Image: TMDB
About This Quiz
This political thriller follows two reporters who are investigating the Watergate scandal for The Washington Post. Recall the earth-shaking scandal that eventually led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon with this historic trivia quiz.
When a security guard at the Watergate complex finds a door kept unlocked with tape, what does he do?
A. Nothing
B. Calls the police
On June 17, 1972, a security guard at the Watergate complex finds a door kept unlocked with tape and calls the police. The police find and arrest five burglars in the Democratic National Committee headquarters within the complex. Did you know that Frank Wills, the security guard who discovered the break-in at the Watergate complex, plays himself in the film? Realism was important on this film, so much so that nothing was allowed into the script unless it had been meticulously verified and confirmed by independent sources.
C. Erases the tapes that show the break-in
D. None of the above
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Which new reporter does the Washington Post assign to the local courthouse to cover the Watergate story?
Bob Woodward
The Washington Post assigns new reporter Bob Woodward to the local courthouse to cover the story, which is thought to be of minor importance. Bob Woodward was played by Robert Redford, who is an award-winning actor, director, producer, businessman, environmentalist, and philanthropist. Redford is the founder of the Sundance Film Festival. Time Magazine included Redford in their annual TIME 100 as one of the Most Influential People in the World, declaring him the Godfather of Indie Film. In 2016, Redford received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Carl Bernstein
Deep Throat
Harry M. Rosenfeld
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Why is the break-in so suspicious?
The burglars had bugging equipment on them
The burglars had $100 bills on them
The burglars had their own “country club” attorney
All of the above
The five burglars were not taking anything; instead, they were leaving things. They were bugging the Democratic National Committee headquarters. Not only did they have bugging equipment on them, they seemed to have been already paid in $100 bills. Then, after they were arrested, they had their own "country club" attorney. Connecting this event to other politicians was the beginning of the Watergate scandal.
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Who plays Carl Bernstein?
Robert Redford
Dustin Hoffman
Carl Bernstein is portrayed by Dustin Hoffman, an award-winning actor and director, with a career in film, television, and theater since 1960. Widely considered one of the finest actors in history, he won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1980 for Kramer vs. Kramer, and in 1989 for Rain Man. Hoffman has been nominated for five additional Academy Awards. He was nominated for 13 Golden Globes, winning six (including an honorary award). He has won four BAFTAs, three Drama Desk Awards, two Emmy Awards, and a Genie Award.
Hal Holbrook
Jack Warden
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What is this 1976 film based on?
It’s an original screenplay, completely fiction
The 1974 non-fiction book of the same name
The film was based on the 1974 non-fiction book, All the President’s Men, written by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward. According to Vanity Fair, Robert Redford was in contact with Woodward and Bernstein before their book had been written, and encouraged them to write more about how they conducted their investigation and less about the events they were reporting. The film was produced by Walter Coblenz for Robert Redford's Wildwood Enterprises.
Washington Post clippings
The 1974 musical of the same name
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Of the five men arrested for the break-in, four come from what city?
A. Miami
Woodward learns that the five men, four Cuban-Americans from Miami and James W. McCord, Jr., were responsible for the break-in. To prepare for their roles, actors Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman hung out in the Washington Post newsroom for several months, observing reporters and attending staff meetings.
B. Chicago
C. New York
D. Washington, D.C.
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The arraignment for the five burglars is the first time the viewer learns of the connection to what entity?
A. The FBI
B. The CIA
At the arraignment, McCord identifies himself in court as having recently left the Central Intelligence Agency and the others also have CIA ties. Woodward connects the burglars to E. Howard Hunt, a former employee of the CIA, and President Richard Nixon's Special Counsel Charles Colson. Did you know that this film is still shown to aspiring journalism students?
C. The Justice Department
D. The Military
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What is the name of the Executive Editor, who decides if an article gets printed?
