And the Oscar Goes to... (1944) Quiz

Answer: Jack Benny

Jack Benny (1894-1974) got his start in the entertainment industry playing violin in vaudeville theatres in the Chicago area before serving in World War I, during which he got his first real taste with ad lib comedy while entertaining the other troops.

Following the war, Benny developed his comedy routines and achieved enough renown that he began working in film and radio. His radio show "The Jack Benny Program" vaulted him into stardom as it ran from 1932 until 1948.

Answer: Grauman's Chinese Theatre

Grauman's Chinese Theatre had its grand opening on May 18, 1927, along with the premiere of Cecil B. DeMille's "The King of Kings". Sid Grauman (and his business partners) had already had great success with Grauman's Egyptian Theatre (opened in 1922) and capitalized on the same business model.

The theatre has been the site of many Hollywood premiere's over the years, and has been kept up-to-date with technology, renovating to a custom-designed IMAX theatre in 2013, making it one of the largest indoor movie screens in North America.

Answer: Paul Lukas

Paul Lukas (1894-1971) was a Hungarian film and stage actor who began his career in 1916 on the stage and quickly included film work in 1917. He worked successfully in Hungary, Austria and Germany before moving to the United States (Hollywood) in 1927. His Oscar for "Watch on the Rhine" was the highlight of a long, successful career that involved the stage, the screen and radio.

Lukas actually played the role of Kurt Muller in the stage play of the same name, written by Lillian Hellman, premiering on Broadway from April 1, 1941 and running for 378 performances. Detective novelist Dashiell Hammett adapted the play for the screen and Lukas reprised the role he already knew so well. The story follows a German-born man and his family as they seek a new life in America in 1940 after spending 17 years involved fighting the rise of Nazism. But their hopes in the USA are threatened by a Romanian Count in their new circles who is a Nazi sympathizer.

Answer: Charles Coburn

Charles Coburn (1877-1961) was a quick study in the acting business, starting out as a teenager working odd jobs at the local theatre and working his way up to theatre manager in the space of a few years. He began acting on Broadway in 1901 and formed an acting company in 1905 with his soon-to-be wife and actress Ivah Wills. He didn't begin working in film until 30 years later, at the age of nearly 60 years. He would continue acting in film and also television until his death of a heart attack at the age of 84.

"The More the Merrier" is a comedy about the shortage of housing during the war, with Jean Arthur and Joel McCrea joining Coburn as three people forced to share an apartment (the men renting half the space from the woman). Benjamin Dingle (Coburn) is actually a retired millionaire (in town to help deal with the housing shortage) who rents the room from Connie Milligan (Arthur) while waiting for his hotel suite to become available, while Sgt Joe Carter (McCrea) is waiting for deployment orders, also needing temporary lodging. While living in such close quarters, they can't help but get involved in each other's lives.

Answer: The Song of Bernadette

Jennifer Jones (1919-2009) studied drama at university, but almost didn't get started in the film industry when, after only a couple of small roles in 1939, she left Hollywood for New York and the business of raising a family with her actor husband Robert Walker. But after taking a chance on an audition for a play, she was 'discovered' by film producer David O. Selznick and groomed for stardom.

"The Song of Bernadette" was Jones' third film role, and an obviously successful one as Bernadette Soubirous, who was canonized as a saint for her visions of the Virgin Mary and subsequent miracles of healing. The biographical film was based on the 1941 novel of the same name by Franz Werfel.

Jones won her Oscar on her 25th birthday. What a great present!

Answer: For Whom the Bell Tolls

Katina Paxinou (1900-73) was a Greek actress who studied for and began her career as an opera singer in 1920, and didn't actually act in a play until 1928. While acting in England at the outbreak of World War II, she was unable to return to Greece, and in 1941 she moved to the United States, instead. Her very first film role in her new country was "For Whom the Bell Tolls", and she won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. In 1950, Paxinou returned to Greece and to her stage acting career.

"For Whom the Bell Tolls" featured Gary Cooper and Ingrid Bergman in the lead roles, telling the story of American Robert Jordan's involvement in the Spanish Civil War and a mission to blow up a bridge behind enemy (fascist) lines. A local group of guerillas provides support, and within that group, Jordan meets and falls in love with Maria, played by Bergman. Katina Paxinou played the role of Pilar, wife to the guerilla leader, Pablo.

Answer: Princess O'Rourke

Norman Krasna (1909-84) got his writing start as a journalist (after dropping out of law school), and became a drama critic for a number of publications. This led to working publicity for Warner Bros. He began to delve into play writing and got hired at Columbia as a staff writer. Over the years, his skills and his reputation grew as he worked for different studios, and he expanded his skill set to include directing and producing. Prior to his Oscar win for "Princess O'Rourke" he had received nominations for "The Richest Girl in the World" (1934), "Fury" (1936), and "The Devil and Miss Jones" (1941).

In "Princess O'Rourke", Krasna writes a story about a European princess who is in New York with her uncle (played by Charles Coburn), exiled from their home country due to German occupation. When the princess travels to California under an assumed name (Mary Williams), she takes sleeping pills for the journey. But bad weather forces them to go back to New York, and the crew is unable to wake her. Not knowing what else to do, the pilot Eddie O'Rourke takes her home to sleep it off. They end up forming a relationship with O'Rourke believing she is nothing more than a refugee.

Answer: Casablanca

The Epstein brothers were originally assigned by Warner Bros. to adapt the unproduced play "Everybody Comes to Rick's", but they decided to work on a different film project for the government with Frank Capra, instead. Howard Koch began the adaptation in the meantime, until the Epsteins returned.

The original writers of "Everybody Comes to Rick's" (Murray Burnett and Joan Alison) tried to get back the rights to their play after the success of the film, taking the studio to court over it, but in the end they only got the right to produce the original play (and a whole bunch more money in the settlement). It finally saw the stage in 1991.

Answer: Michael Curtiz

Michael Curtiz (1886-1962) was a Hungarian movie director who began his career in the industry as an actor with a traveling theatre company. In 1912 he directed (and acted in) Hungary's first feature film, which began an incredibly prolific career over the next 15 years, directing more than 60 (silent) films in that time.

In 1926, Curtiz received an invitation to come work in Hollywood by Warner Bros., and his prolific work continued, but his big successes would not come until the mid-1930s, beginning with "Captain Blood". He continued directing until his death in 1962, having directed many of the best films in Hollywood and helping many actors to award-winning roles.

Answer: Casablanca

Producer Hal B. Wallis accepted the Oscar for Warner Bros. for "Casablanca", the wartime drama/romance that has become one of the best-known and well-loved classics of the era. Set in Vichy-controlled Morocco in the city of Casablanca, Rick (Humphrey Bogart) manages a night club while also providing other services as needed outside the law. Rick faces a dilemma when an old flame (Ingrid Bergman) shows up with a husband and Czech resistance leader (played by Paul Henreid). Danger, corruption, romance, and suspense combine with some classic lines and music to make one of the most memorable movies of all time.