THE PROBLEM:
Lily is the president of the Classic Vampire Cinema Club, which consists of five friends who frequent revival movie theaters to
catch their favorite old vampire films.
The past few months though, Lily has been taking advantage of her position by selecting the club's viewing schedule to satisfy herself and not the other four members. "Really!" griped one member. "How many Hammer vampire films does she expect us to sit through without screaming?"
Consequently, two weeks ago the club voted to adopt a rotation system in which each of the five gets a turn to pick a classic. The system worked splendidly last week. No two friends decided upon the same flick (one was "The Hunger") or theater (one was the Roma). Using the following information, can you determine each member's full name (one last name was Smith), film and theater choices, and the order in which the members made their selections?
1. Eliza chose a movie before Mr. Ulrich, who chose his movie before the woman who chose the movie at the Ritzy Theater (who is not Vane).
2. Ms. Thomas is neither Eliza nor Mara. The person who chose "Vampire Hunter D", who did not choose last, chose after Mara.
3. Stephan chose his movie before the person who chose "Black Sunday".
4. Don chose his movie before (but not immediately before) the person who chose the movie at the Columbia.
5. The person who chose "Dracula's Daughter', who did not choose first nor choose the Paradise, chose immediately before West ( who did not choose "Nosferatu").
6. "Nosferatu" was not the first movie chosen; the movie at the Ritzy was not chosen last.
7. Ms. Thomas did not choose the movies at the Columbia or the Kino; a man chose the movie at the Paradise Theater.
The 5th person to choose a movie was not Eliza (clue 1), Mara (clue 2), Stephen (clue 3) or Don (clue 4), so it was Lily. Lily is one of three women (Lily, Eliza and Mara) in the Club; Ms. Thomas is neither Eliza or Mara (clue 2), so Lily is Ms. Thomas. Lily did not chose the movie at the Ritzy (clue 6), nor the Columbia, Kino or Paradise (clue 7), so it was at the Roma.
The 4th person to choose a movie was not Eliza (clue 1), Mara (clue 2) or Don (clue 4), so it was Stephen. By clue 1, Stephen cannot be Mr. Ulrich, so Don is Ulrich. Also by clue 1, Eliza chose a movie before Don, and Don chose his movie before the woman who chose the movie at the Ritzy, so Eliza chose first, Don Ulrich chose second, and Mara chose the third movie at the Ritzy.
Now, set up a graph and begin filling in the knowns, like this:
To continue:
Lily chose to see "Black Sabbath (clue 3), Stephen chose to see "Vampire Hunter D" (clue 2) at the Columbia (clue 4), and Don chose the movie at the Paradise (clue 7). By default, Eliza chose the movie at the Kino.
By clue 5, neither Eliza nor Don chose "Dracula's Daughter", so it was Mara, and Stephen is West. The first movie chosen was not "Nosferatu" (clue 6), so it was "The Hunger". By default, "Nosferatu" was second. Since Mara is not Ms. Vane (clue 1), she is Smith, and Ms. Vane is Eliza. To recap:
The past few months though, Lily has been taking advantage of her position by selecting the club's viewing schedule to satisfy herself and not the other four members. "Really!" griped one member. "How many Hammer vampire films does she expect us to sit through without screaming?"
Consequently, two weeks ago the club voted to adopt a rotation system in which each of the five gets a turn to pick a classic. The system worked splendidly last week. No two friends decided upon the same flick (one was "The Hunger") or theater (one was the Roma). Using the following information, can you determine each member's full name (one last name was Smith), film and theater choices, and the order in which the members made their selections?
1. Eliza chose a movie before Mr. Ulrich, who chose his movie before the woman who chose the movie at the Ritzy Theater (who is not Vane).
2. Ms. Thomas is neither Eliza nor Mara. The person who chose "Vampire Hunter D", who did not choose last, chose after Mara.
3. Stephan chose his movie before the person who chose "Black Sunday".
4. Don chose his movie before (but not immediately before) the person who chose the movie at the Columbia.
5. The person who chose "Dracula's Daughter', who did not choose first nor choose the Paradise, chose immediately before West ( who did not choose "Nosferatu").
6. "Nosferatu" was not the first movie chosen; the movie at the Ritzy was not chosen last.
7. Ms. Thomas did not choose the movies at the Columbia or the Kino; a man chose the movie at the Paradise Theater.
THE SOLUTION:
The 5th person to choose a movie was not Eliza (clue 1), Mara (clue 2), Stephen (clue 3) or Don (clue 4), so it was Lily. Lily is one of three women (Lily, Eliza and Mara) in the Club; Ms. Thomas is neither Eliza or Mara (clue 2), so Lily is Ms. Thomas. Lily did not chose the movie at the Ritzy (clue 6), nor the Columbia, Kino or Paradise (clue 7), so it was at the Roma.
The 4th person to choose a movie was not Eliza (clue 1), Mara (clue 2) or Don (clue 4), so it was Stephen. By clue 1, Stephen cannot be Mr. Ulrich, so Don is Ulrich. Also by clue 1, Eliza chose a movie before Don, and Don chose his movie before the woman who chose the movie at the Ritzy, so Eliza chose first, Don Ulrich chose second, and Mara chose the third movie at the Ritzy.
Now, set up a graph and begin filling in the knowns, like this:
Order Member Theater Movie 1 Eliza 2 Don Urich 3 Mara Ritzy 4 Stephen 5 Lily Thomas Roma
To continue:
Lily chose to see "Black Sabbath (clue 3), Stephen chose to see "Vampire Hunter D" (clue 2) at the Columbia (clue 4), and Don chose the movie at the Paradise (clue 7). By default, Eliza chose the movie at the Kino.
By clue 5, neither Eliza nor Don chose "Dracula's Daughter", so it was Mara, and Stephen is West. The first movie chosen was not "Nosferatu" (clue 6), so it was "The Hunger". By default, "Nosferatu" was second. Since Mara is not Ms. Vane (clue 1), she is Smith, and Ms. Vane is Eliza. To recap:
Order Member Theater Movie 1 Eliza Vane Kino The Hunger 2 Don Urich Paradise Nosfertu 3 Mara Smith Ritzy Dracula's Daughter 4 Stephen West Columbia Vampire Hunger D 5 Lily Thomas Roma Black Sabbath