jimmy Stewart and John Wayne in "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance"?
Adam West
Eli Wallach
Lee Marvin
John Ford
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Lee Marvin was a rebel from a young age. Did you know he was expelled from a boarding school for throwing a roommate out of a second-story window? He said that after a "sheltered childhood" he wanted to prove how tough he was!

Who played the dancing peasant in "Zorba the Greek"?
Anthony Quinn
Yul Brynner
Robert Redford
Sean Connery
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Anthony Quinn often played exotic characters. He had great success as Zorba, who had a zest for life and "a little madness."

Who played the hard-boiled detective in a turtleneck, "Bullitt"?
Charles Bronson
Anthony Quinn
Steve McQueen
Marlon Brando
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Only the "king of cool" could look intimidating in a turtleneck. Steve McQueen was a racing enthusiast and drove portions of the famous car chase in "Bullitt."

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Who played the spy who confronts a gold-obsessed supervillain and his hitman with a hat, Oddjob in "Goldfinger"?
Anthony Quinn
Paul Newman
Sean Connery
Warren Beatty
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Sean Connery took the helm of the 007 franchise for the third time in arguably the most loved Bond film, "Goldfinger." The film was the first for Bond to utter the iconic line, "A martini. Shaken not stirred."

Who played Rio, the bandit betrayed by his partner in "One-Eyed Jacks"?
John Wayne
Marlon Brando
Clint Eastwood
Yul Brynner
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"One-Eyed Jacks" was not a great success, but it was another installment in Marlon Brando's epic career. It is the only film directed by Brando.

Who played the nameless harmonica player and gunman in "Once Upon a Time in the West"?
Eli Wallach
Charles Bronson
Clint Eastwood
Lee Van Cleef
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"Once Upon a Time in the West" was spaghetti-Western director Sergio Leone's masterpiece, and it featured Charles Bronson in the lead role. Leone pursued Clint Eastwood for the role, but Bronson ultimately was the one playing the harmonica.

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Who played the young poker stud who challenges New Orleans' poker king in "The Cincinnati Kid"?
Robert Redford
Paul Newman
Dennis Hopper
Steve McQueen
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"The Cincinnati Kid" was another success for McQueen in a string of successes, starting with "The Magnificent Seven." McQueen apparently insisted on the addition of a fight scene into the film to showcase his action prowess.

Who played the man with no name who played both sides of a frontier town in "A Fistful of Dollars"?
Charles Bronson
Clint Eastwood
Henry Fonda
Lee Van Cleef
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Clint Eastwood had gained fame in the television Western show "Rawhide," but his partnership with Italian director Sergio Leone would make him a Western icon. His character never gives his name in the film, adding to the mystique Eastwood brought to the squinting gunslinger in a green poncho.

Who played the millionaire art thief in "The Thomas Crown Affair"?
Steve McQueen
Marlon Brando
Paul Newman
Warren Beatty
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"The Thomas Crown Affair" featured a sizzling cat-and-mouse game between McQueen as Thomas Crown and Faye Dunaway as a seductive detective on his tail. The film was remade in 1999 with Pierce Brosnan in McQueen's old role.

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Who played Marshal Jed Cooper, the hung lawman returning for his would-be killers in "Hang 'Em High"?
Warren Beatty
Steve McQueen
John Wayne
Clint Eastwood
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Clint Eastwood tracked down the nine men who tried to kill him in "Hang 'Em High." The film was Eastwood's first Hollywood Western!

Who played "Cool Hand Luke," the convict who won't be broken by his hard-labor sentence?
Clint Eastwood
Robert Redford
Paul Newman
Lee Marvin
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"Sometimes nothing is a pretty cool hand," Paul Newman said, with a defiant, relaxed air. Newman won audience's hearts as the convict who had "a failure to communicate."

Who played heist commander Danny Ocean in 1960's "Ocean's 11"?
Dean Martin
Frank Sinatra
Sammy Davis Jr.
George Clooney
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Though George Clooney would later take up the role, Frank Sinatra originated the role of Danny Ocean. The film was a Rat Pack showcase, featuring many of the famous crooners of the '50s and '60s.

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Who played "The Dirty Dozen" trainer and commander, Major Reisman?
Clint Eastwood
Lee Marvin
Dennis Hopper
Jack Nicholson
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Lee Marvin may have played the World War II commander of a motley crew, but Marvin himself actually served in the Marine Corps during World War II! Marvin no doubt used his combat experience to build his character.

Who played the secret agent searching for nuclear bombs hidden by Emilio Largo (who also maintains a pool of live sharks) in "Thunderball"?
Steve McQueen
Jack Nicholson
Sean Connery
Charles Bronson
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Sean Connery once again played Agent 007 in "Thunderball." The jet pack that James Bond uses in the film was a Bell Rocket Belt, developed by the U.S. military!

Who played Tom Elder, the second of "The Sons of Katie Elder," who meets a violent end?
Frank Sinatra
Sammy Davis Jr.
Dean Martin
Lee Marvin
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Dean Martin played alongside John Wayne for the second time in 1965's "The Sons of Katie Elder." The film features a song performed by another bad boy of the era, Johnny Cash.

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Who played "The Hustler," who challenged Minnesota Fats to a game of pool?
Robert Redford
Warren Beatty
Paul Newman
Anthony Quinn
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Paul Newman made movie history as "Fast" Eddie Felson, the pool shark who doesn't know when to quit. Paul Newman reprised the role in "The Color of Money" (1986) and won his only Best Actor Oscar.

Who played the bad gunman in a black hat, Angel Eyes, in "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"?
James Coburn
Henry Fonda
Clint Eastwood
Lee Van Cleef
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Lee Van Cleef played "The Bad" in "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly." Van Cleef often played villains in Westerns, getting his start with small roles in classics like "High Noon" and "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance."

Who played the self-centered Hud Bannon in "Hud"?
Frank Sinatra
Paul Newman
John Wayne
Dennis Hopper
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Paul Newman played the role, partially based on Clark Gable's more selfish personas. On set, Paul Newman realized he had become a sex symbol; women were trying to break into his Texas motel room!

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Who played the relentless gangster Walker in 1967's "Point Blank?'
Charles Bronson
Lee Marvin
Lee Van Cleef
Clint Eastwood
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Lee Marvin brought a mechanical, dauntless performance to "Point Blank." His character may have been a precursor to Arnold Schwarzenegger's Terminator!

Who played Joseph Wladislaw, the murderer who turned into a World War II hero in "The Dirty Dozen"?
Clint Eastwood
Lee Van Cleef
Charles Bronson
Warren Beatty
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"Killing generals could get to be a habit with me," Charles Bronson growls in this film, featuring the first suicide squad. Bronson himself, though he claimed to have had many altercations with the law, did not have a criminal record!

You Got:
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Eon Productions