Rise Up Singing - The Voice of Marni Nixon Quiz | Movies

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Marni Nixon's classical training and excellent musicianship made her a valued asset to film directors who needed voiceover work for their movies. Her first vocal appearance on film allowed her to rise up singing as she provided the voices of the angels heard by Ingrid Bergman in which 1948 film set during the Hundred Years' War?

Answer: Joan of Arc

"Joan of Arc", directed by Victor Fleming, was based on Maxwell Anderson's play "Joan of Lorraine", in which Ingrid Bergman had previously starred on Broadway. Unlike the play, it is a straightforward retelling of the story of the Maid of Orleans, starting when she is called by God's angels (Marni Nixon) and culminating in her martyrdom by being burnt at the stake.

The other three films were also set in the Hundred Years' War, but were not released in 1948, and did not star Ingrid Bergman.

2. Marni Nixon once again showed her ability to rise up singing when she provided the singing voice for the character Mary Lennox in the 1949 film "The Secret Garden". Which child star, making her final film for MGM, acted the part of Mary?

Answer: Margaret O'Brien

"The Secret Garden" was a drama based on the 1909 book by Frances Hodgson Burnett that tells the story of a young girl who makes a new life for herself in an isolated Yorkshire estate with her uncle and crippled cousin after her parents die during a cholera epidemic in India.

Margaret O'Brien had been one of the biggest child stars of the 1940s, including a starring role with Judy Garland in the 1944 film "Meet Me in St Louis" for which she was awarded a Special Juvenile Academy Award. While Margaret O'Brien could sing, as she had done in several earlier movies, the producers chose to use Marni Nixon's voice for the singing portions of "The Secret Garden".

3. Marni Nixon had a chance to rise up singing when Marilyn Monroe had trouble reaching a few of the top notes in a song from the 1953 movie "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes". What was the name of the song in which you actually hear Marni singing the highest notes, although Marilyn sang most of the song?

Answer: Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend

Marilyn Monroe's performance of "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" is often considered one of her signature performance moments. But she struggled with the top notes, so Marni had another chance to shine anonymously. Lorelei Lee (Monroe) sings the song while performing in a Paris nightclub and it is reprised in court by Dorothy Shaw (Jane Russell) while she is pretending to be Lorelei and stalling for time.

The other songs listed are also performed in this classic comedy about two show girls who get involved with a stolen tiara, fall in love (despite the lyrics of the song featured in this question) and finally manage to get married.

4. In the 1955 film "Dementia", there is no dialogue, just a spoken narration and wordless vocalizations from Marni Nixon, providing her with the first screen credits (as Featured Voice) of her career. This film is perhaps best known because it was the movie-within-a-movie in which 1958 shocker starring Steve McQueen in his first leading role?

Answer: The Blob

"The Blob" tells the story of an amoebic alien life form that attacks the town of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, devouring the locals and increasing in size as it goes. While the town is gathering to demand action, the Blob invades the local cinema, where patrons are watching "Dementia" until they realize their peril and run screaming out of the building. "Dementia" is an exploration of the workings of the mind of an insane young woman who wakes from a nightmare to experience a series of grim events - or is this all simply her insane delusions? The audience is left with no firm conclusions to draw.

The other films listed also featured Steve McQueen, but no movie-within-the-movie.

5. Marni Nixon had another chance to rise up singing when she dubbed the voice of Deborah Kerr in a musical film loosely based on the autobiography of Anna Leonowens, who taught the children of the Siamese ruler Phra Bat Somdet Phra Poramenthramaha Mongkut Phra Chom Klao Chao Yu Hua in the 1860s. What was the name of this 1956 classic?

Answer: The King and I

Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein had based their Broadway musical "The King and I" on Margaret Landon's book "Anna and the King of Siam", which was itself inspired by Anna Leonowens' autobiography (which has recently been shown to be rather more fictionalized in detail than is usual for autobiographical works). It tells the story of the complex relationship that develops between Anna and King Mongkut, played by Yul Brynner, whose children she has been employed to teach.

