Let's play "Mystery Date"!

Here's a fun quiz, courtesy of the good folks at Turner Classic Movies. You'll answer a series of probing questions, and based on your answers, you'll be presented with a choice of three dream dates from classic motion pictures. At the end, you can print personalized 8x10 glossies of your fantasy women (or men, if that's how you roll).

I ran through the quiz a couple of times to see whether the questions changed (they do) and whether the matches would also (and they do, too). Interestingly, my Number One match every time was the same: Victoria Jones (Ava Gardner) in Bhowani Junction. She's passionate, would enjoy going to Las Vegas shows, and loves sentimental songs. And, judging by the photograph, isn't the least bit bothersome to the eyes.

The other options that kicked out for me were:
• Tracy Lord (Katharine Hepburn) in The Philadelphia Story — she'd take me for a surprise weekend getaway on Valentine's Day.
• Jennifer Rogers (Shirley MacLaine) in The Trouble With Harry — she's a sexy, independent woman who would feed me apple pie.
• Annette Kellerman (Esther Williams) in Million Dollar Mermaid — a fun, laid-back girl who's not afraid to go after what she wants.

I'm long since off the dating market, of course. But the quiz was fun, and the souvenir photos are pretty snazzy. Were I adding a few "mystery date" choices of my own, they might include:
• Lindsey Brigman (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) in The Abyss — tough, fiercely loyal, can operate a minisub.
• Annie Savoy (Susan Sarandon) in Bull Durham — loves poetry and baseball...among other things.
• Kate the Farrier (Laura Fraser) in A Knight's Tale — smart, strong-willed, handy with tools.
• Meg Altman (Jodie Foster) in Panic Room — gutsy, resourceful, and graceful under pressure.
• Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen) in Raiders of the Lost Ark — ditto, plus the greatest smile in the history of the movies.

I'd be tempted to add Susan Ricci (Rebecca Pidgeon) in The Spanish Prisoner — in her own words, "a hell of a person...loyal and true and not too hard to look at," and says cute things like "Crikey!" and "It shows to go you" — but at the end of the date she'd stick a gun in your back and vanish with your wallet.