A Medley of Musical Movies Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Wicker Man

"The Wicker Man" features an original score by Paul Giovanni that includes 13 songs performed by characters in the film. Some of these are from traditional sources, e.g. "Summer is Icumen In" is a medieval English folk song (hence the archaic spelling), and "Corn Rigs" is based on a love poem by Robert Burns.

Other songs were composed for the movie, such as the highly erotic "Willow's Song". A band called Magnet was formed for the express purpose of recording these songs for the movie.

Answer: Springtime for Hitler

The full name of the play is "Springtime for Hitler: A Gay Romp With Adolf and Eva at Berchtesgaden". The producers of this play had the idea that if they staged a financial flop they could then abscond with the investor's money. Hence, they chose a play with a deliberately offensive subject that they were sure would close after one performance.

In the 1967 version, Hitler is played by a halfwit hippy who says his lines like a beatnik, whereas in the Broadway and 2005 versions, he is played by the gay director of the play, who performs the role in the campiest manner possible, while singing the number "Heil Myself!".

When the audience sees these ludicrous portrayals of Hitler, they assume it is a hilarious satire and it becomes an inadvertent success.

Although the Broadway version was highly successful, the 2005 film received mixed reviews and was a commercial failure. "Moose Murders" is a real play that had a single performance and has been described as the worst show ever to appear on Broadway. "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" is a notorious film that spoofs B movies. I made up "Gregor the Giant Cockroach" although there is a scene in "The Producers" (1967) in which one of the characters reads the opening line of a script about a man named Gregor who turns into a giant cockroach, which is actually derived from "The Metamorphosis", a novel by Franz Kafka.

Answer: Golden Raspberry

"Can't Stop the Music" was the first ever winner of the annual Golden Raspberry or Razzie awards for Worst Picture. It was also nominated for Worst Actor and Worst Actress. The film turned out to be a financial disaster as it recouped only a tenth of its production costs at the box office, despite doing well in Australia. Since then, the film has gained a certain cult status for its campiness and has been screened at gay film festivals.

Answer: Electric Light Orchestra

The song was a hit in many countries, as was the soundtrack album. The film itself received some rather poor reviews, and along with "Can't Stop the Music" helped inspire the annual Golden Raspberry or Razzie awards for the worst films of the year. "Xanadu" won a Razzie for Worst Director and was nominated in six other "Worst" categories.

Answer: The Candy Man

In the film the song is sung by the owner of a candy store to his child customers. This scene occurs near the beginning of the film before the Golden Ticket contest is announced. When the song ends, Charlie Bucket, the protagonist of the movie, is shown looking into the store through a window, rather sadly, because he does not have any money for candy. Of course, much later in the film, he does find some money in the street, with which he buys a chocolate bar with the final winning ticket. Sammy Davis Jr did not care for this song, as he considered it too saccharine, yet it was the only No. 1 hit of his career.

Answer: The Sword of Damocles

"The Sword of Damocles" refers to an ancient Greek story in which a courtier is allowed to switch places with his King for one day, but on the condition that when sitting on the throne a sword would hang over Damocles' head suspended by only a single hair from a horse's tail. Rocky is worried that "somebody's gonna be cutting the thread". Unluckily for him, in a sense, someone does cut the thread at end of the film, as he comes to an untimely end at the hands of the treacherous Riff Raff.

Answer: Elton John

In this scene, the champ wears giant Doc Martens boots that make him stand about eight feet tall and plays a pinball machine fitted with a small piano keyboard. The Elton John version of "Pinball Wizard" seen in the film differs somewhat from the original version performed by The Who for the album version of "Tommy", as it uses a piano as the song's centerpiece rather than an acoustic guitar and features some additional lyrics. Elton's version was later released as a single that had some commercial success.

Answer: Ray Charles

Charles plays the owner of Ray's Music Exchange where the newly reunited Blue Brothers obtain their musical instruments. Charles performs "Shake a Tail Feather" in his store, accompanied by singing and dancing by the Blues Brothers. At the end of this number, when it is time for the boys to pay for their instruments, Ray pointedly says, "And as usual, I gotta take an IOU," and the boys look uncomfortable and fidget with their clothing, because of course he is right. Happily, they earn enough money from their venture to repay him later. "Shake a Tail Feather" was originally recorded in 1963 by The Five Du-Tones, has been covered many times, and featured in the film "Hairspray" among others.

Answer: Romeo and Juliet

While the Shakespeare play is based on rivalry between two noble houses, the musical presents a rivalry between two ethnic gangs, one white, the other Puerto Rican, who struggle for control of their neighborhood. The tragic outcome of the musical is also somewhat different from that of the play.

Although Tony, the male lead of "West Side Story" dies, just like his counterpart Romeo, Maria, the female lead, survives, unlike her counterpart Juliet.

Answer: The Green Fairy

The scene in "Moulin Rouge!" with the Green Fairy involves a psychedelic montage that mixes samples of "The Sound of Music" and "Children of the Revolution". The Green Fairy herself was played by Kylie Minogue. Absinthe is commonly known as "the green fairy" because of its natural green color and has had a long association with bohemian culture, as well as a reputation as a dangerous drink with psychoactive properties, e.g. causing people to hallucinate or otherwise go mad.

However, such claims are wildly exaggerated.

The only thing that makes it dangerous is its high alcohol content, so it should only be consumed in small doses (if at all) and there is hardly any more chance of having visions than with any other alcoholic drink.