Three characters in the film had their singing voices completely dubbed: Marni Nixon sang Anna's songs for Deborah Kerr; Leona Gordon replaced Rita Moreno for the songs of the slave girl Tuptim; Reuben Fuentes sang the songs of Tuptim's scholarly lover Lun Tha instead of Carlos Rivas.

6. Marni Nixon once again provided a replacement singing voice for Deborah Kerr in "An Affair to Remember (Our Love Affair)", the theme song of a 1957 movie that has been called one of the most romantic films of all time by a number of commentators. Who was Deborah Kerr's debonair co-star in "An Affair to Remember"?

Answer: Cary Grant

The theme song to "An Affair to Remember" was sung by Vic Damone during the opening credits, and reprised by the character Terry McKay (Deborah Kerr, dubbed here by Marni Nixon), the woman who falls in love with Nickie Ferrant (Cary Grant) during a boat crossing of the Atlantic. She misses their scheduled rendezvous atop the Empire State Building six months after the voyage because she has been involved in a motor accident which has left her paralysed, and him thinking he has been stood up. If you can watch this tear-jerker with a dry eye, you may be beyond hope!

Valentino died in 1926, while DiCaprio was not born until 1974, and O'Toole made his film debut in "Lawrence of Arabia" in 1962.

7. Marni Nixon really seized her chance to rise up singing when she dubbed all or part of the singing voices of two different female stars of a 1961 retelling of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet", set in New York City. Which of these films gave us the story of the doomed lovers Maria and Tony?

Answer: West Side Story

Tony (Richard Beymer, singing voiced by Jimmy Bryant) and Maria (Natalie Wood, singing voiced by Marni Nixon) fall in love despite being involved with rival gangs, the Sharks and the Jets. It all ends badly. Marni Nixon not only provided the voice for Natalie Wood, she also did some of the singing for Rita Moreno in the role of Anita, Maria's best friend. The singing for Anita was actually shared by Rita Moreno, Marnie Nixon and Betty Wand.

The other three films were also released in 1961, and nominated for various Academy Awards.

8. The bulk of the singing part of Eliza Doolittle in the 1964 film "My Fair Lady" was provided by Marni Nixon. Which actress played the part, and provided the remainder of the singing?

Answer: Audrey Hepburn

"My Fair Lady" had quite a lot of dubbing, including Marni Nixon for most of Eliza's songs and Bill Shirley for Freddy's songs. You can hear Hepburn singing the chorus of "Just You Wait", for which it was felt that the quality of her voice was suited to the music. Rex Harrison refused to lip-synch his part while listening to a pre-recorded track, arguing that he never 'sang' songs the same way twice.

The sound crew organized a wireless microphone to capture his patter, and Andre Previn conducted the orchestra so as to fit the music in with his performance.

9. Marni Nixon finally had a singing role on-screen in the 1965 film "The Sound of Music". No, she didn't replace Julie Andrews - what small speaking and singing role did she perform?

Answer: Sister Sophia

Sister Sophia is one of the nuns engaged in wondering "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?" early in the film, and Marni Nixon has a few solo lines in that number. The director, Robert Wise, later said that he cast her to make it possible for movie audiences to finally see the woman behind the voice they had been enjoying for so long.

Eleanor Parker portrayed Baroness Elsa Schraeder; Kym Karath presented Gretl, the youngest von Trapp child; Peggy Wood was the Mother Abbess, although her singing voice was provided by Margery McKay.

10. In 1998, Marni Nixon had another chance to rise up singing, providing the singing voice for Grandmother Fa in an animated Disney film based on a Chinese legend. Which film gave her this opportunity?

Answer: Mulan

"Mulan", based on the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan, tells the story of a young girl who disguises herself as a man in order to join the army and fight off an invading army, taking the place of her elderly father who has been called to fight. Needless to say, she saves the empire. Marni Nixon provided the singing voice for Grandmother Fa, while June Foray completed the spoken lines.

"Aladdin" was set in the fictional mid-east country of Agrabah, "The Lion King" in Africa, and "Pocahontas" in North America.

Source: Author looney_tunes

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor jmorrow before going online.
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Rise Up Singing - The Voice of Marni Nixon Quiz

You may not know her name, but you have certainly heard her voice in at least one of these movies! Come explore the career of the woman nicknamed "The Voice of Hollywood".

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