Harry M. Rosenfeld
Ben Bradlee
Ben Bradlee is the Executive Editor who gives the go-ahead as to whether an article gets printed. He remembers when he was a young, hungry reporter. Ben Bradlee is portrayed by Jason Robards, a stage, film, and television actor. He was a winner of the Tony Award, two Academy Awards, and an Emmy Award. He was also a United States Navy combat veteran of World War II.
Bob Woodward
Carl Bernstein
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Who was the Washington Post Editor in charge of local news?
Harry M. Rosenfeld
Harry M. Rosenfeld was the editor in charge of local news at The Washington Post during the Richard Mattingly murder case and the Watergate scandal. He resisted efforts by the paper's national reporters to take over the Watergate story. Harry M. Rosenfeld is portrayed by Jack Warden, character actor of film and television. Warden was twice nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for Shampoo and Heaven Can Wait. He received a BAFTA nomination for the former movie and won an Emmy for his performance in Brian's Song.
Ben Bradlee
Bob Woodward
Carl Bernstein
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What is Bob Woodward’s deep contact nicknamed?
Wishing Well
Deep Throat
In advance of a July 2005 Vanity Fair article written by his attorney and spokesman, 91-year-old W. Mark Felt acknowledged publicly that he was the informant known as Deep Throat. This was corroborated by Bob Woodward and the Washington Post. At the time of the Watergate break-in, Mr. Felt was the Deputy Director, the second-in-command, of the FBI. Hal Holbrook portrayed Deep Throat. Holbrook is a film and stage actor who has won five Primetime Emmy Awards and a Tony Award for his portrayal of Twain in Mark Twain Tonight.
Eagle 1
Fox
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How do Woodward and Deep Throat contact each other?
A. By a note stuck into the pages of the New York Times
B. By a flag in a flowerpot on Woodward’s balcony
C. By a note on Woodward’s windshield
D. A & B
If Deep Throat wanted to contact Woodward, he would place a note within the pages of the New York Times that was delivered daily to Woodward’s door. If Woodward wanted to contact Deep Throat, he would put a flag in the flowerpot on his balcony. Then they would meet in a parking garage in the middle of the night. Hal Holbrook was the first and only choice to play the informant Deep Throat. During the casting process, Bob Woodward, while looking at various actors’ photo head shots, but not revealing Deep Throat's true identity, insisted to director Alan J. Pakula that Holbrook was the best choice to play Deep Throat. Holbrook, in fact, bears a strong resemblance to W. Mark Felt.
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Who says this? “Follow the money.”
A. Hugh W. Sloan, Jr.
B. Donald Segretti
C. Deep Throat
Deep Throat speaks in riddles and metaphors about the Watergate break-in, but advises Woodward to "follow the money." This line appears nowhere in Woodward and Bernstein's reporting. It was apparently coined by screenwriter Goldman. The identity of Deep Throat was known only to Woodward, Bernstein, and Post Editor Ben Bradlee, an identity which they kept secret for 33 years. Then it was only revealed because W. Mark Felt admitted he was Deep Throat. At the time of the Watergate scandal, Felt was second Associate Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
D. James W. McCord, Jr.
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Woodward and Bernstein follow the money and connect the burglars to diverted campaign contributions to what committee?
The Budget Committee
The Ethics Committee
CRP (Committee to Re-elect the President)
Woodward and Bernstein connect the five burglars to thousands of dollars in diverted campaign contributions to Nixon's Committee to Re-elect the President (CRP, or CREEP). However, Bradlee and others at the Post feel this makes no sense when the President is likely to defeat Democratic nominee George McGovern.
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
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What is ratf**king?
A. Racing rats
B. Political sabotage
The term is first brought to the public’s attention in Woodward and Bernstein's book, All the President's Men. Many staffers who had attended the University of Southern California, such as Donald Segretti, Tim Elbourne, Ronald Louis Ziegler, H. R. Haldeman, and Dwight Chapin, participated in the highly-competitive student elections and engaged in ratf**king -- creative tricks and underhanded tactics to win student elections. It wasn’t too hard to deduce that they were still using similar tactics after college.
C. Narcing to the police
D. None of the above
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What is the name of the CRP treasurer who resigned?
