MGM's Golden Girls Trivia Quiz

Answer: made the money to pay for them both

Joan was under contract with MGM from 1925-1943. In that time she made 51 movies for MGM - most of them making a profit for the studio. Norma Shearer had most of her movies hand selected by her husband Irving Thalberg. He preferred to have her star in the costume dramas which were quite costly. Garbo only made 24 films in the United States, all of which were for MGM.

The last one, "Two-Faced Woman" in 1941 was a flop.

Answer: Joan Crawford

In 1925 Norma was the current darling at MGM. Joan was new to Hollywood and looking for good parts. She was pleased to be cast in a movie with a recognized star, until she found out all the audience would see of her was the back of her head. Thus began her competition with Norma.

When casting started for "The Women" in 1939, Joan campaigned and won the part of the mistress who stole Norma Shearer's character's husband. After the movie was made, a publicity photo shoot was scheduled. Neither woman wanted to be the first to show up. Both ladies told their respective chauffeurs to drive around the block until the other got out first.

After a few laps Howard Strickling (MGM's publicity chief) went out into the middle of the street and stopped the limos, telling both ladies to get out. Norma walked in first while Strickling held Joan from trying to squeeze in too.

Answer: Bern committed suicide

Paul Bern's body was found in his wife's all white bedroom on September 5, 1932. He was lying nude in front of a full-length mirror shot through the head with a .38 caliber pistol which was found still clutched in his hand. A suicide note written to his wife was found on a vanity table. MGM's publicity chief, Howard Strickling, was the first person called.

In those days in MGM, it was customary to call Strickling before calling authorities. That way he could take care of anything that might cause embarrassment to the stars or more importantly, the studio.

When the police were called two and half hours later they investigated a 'cleaned up' crime scene. There are still questions to this day as to what really happened.

Answer: Hedy Lamarr

In 1933 Hedy married wealthy industrialist Fritz Mandl. "Extase" was released in the United States as "Ecstasy" shortly after the wedding. Fritz made an attempt to buy every print of the film. When word got out that he was paying top dollar for these prints, more were made and dubbed in every language.

Hedy's view was, "I don't know why censors banned it. Men look at women all the time and undress them with their eyes."

Answer: Judy Garland

Artie was married eight times. He described marriage as one way to get a girl into bed. Judy was madly in love with Artie and claimed he broke her heart when he eloped with Lana Turner. Artie admitted Judy had a crush on him but claimed he did not take advantage of her in any way. To pacify herself she started dating Artie's good friend composer David Rose, eventually going on to marry him for a brief time.

Answer: Jeanette MacDonald

When Jeanette was with Paramount, Mayer fell in love with her both personally and professionally. She eventually signed with MGM in 1933 and used his love to her advantage. It was common knowledge that she was Mayer's pet, who sat on his lap when she signed her contracts.

It was Jeanette who asked for Nelson Eddy to star opposite her in "Naughty Marietta". Mayer granted her wish, thus extending Eddy's contract with MGM. Mayer ended his intimacy with her after "Naughty Marietta", telling Jeanette "You're a superstar now." Although Mayer was jealous of Eddy he couldn't deny the fact that the MacDonald-Eddy team sold tickets at the box office.

They went on to make eight movies together.

Answer: Greta Garbo

To be immortalized in cement required a huge gala and publicity. Garbo did neither of these things preferring her privacy instead. Jeanette MacDonald still has one of the smallest set of adult footprints - measuring 6 and half inches. Sid Grauman built the theater and was considered the "inventor" of grand movie premieres.

In 1927 he came up with the idea of immortalizing the stars in cement. The first people to leave their marks were Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and Norma Talmadge.

Answer: Jean Harlow

Modesty was not in Harlow's vocabulary. There were many stories about her wild ways on the set. Once while shooting a slapstick comedy, the scene required that her dress be yanked off. She was known to never wear anything under her clothes so there she stood stark naked and not embarrassed in the slightest. During the shooting of "Red-Headed Woman", the scene required her to remove her coat.

When the clapper board boy forgot to give the 'cut' signal, she continued to remove her shirt and there she stood nude from the waist up.

Her response was "Nobody said cut". While shooting the scene in "Red Dust" where she takes a bath in a rain barrel, Jean was completely naked. She took great pleasure in standing up when the cameras weren't rolling.

Answer: Ava Gardner

In 1958 Ava was considering a role about Conchita Cintron - a famous lady bullfighter. She was on a horse in the ring when it reared and threw her off. As she was trying to get to her feet, the bull charged and struck her in the left cheek. British plastic surgeon Sir Archibald McIndoe diagnosed it as a blood clot and recommended heat and massage treatments.

It left a tiny mark which convinced Ava that she would never be the 'beautiful Ava Gardner' again.

Answer: Lana Turner

Lana and Stephan Crane eloped on July 17, 1942. In November, Crane admitted that his divorce from his previous wife was not final. Lana threw him out of the house and changed the locks. L.B. Mayer encouraged her to forget about the whole incident, but, by that time Lana was pregnant with Stephan's child. To save the embarrassment of a scandal, the couple were married again in Tijuana on March 15, 1943. Lana 'prematurely' gave birth to Cheryl Christina Crane on July 25.

The same daughter who would eventually go on to kill one of her mother's boyfriends.