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Classic Hollywood Musicals Trivia Quiz

Test your knowledge of some of the great Hollywood musicals, their directors and stars. With one exception, all date from the 1930s to the 1950s.

A multiple-choice quiz by Coriolanus. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
Coriolanus

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
361,428

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
943

Awards
Top 35% Quiz

Last 3 plays: Guest 70 (8/10), Guest 104 (3/10), Guest 65 (9/10).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. This musical, set mainly in Paris, was directed by Stanley Donen. It starred Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn, and the songs were by George and Ira Gershwin.
Fred Astaire played a photographer, and Audrey Hepburn the model whom he discovered working in a book shop.
What film have I just described? Hint

Funny Face

Love Me Tonight

Gigi

Cover Girl

NEXT>

Question 2 of 10

2. This musical was loosely based on Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew", with songs by Cole Porter. It was directed by George Sidney, and starred Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel and Ann Miller.
Can you name the film? Hint

You Were Never Lovelier

Kiss Me Kate

Everyone Says I Love You

One Hour with You

NEXT>

Question 3 of 10

3. Best known for his comedies, Ernst Lubitsch also directed some fondly remembered musicals, most of which starred Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald. Which of the following was not directed by him? Hint

The Smiling Lieutenant

One Hour with You

Love Me Tonight

The Merry Widow

NEXT>

Question 4 of 10

4. One of the greatest musical teams was Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, who made ten films together.
In which of the following did they not co-star? Hint

Swing Time

Easter Parade

Top Hat

The Barkleys of Broadway

NEXT>

Question 5 of 10

5. Vincente Minnelli was arguably the greatest director of musicals. Which of the following was his first film? It starred Ethel Waters, Eddie Anderson, Lena Horne and Louis Armstrong. Hint

Cabin in the Sky

Love Finds Andy Hardy

Strike Up the Band

Girl Crazy

NEXT>

Question 6 of 10

6. This musical was based on Ernst Lubitsch's "The Shop Around the Corner". It was directed by Robert Z. Leonard, and starred Judy Garland and Van Johnson. It features the first appearance of a very young Liza Minnelli.
Can you name the film? Hint

The Barkleys of Broadway

Summer Stock

In the Good Old Summertime

On the Town

NEXT>

Question 7 of 10

7. "Sawyer, you're going out there a youngster, but you've got to come back a star."
One of the most famous lines in the history of movie musicals. A Warner Brothers musical, directed by Lloyd Bacon, with choreography by Busby Berkeley. It starred Warner Baxter, Bebe Daniels, Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler.
Which ground breaking musical is this? Hint

Gold Diggers of Broadway

42nd Street

Broadway Melody

Give My Regards to Broadway

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. This film was based on a hit Broadway musical with book by Neil Simon, and songs by Cy Coleman and Dorothy Fields. It was the first film to be directed by Bob Fosse, and starred Shirley MacLaine, John McMartin, Ricardo Montalban and Chita Rivera.
Can you name the film? Hint

Lenny

Cabaret

Sweet Charity

All That Jazz

NEXT>

Question 9 of 10

9. Whose songs were featured in the musicals "Easter Parade" and "Annie Get Your Gun"? Hint

Cole Porter

Rodgers and Hart

George and Ira Gershwin

Irving Berlin

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

10. In this classic M.G.M. musical, Fred Astaire plays a movie star whose career is on the skids. He tries to revive it by starring in a Broadway musical written by his friends Oscar Levant and Nanette Fabray, and directed by Jack Buchanan. His co-star is Cyd Charisse.
My favourite M.G.M. musical. Can you name it? Hint

Show Boat

Babes on Broadway

The Band Wagon

Singin' in the Rain

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Most Recent Scores

Dec 17 2024 : Guest 70: 8/10
Dec 12 2024 : Guest 104: 3/10
Dec 08 2024 : Guest 65: 9/10
Nov 23 2024 : Guest 108: 10/10
Nov 12 2024 : Guest 24: 10/10
Oct 29 2024 : Guest 174: 10/10
Oct 24 2024 : Guest 108: 8/10

Score Distribution

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. This musical, set mainly in Paris, was directed by Stanley Donen. It starred Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn, and the songs were by George and Ira Gershwin. Fred Astaire played a photographer, and Audrey Hepburn the model whom he discovered working in a book shop. What film have I just described?

Answer: Funny Face

Audrey Hepburn, who had played the lead in the Broadway production of "Gigi", was offered the role in the film, but turned it down for the opportunity to work with Fred Astaire in "Funny Face".