Hugh W. Sloan, Jr.
Through former CRP treasurer Hugh W. Sloan, Jr., Woodward and Bernstein connect a slush fund of hundreds of thousands of dollars to White House Chief of Staff H. R. Haldeman and former Nixon Attorney General John N. Mitchell, now head of CRP. Hugh Sloan is portrayed by Stephen Collins, an actor, writer, director, and musician. He played Eric Camden on the long-running television series 7th Heaven. He also portrayed Captain Will Decker in Star Trek: The Motion Picture and starred in numerous other movies.
Donald Segretti
H.R. Haldeman
John Mitchell
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What was the slush fund used for?
Gifts for foreign dignitaries
Expensive lunches for the Nixon staff
Military equipment
Sabotage of the Democratic presidential candidates
Woodward and Bernstein learn that CRP used the diverted slush fund to sabotage Democratic presidential candidates a year before the Watergate burglary, when Nixon was behind Edmund Muskie in the polls. The Washington Post wouldn't allow the production to film in its newsroom, which would have been disruptive, so art directors visited the real newsroom and took photos, measurements, and even a brick from the lobby. They replicated out-of-date DC phone books and bought desks from the same supplier the Post used. They even got Post reporters to send them boxes of their own trash, to make the fake newsroom look realistically messy.
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When the article is printed and the White House denies it, what does Bradlee do?
A. Retracts the story
B. Buries the retraction on page 32
C. Accuses the White House of lying
D. Says the Washington Post stands behind the story
Bradlee's demand for thoroughness forces the reporters to obtain other sources to confirm the Haldeman connection before the article is printed. The response to the article is not what was expected. The White House issues a non-denial denial of the Post's story, criticizing the Post for shoddy reporting, but never saying they didn't do it. In response, Bradlee issues a non-denial denial saying the Post stands by the story. This defends their reporting without accusing the White House of lying.
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When Woodward loses his cool with Deep Throat, what happens?
A. Deep Throat disappears
B. Deep Throat tells Woodward what he knows
After Woodward loses his cool with Deep Throat for making hints but not telling him directly what is going on, Deep Throat finally reveals that the Watergate break-in and cover-up were indeed masterminded by Haldeman. Deep Throat also claims that the cover-up was not to hide the other burglaries or of their involvement with CRP, but to hide the "covert operations" involving "the entire U.S. intelligence community".
C. While meeting in the underground parking garage, Deep Throat punches Woodward
D. None of the above
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When Bernstein drinks too much coffee during a juicy interview, what does he think might happen?
A. John Mitchell would walk through the door and silence his interviewee
B. Walter Cronkite would barge in and scoop the story
Bernstein, wired on thirty cups of coffee, babbles to Woodward about his meeting with a secretary who finally gave some details, and his fear that CBS would barge in and scoop the story, Woodward says, “You’re both paranoid. She’s afraid of John Mitchell, and you’re afraid of Walter Cronkite.” In real life, Judy Hoback was the bookkeeper who gave Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward crucial information about the slush fund payouts at the Committee to Re-Elect the President (CRP). Woodward has stated that Hoback was just as important, if not more so, as Deep Throat, in terms of unveiling the Watergate Scandal, because Hoback had all of the information about where money was going and who it was coming from.
C. He won’t reach the bathroom in time
D. He won’t have enough notebook paper to record the conversation
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Why does Woodward visit Bernstein and immediately turn the music on at a high volume?
A. Woodward likes music
B. The upstairs neighbor was hammering and Woodward couldn’t stand the sound
C. Woodward thought Bernstein’s apartment was bugged
Deep Throat warns that the reporter’s lives may be in danger. Also, their apartments might be under surveillance and bugged. Woodward arrives at Bernstein’s apartment, turn up the music, and starts typing to let him know about this issue. The piece we hear is Vivaldi's Concerto in C for Two Trumpets.
D. None of the above
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What does Bradlee say when Woodward and Bernstein report that their lives may be in danger?
