50 free Beverly Hills Cop trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
40 free Beverly Hills Cop trivia questions with answers. Beverly Hills Cop (1984) turned Eddie Murphy into the biggest star in the world and gave the 80s one of its most recognisable synth riffs. This Beverly Hills Cop trivia quiz covers the original film in detail: Axel Foley's trip from Detroit, Mikey and the bearer bonds, Victor Maitland, Rosewood and Taggart, Serge and the bananas in the tailpipe, plus how the movie was made, from Don Simpson's 1977 idea and Sylvester Stallone's rewrite to the script that was still being finished on the first day of shooting. It also covers Harold Faltermeyer's 'Axel F' and the soundtrack, the box office and awards, and all three sequels: Tony Scott's Beverly Hills Cop II, John Landis's theme-park threequel and 2024's Netflix revival Axel F. It suits an 80s movie night or a general film quiz. Every answer is checked against Wikipedia and cited on the question, so you can see where each fact comes from.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Axel Foley is a detective from which city?
Detroit
The opening truck chase was shot over several days in Detroit and nearby Wayne, Michigan.
Q 02What is the name of Axel's childhood friend whose murder sends him to Beverly Hills?
Mikey Tandino
Mikey had served time for a car theft the two committed together as kids.
Q 03What does Mikey show Axel that he cannot explain having?
German bearer bonds
He was murdered by Zack and Casey, who came looking for the bonds.
Q 04Under what pretext does Axel travel to Beverly Hills?
He is on vacation
Inspector Todd had forbidden him from touching the case.
Q 05Who is the art-gallery owner and villain of the first film?
Victor Maitland
He was played by British actor Steven Berkoff.
Q 06Which two Beverly Hills officers are assigned to tail Axel around town?
Billy and John
Billy Rosewood and John Taggart, played by Judge Reinhold and John Ashton, returned in the sequels and in Axel F.
Q 07What does Axel stuff into the tailpipe of his two minders' car?
Bananas
He then slips away while they sit stalled at the kerb.
Q 08What incident turns his two minders' dislike of Axel into respect?
Foiling a robbery at a strip club
By the end they pay his hotel bill and join him for a farewell drink.
Q 09Which Beverly Hills lieutenant helps Axel kill Maitland at the end?
Andrew Bogomil
Bogomil then invents a cover story for Chief Hubbard, and Ronny Cox returned as him in the sequel.
Q 10Which Paramount executive first had the idea in 1977 for a film about a cop transferring to Beverly Hills?
Don Simpson
He went on to produce it with Jerry Bruckheimer.
Q 11Per Bruckheimer, which actor was first offered Axel and signed a $400,000 holding contract?
Mickey Rourke
Pryor, Pacino and Caan were also considered, and Harrison Ford turned it down.
Q 12Sylvester Stallone's humourless rewrite of Beverly Hills Cop was later recycled into which 1986 film?
Cobra
He had renamed the character Axel Cobretti and planned a finale playing chicken with a freight train in a stolen Lamborghini.
Q 13How did the producers supposedly get Stallone off the project?
Sent him to a Swiss youth-treatment doctor
Q 21Who composed and performed the instrumental theme 'Axel F'?
Harold Faltermeyer
He played every part himself on five synthesisers, including a Roland Jupiter-8 and a Yamaha DX7.
Q 22Which synthesiser provided the distinctive saw lead on 'Axel F'?
Roland Jupiter-8
The producers were lukewarm until director Martin Brest gave the track his approval.
Q 23Which animated character took a cover of 'Axel F' to number one across Europe in 2005?
Crazy Frog
It reworked a 2003 version by Murphy Brown and Captain Hollywood.
With Stallone in Switzerland, Simpson and Bruckheimer signed Eddie Murphy two days later.
Q 14When was the final shooting script completed?
On the first day of production
Murphy had felt the original script 'was not funny'.
Q 15How much of the roughly $14M budget went to Eddie Murphy?
$4M
It came in about a million under budget.
Q 16In which nearby city were many Beverly Hills scenes shot, since Beverly Hills banned filming after 10:30 p.m.?
Pasadena
The Detroit opening was genuinely shot in Michigan.
Q 17Roughly how much did Beverly Hills Cop gross worldwide?
$316M
It was the highest-grossing film released in the US in 1984.
Q 18For which Academy Award was Beverly Hills Cop nominated?
Best Original Screenplay
It also won the People's Choice Award for Favorite Motion Picture.
Q 19Which two critics gave the film 'Two Thumbs Down' for 'wasting a good pretext and cast'?
Siskel and Ebert
The New York Times later put it on its list of the 1,000 best movies ever made.
Q 20In December 2024 the Library of Congress selected the movie for which honour roll?
The National Film Registry
It came around the 40th anniversary and three months after John Ashton's death.
Q 24Which former Eagle sang 'The Heat Is On' for the soundtrack?
Glenn Frey
It is the highest-charting US solo single by any member of the Eagles.
Q 25Which group performed 'Neutron Dance', the third top-ten single from the soundtrack?
The Pointer Sisters
The soundtrack won a Grammy for Best Score Soundtrack in 1986.
Q 26Bronson Pinchot, who plays the art-gallery assistant Serge, went on to star as Balki in which sitcom?
Perfect Strangers
He has played Serge in every era of the franchise, from 1984 to Axel F in 2024.
Q 27What is Judge Reinhold's real first name?
Edward
He has appeared in every Beverly Hills Cop film and all three Santa Clause films.
Q 28John Ashton, who plays Taggart, played a rival bounty hunter to Robert De Niro in which 1988 Martin Brest film?
Midnight Run
He died in September 2024, months after Axel F, his final role, was released.
Q 29Director Martin Brest later earned Best Director and Best Picture nominations for which Al Pacino film?
Scent of a Woman
Pacino won his only Oscar for it.
Q 30On which sketch show was Eddie Murphy a cast member from 1980 to 1984?
Saturday Night Live
He was still only 23 when Beverly Hills Cop opened.