Old MGM Musicals Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Wizard of Oz

Written by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg, "If I Were King of the Forest" was performed by Bert Lahr, as the Cowardly Lion, to an audience consisting of Dorothy (Judy Garland), the Tin Man (Jack Haley) and Scarecrow (Ray Bolger). Oh, Toto was there too, of course. The Lion proclaimed what he would do if crowned king, but conceded that he still lacked a necessary quality: courage!

"The Wizard of Oz" (1939) followed the adventures of this little group as they sought to reach the Emerald City where they would ask the Wizard for the things they most desired. The best known song from this film was "Over the Rainbow", as performed by Judy Garland.

Answer: Babes in Toyland

With music and words by Victor Herbert and Glen MacDonough, "A Castle in Spain" was performed in the 1934 Laurel and Hardy comedy "Babes in Toyland" by the actor Felix Knight, as Tom Tom. This version of the song was quite romantic, in contrast to the Ray Bolger (Barnaby) rendition in the later version of the movie produced by Disney, which was menacing.

The 1934 movie is also known as "March of the Wooden Soldiers" and involves Stan and Ollie trying to foil the plots of the villain Barnaby (Henry Brandon). Its soundtrack also features such songs as "March of the Toys" and "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf".

Answer: Meet Me in St. Louis

Although "Under the Bamboo Tree", written by Bob Cole and J. Rosemond Johnson, included somewhat controversial allusions, as performed by Judy Garland and Margaret O'Brien in "Meet Me in St. Louis" (1944) it is quite entertaining. The pair play sisters in a St. Louis family, and this song is performed for family and friends during a party.

"Meet Me in St. Louis" was directed by Vincente Minnelli, and followed the Smith family through the year leading up to the 1904 World's Fair in the title city, with vignettes and songs for the various seasons, including Garland's rendition (again with O'Brien in the scene) of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and the Oscar-nominated "The Trolley Song".

Answer: The Harvey Girls

Written by Harry Warren and Johnny Mercer, and performed by Virginia O'Brien, "The Wild, Wild West" was an amusing lament regarding the failure of the men out west to live up to the expectations of Alma from Ohio (O'Brien).

"The Harvey Girls" (1946) starred Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, John Hodiak, Angela Lansbury and more, and was about the girls who staffed Harvey House restaurants in the western US, meant to provide wholesome and nutritious meals for railway travellers in the nineteenth century. Another notable song, which won an Oscar, was "On the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe", an upbeat number about a railway.

Answer: Royal Wedding

"Open Your Eyes", written by Alan Jay Lerner and Burton Lane, was performed by Jane Powell and Fred Astaire in a ship's ballroom in front of a well-dressed gathering, including Peter Lawford. She sang and they both danced, but the dance was complicated by the movement of the ship as the weather worsened. Needless to say, they forged ahead and brought the dance to a successful conclusion.

"Royal Wedding" (1951) was set in the lead up to the wedding of the then Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) to Prince Philip, but was less about them than about the brother and sister song and dance act played by Astaire and Powell, their romantic entanglements, and above all their singing and dancing. Other numbers included "Sunday Jumps", during which Fred danced with a hat rack, and "You're All the World to Me" with Fred (apparently) dancing on the walls and ceiling of his room!

Answer: Kiss Me Kate

Like all of the songs in "Kiss Me Kate" (1953), "Brush Up Your Shakespeare" had words and music by Cole Porter. It was performed, both song and dance, by a surprisingly agile Keenan Wynn and James Whitmore, in front of an amused Howard Keel.

The plot involved a production of Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew" by a company led by ex-spouses played by Keel and Kathryn Grayson. Wynn and Whitmore played a pair of thugs trying to get money from them. Ann Miller and Tommy Rall also appeared, and other songs included "So In Love" and "Too Darn Hot".

Answer: Kismet

"Stranger in Paradise" was a romantic duet sung in a garden setting by Ann Blyth and Vic Damone. With music and lyrics by Bob Wright and Chet Forrest, it's said to be "based on themes by Aleksandr Borodin", as are other musical numbers in the film.

"Kismet" (1955) had a Middle Eastern setting, with Howard Keel playing a poor poet and Damone the young caliph, who the evil Wazir (Sebastian Cabot) wanted to usurp. Other songs, by the same writing partnership, included "Fate" (the meaning of the film's title) and "Baubles, Bangles and Beads".

Answer: High Society

Like all of the musical numbers in "High Society" (1956), "Well Did You Evah?" was written by Cole Porter. In the film it's performed by Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra, both characters a bit tipsy, in the library of a large home, whilst a party was going on in the ballroom next door. The song was amusing, and the performers had fun with it, before eventually joining the "swell-igant, elegant" party themselves.

The film was a musical remake of "The Philadelphia Story" (1940) and concerned the efforts of Crosby's character to break up the second wedding of his ex-wife (Grace Kelly). Celeste Holm provided the love interest for Sinatra's character. Other songs included the Oscar-nominated "True Love" and "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" amongst others.

Answer: Easter Parade

Irving Berlin was responsible for all of the music in "Easter Parade" (1948), including "A Couple of Swells", essentially a novelty number (but one of my favourites). In their characters as stage performers, Fred Astaire and Judy Garland, dressed as tramps, treated us to an amusing number about the ways the two "swells" might have travelled "up the avenue" if only they had the correct means of conveyance.

In the film, Fred's character was dumped by his dance partner (Ann Miller), after which he teamed up with Judy and had not only more success than he expected but also found love. Peter Lawford also appeared, performing "A Fella with an Umbrella". Other songs included "It Only Happens When I Dance with You" and, of course, "Easter Parade".

Answer: Gigi

After hearing Maurice Chevalier singing "Thank Heaven for Little Girls", I had what was probably my first celebrity crush. I was eight, and totally besotted by the suave Frenchman. With his top hat, gloves and cane, Chevalier introduced us to Gigi as she played in a park like setting, and he sang about how little girls grow up in "a most delightful way".

The music of "Gigi" (1958) was written by the team of Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, and included "The Night They Invented Champagne", "I Remember It Well" and the Oscar-winning title tune. Leslie Caron appeared as Parisian courtesan in training Gigi, with Louis Jourdan as the young man who was friend first, more later. Hermione Gingold was delightful as the young lady's grandmother, who tried to give her the best possible start in life that she could.