A. He tells them to immediately stop digging
B. He tells them to continue despite the risk
When Woodward and Bernstein relay Deep Throat's warning that the reporter’s lives and others may be in danger, Bradlee urges the reporters to continue despite the risk and Nixon's re-election. Did you know that at the time of filming in Washington, D.C., Robert Redford stayed at the Watergate Hotel?
C. He tells them to leave their apartments and move into the Watergate Hotel
D. None of the above
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In the final scene, Bernstein and Woodward type out the full story. What is playing on the newsroom TV?
A soap opera
A game show
Nixon taking the Oath of Office for his second term
In the concluding scene, set on January 20, 1973, Bernstein and Woodward type out the full story, with the TV in the newsroom showing Nixon taking the Oath of Office for his second term as President. After that, there is a montage of Watergate-related teletype headlines from the following year, ending with Nixon's resignation and the inauguration of Vice President Gerald Ford on August 9, 1974.
The morning weather
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Who yells, “Woodstein!”?
Hugh Sloan Jr.
Harry Rosenfeld
Walter Cronkite
Ben Bradlee
The newsroom goes quiet when Ben Bradlee yells for both reporters using a mash-up name, “Woodstein.” He is mad because of the denials coming from the Watergate article that was just published. During filming, Jason Robards decided that it was important for Ben Bradlee to always be "in the newsroom," so his presence would always be felt in the film. On days when he wasn't shooting scenes with the other actors, Robards came to the set and hung out in Ben Bradlee's office, usually sitting at Bradlee's desk and reading a book, so Bradlee would appear in the background of shots that featured Woodward, Bernstein, and other reporters.
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Which reporter is Dahlberg talking to? “How do you think your check got into the bank account of a Watergate burglar?” Dahlberg: “I'm, uh, a proper citizen. What I do is proper.” “Well, I - I understand.” Dahlberg: “I've just been through a terrible ordeal. My neighbor's wife has been kidnapped!”
Woodward
When Kenneth Dahlberg tells Bob Woodward on the phone, "I've just been through a terrible ordeal! My neighbor's wife has been kidnapped!" he is not lying. On July 27, 1972, a few days before Bob Woodward called Dahlberg, Virginia Piper - wife of a prominent Minnesota businessman and a close friend of the Dahlberg family - was kidnapped from her home in Minneapolis. She was released two days later in Duluth, after her husband paid a $1 million ransom. Dahlberg did call back later and answer some of Woodward's questions.
Bernstein
Woodstein
Sally Aiken
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What female Washington Post reporter helped add important information to the story?
A. Sally Aiken
Sally Aiken (based on Marilyn Berger) was a reporter at the Washington Post during the Watergate Scandal. It was Berger who reported that Richard Nixon White House staffer Ken Clawson had bragged to her about authoring the Canuck letter. The Canuck letter is a forged letter to the editor of the Manchester Union Leader that played a large part in ending the campaign of Senator Edmund Muskie.
B. Sharon Lyons
C. Kay Eddy
D. Deborah Sloan
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Who is Deep Throat referring to? “If it didn't deal directly with the Watergate break-in, they didn't pursue.”
The CIA
The FBI
The Justice Department
A & C
Bob Woodward questions Deep Throat: “Does the FBI know what we know? Does the Justice Department? Why haven't they done anything?” Deep Throat: “If it didn't deal directly with the Watergate break-in, they didn't pursue it.” Deep Throat then admits it is a massive cover-up dealing with the CIA and The White House, all the way up to the President.
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Why didn’t the movie talk about Nixon’s tapes?
The movie did acknowledge the tapes
The movie focused on investigative reporting and how one minor incident raised an alert in two reporters
The movie ended after the initial news broke about the Watergate scandal
B & C
The movie encapsulated the most important parts of investigative journalism: the dedication, the need for accuracy, how you need to follow your instincts if something doesn’t feel right, the way questions can be asked, and much more. In addition, the movie could not go into all the details, given the running time of the script. Unlike the book, the film itself only covers the first seven months of the Watergate scandal, from the time of the break-in to Nixon's second inauguration on January 20, 1973.