Answer: Kiss Me Kate

"You Were Never Lovelier" co-starred Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth.
"One Hour with You" starred Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald, and was directed by the great Ernst Lubitsch.
"Everyone Says I Love You" is Woody Allen's only musical.
"Kiss Me Kate" is set in the world of the theatre. Howard Keel and Kathryn Grayson play Fred Graham and Lilli Vanessi, a divorced couple who are brought together to play Petruchio and Kate in a musical version of "The Taming of the Shrew".

Answer: Love Me Tonight

Although Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald starred in all four of the films, "Love Me Tonight" was directed by Rouben Mamoulian, and also starred Charlie Ruggles and Myrna Loy.
Maurice Chevalier plays a Parisian tailor who poses as a nobleman in order to woo princess Jeanette MacDonald, and also to obtain payment of the money her feckless cousin (Ruggles) owes him. Myrna Loy is delightful as Ruggles' man-hungry sister, who also has her eye on Chevalier.
The songs are by Rodgers and Hart.

4. One of the greatest musical teams was Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, who made ten films together. In which of the following did they not co-star?

Answer: Easter Parade

Gene Kelly was originally set to star in "Easter Parade" with Judy Garland, but broke his ankle shortly before filming was due to commence, and was replaced by Fred Astaire. "Easter Parade" was directed by Charles Walters, and featured music by Irving Berlin.

It also starred Peter Lawford and Ann Miller. Fred plays a dancer whose partner, Ann Miller, leaves the act in order to pursue a solo career. He then tries, unsuccessfully, to turn Judy into a carbon copy of his ex partner, before coming to realize that she is a very different person. Eventually, of course, there are happy endings all round.

5. Vincente Minnelli was arguably the greatest director of musicals. Which of the following was his first film? It starred Ethel Waters, Eddie Anderson, Lena Horne and Louis Armstrong.

Answer: Cabin in the Sky

Both "Strike Up the Band" and "Girl Crazy" were directed by Busby Berkeley, and "Love Finds Andy Hardy" was directed by George B. Seitz.
All three starred Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland.
Vincente Minnelli went on to direct some of the finest musicals to come out of the M.G.M. studios, including "Meet Me in St. Louis", "An American in Paris", "The Band Wagon" and the sublime "Gigi".

Answer: In the Good Old Summertime

"Summer Stock" was directed by Charles Walters, and starred Judy Garland and Gene Kelly. It was Judy's last film at M.G.M.
"On the Town" was co-directed by Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly. It starred Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Jules Munshin, Betty Garrett, Ann Miller and Vera-Ellen.
"The Barkleys of Broadway" was directed by Charles Walters, and starred Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers (their final film together).

7. "Sawyer, you're going out there a youngster, but you've got to come back a star." One of the most famous lines in the history of movie musicals. A Warner Brothers musical, directed by Lloyd Bacon, with choreography by Busby Berkeley. It starred Warner Baxter, Bebe Daniels, Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler. Which ground breaking musical is this?

Answer: 42nd Street

"Give My Regards to Broadway" was also directed by Lloyd Bacon, and starred Dan Dailey, Charles Winninger, Nancy Guild and Charles Ruggles.
"Gold Diggers of Broadway" (1929) was directed by Roy Del Ruth, and was the first musical to be shot in colour.
"Broadway Melody", also 1929, was the first musical to win a Best Picture Academy Award.

Answer: Sweet Charity

All four films were directed by Bob Fosse, but "Sweet Charity" was the first.
It was based on a film by Federico Fellini called "The Nights of Cabiria". In the original story, the leading female character is a prostitute, but in the musical she works in a dance hall.

9. Whose songs were featured in the musicals "Easter Parade" and "Annie Get Your Gun"?

Answer: Irving Berlin

One of the greatest song writers from the golden age of American musicals.
Although born in what is now Belarus, he is considered to be the quintessential American songwriter. His first big hit was "Alexander's Ragtime Band", and he went on to compose an estimated 1,500 songs during his career.
Other films which featured his music were "The Jazz Singer", "Holiday Inn", "White Christmas" and "There's No Business Like Show Business".
Jerome Kern once said of him, "Irving Berlin has no place in American music, he IS American music."

Answer: The Band Wagon

Vincente Minnelli was responsible for some of the finest musicals to come from the Arthur Freed unit at M.G.M. "Meet Me in St Louis", "The Band Wagon", "An American in Paris" and the sublime "Gigi" set a standard that few other directors came close to.

Source: Author Coriolanus

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor LadyCaitriona before going online.
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