Question 1

True or false: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest was the second film in history to win Academy Awards for Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, and Screenplay.

Accepted Answer

True. It Happened One Night (1934) was the first to achieve this 'Big Five' sweep. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) became the second, forty-one years later.

Question 2

True or false: The film was shot entirely inside a real, functioning psychiatric hospital in Oregon.

Accepted Answer

False. It was filmed at the Oregon State Hospital in Salem, but the ward scenes were built on a soundstage. The hospital exteriors and grounds are real.

Question 3

True or false: Ken Kesey wrote the novel while working as a night aide in a mental hospital.

Accepted Answer

True. Kesey worked on a psychiatric ward at a VA hospital in Menlo Park, where he also participated in LSD experiments. That firsthand experience shaped the book's authentic feel.

Question 4

True or false: Jack Nicholson was the first actor offered the role of Randle McMurphy, but he turned it down.

Accepted Answer

False. Nicholson was actually the third choice; Gene Hackman and Marlon Brando both passed. Nicholson jumped at the chance and it became iconic.

Question 5

True or false: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest has been banned in several U.S. high schools for its profanity and sexual content.

Accepted Answer

True. The novel has faced censorship and bans in schools since the 1970s due to its language and sexual themes, often appearing on the American Library Association's list of challenged books.

Question 6

True or false: Louise Fletcher won the Oscar for Best Actress for her role as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

Accepted Answer

True. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1976 for her iconic performance in this film.

Question 7

True or false: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is narrated by Chief Bromden.

Accepted Answer

True. The novel uses Chief Bromden, a patient at the mental hospital, as the first-person narrator.

Question 8

True or false: Chief Bromden’s voiceover in the film is taken directly from the novel’s first-person narration.

Accepted Answer

False. The film has no voiceover at all. The novel is entirely from Bromden’s perspective, but director Miloš Forman cut internal narration for a more objective feel.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Trivia Questions