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Who says this to Bernstein? “Is there any place you don't smoke?”
Woodward
As the pair are in an elevator, Woodward asks Bernstein, "Is there any place you don't smoke?" In the next shot, it shows them leaving the elevator — which is filled with smoke. You may have never noticed this, but to ensure that both stars of the movie received top billing, Robert Redford's name was billed above Dustin Hoffman's on the posters and trailers, while Hoffman's name was billed above Redford's in the movie itself. This same strategy had been used for The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, which paired John Wayne and James Stewart.
Harry Rosenfeld
Ben Bradlee
Sally Aiken
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What type of people are Woodward and Bernstein?
Woodward is a tidy, ex-military type and great at research and interviewing
Bernstein is unkempt and disorganized
Bernstein is a better writer than Woodward
All of the above
Woodward is tidy, ex-military, and a registered Republican. As a reporter he excels in research and interviewing. Bernstein is unkempt, disorganized, and a wannabe rock music critic. He's also a better writer than Woodward. Together, they are an unbeatable team. Both Redford and Hoffman memorized each other's lines so that they could both interrupt each other in character. It helped show how close the two became as they worked on this story.
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Who helped connect the break-in to a bigger story?
John Mitchell
Donald Segretti
Woodward and Bernstein uncover evidence that a lawyer and hired sabotager — Donald Segretti — was incapacitating Democratic candidates and Democratic primaries. Suddenly, the break-in made more sense, leading the reporters to keep digging, no matter what it took. The overhead shot of Redford and Hoffman as two tiny figures poring over vast stacks of records at the Library of Congress lasts for 30 seconds and cost $90,000 to shoot.
Sergeant Paul Leeper
Ken Clawson
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What did the critics think of the film?
Mixed reviews but mostly negative
Favorable reviews
The film had positive reviews. Rotten Tomatoes gave the movie an aggregate rating of 93%, based on 51 reviews. The consensus review on the website reads: "A taut, solidly acted paean to the benefits of a free press and the dangers of unchecked power, made all the more effective by its origins in real-life events." The film was added to the USA's Library of Congress National Film Registry in 2010.
They detested it
None of the above
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What did the fans think of the film?
Mixed reviews but mostly negative
They loved it
The audience gave it a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes. Because of its popularity, the film was extremely profitable. On a budget of $8.5 million, it earned $70.6 million at the box office. Entertainment Weekly ranked All the President's Men as one of its 25 Powerful Political Thrillers. The American Film Institute (A.F.I.) named it number 34 on its America's Most Inspiring Movies list.
They hated it
None of the above
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What was unusual about the score for All the President’s Men?
It didn’t get heard until almost 30 minutes into the film
The musical score in All the President's Men sounds rather punchy for a film with little to no action. It's a very centered sound, but the dynamic range is solid, with David Shire's score never overbearing or intrusive. In fact, the movie is so spare and documentary-like that David Shire's musical score doesn't come in until about 28 minutes into the film.
It’s very jazzy with lots of brass
It has a wild drum solo
None of the above
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How many nominations for an Academy Award did this film receive?
2
4
6
8
The film earned eight nominations and won two Academy Awards, in Best Art Direction and Best Sound. Jason Robards and Jane Alexander were nominated for Best Supporting Actor/Actress and William Goldman was nominated for Best Original Screenplay. The other nominations included Best Director, Best Picture and Best Editing.
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How can you enjoy more of All the President’s Men?
Watch All the President's Men Revisited (documentary)
All the President's Men Revisited (2013) is a feature-length television documentary about the making of this movie. It was created by Sundance Productions, which Robert Redford owns. The documentary aired about 37 years after the film was released. It not only goes behind the scenes of the film, it answers such questions as, how Watergate would be covered in the present day, whether such a scandal could happen again, and who the real Richard Nixon was. The documentary earned a 2013 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special
Play with All the President’s Men action figures
Eat All the President’s Men cereal
None of the above
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You Got:
/35
TMDB