Great Comedy Films of the 1950s Quiz

Answer: Born Yesterday

Actress Judy Holliday treated Broadway audiences with her portrayal of Billie Dawn in Garson Kanin's 1946 play. The 1950 film version earned her a Best Actress Award. Broderick Crawford played Harry Brock who hires William Holden as Paul Verrall to brush the rough edges off Billie. It turns out that Billie is cleverer than anyone suspected and under Verrall's tutorage blossoms into a well rounded astute woman. She sees through Brock's transparent aims.

Holliday is most remembered for this role and also for her last film "Bells Are Ringing" (1960), a role she also played on Broadway.

In the gin rummy game, Billie is compulsive about preparing the playing space, constantly reshuffles her cards, picks up every discard, lays down her hand, and says one word - gin.

When Billie meets Paul, she is not sure of his purpose, so she asks him, "Are you one of these talkers or would you be interested in a little action?"

Rotten Tomatoes maintains a 95% rating for "Born Yesterday".

Answer: Father's Little Dividend

Film sequels seldom measure up to the original but according to Rotten Tomatoes in this case "Father of the Bride" scored 93% but "Father's Little Dividend" received a rare 100%. Tracy was nominated for an Oscar.

The film deals with the comic possibilities of pregnancy, the hectic delivery, and the adjustments to the new infant. However, it also deals with the prospect of becoming a grandfather and the aspect of one's own mortality. Plus the child cries whenever his grandfather is around and chaos ensues when he loses the baby in the park.

Answer: Harvey

Elwood P. Dowd is a middle-aged eccentric whose best friend is an invisible rabbit named Harvey. Actually, Harvey is a pooka, a creature from Norse mythology, patron of the lonely. Dowd is so agreeable and convincing that others concede that Harvey may be real. Dowd is known to drink a lot and servers are always careful to make a drink for Harvey.

Josephine Hull won Best Supporting Actress Award as Dowd's befuddled sister Veda. She believes that Elwood is being over-influenced by Harvey and wants Elwood committed to a mental institution. However, she learns that if they 'cure' Elwood, he will only be an ordinary person. Confused with her brother, Harvey, and her inability to explain herself, she is held for observation while Elwood and Harvey leave for a drink. Stewart, who was nominated for his role, said that Hull had the more difficult part.

Answer: Marilyn Monroe, Betty Grable, Lauren Bacall

As part of the plan they rent a luxury apartment and pose as wealthy women. As a romantic comedy, there are a lot of snappy dialogue and a bundle of misunderstandings. Pola (Monroe) is quite near-sighted and ends up with Freddie Denmark (David Wayne) who is half a step ahead of the tax man. Loco (Grable) is the 'dumb blonde' who goes for a weekend with Fred Clark but finds he is not rich but she falls for a forest ranger (Rory Calhoun). Schatze (Bacall) becomes interested in William Powell but can't go through the wedding as she confesses her love for Tom (Cameron Mitchell). By mutual consent the wedding is called off. Then Tom casually mentions that he is worth 200 million dollars.

Grable, most noted for her long string of song and dance musicals, gets a chance to play 'the dumb blonde'. Monroe lends an aura of sexuality and is challenged to play the near-sighted Pola. Bacall, most noted for her dramatic roles, gives a solid comic performance.

Although you will laugh often, the plot will leave your head in about 15 minutes. But crowds came to see it. It was the first film to be released in Cinemascope, a new filming technique in 1953.

Answer: Marilyn's skirt lifted by a gust of air

The seven-year itch is an informal psychological term that a relationship declines after year seven of a marriage. It may overlap or be related to midlife crisis. Such as this Richard Sherman (Tom Ewell) must cope, especially when 'The Girl' (Marilyn Monroe) moves in upstairs.

The movie adaptation was greatly watered down from the Broadway stage play due to censorship issues. Rather than depict an adulterous affair, fantasy scenes were inserted, thus preserving Ewell's faithfulness to his marriage.

Monroe's iconic poster is still a best seller, marketing for about twelve dollars.

Answer: Reluctant

As the Reluctant plows its dreary way, Mr. Roberts (Henry Fonda) does not feel he is doing his duty as he wants to be in a combat zone but his requests are sent to headquarters but are not approved by Captain Morton (James Cagney) because he realizes that Roberts is the only officer aboard that has the respect of the crew. The Captain spends most of his time in his cabin and worries about his potted palm. Ensign Pulver (Jack Lemmon) spends much of his time hiding from the Captain. The ship's doctor (William Powell) occupies himself in distilling scotch. Lemmon won a Supporting Actor Oscar for his role. This was something of a comeback role for Fonda. It was William Powell's last film.

John Ford was appointed director. He told James Cagney that they were going to "tangle asses" on set and they did. After Ford punched Fonda in the face after an argument on set, Ford was fired. Mervyn LeRoy took over the major directorship and tried to film each scene as Ford might have.

Answer: Rosalind Russell

Auntie Mame makes room in her life for Patrick, an orphaned nephew and teaches him the essentials of life such as how to mix a martini. Between her many husbands and the people around her, she instills a love of life. But his trustee, Mr. Dwight Babcock (Fred Clark), feels that Mame is not a good guardian and works to restrict the influence Mame may have on Patrick. In the stock market crash of 1929, Mame loses her fortune and goes to work with comic results. She re-marries in time to prevent the now grown-up Patrick from marrying an anti-Semitic fortune hunter.

Rosalind Russell played Hildy Johnson "His Girl Friday" (1940), as well as Mother Rose in "Gypsy" (1962). She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress four times.

The film was nominated for six Oscars but won none. The most deserving was Peggy Cass as Agnes Gooch, a pregnant young woman that Mame befriends. However, it was the highest grossing film of 1959.

Answer: "Well, nobody's perfect."

Lemmon and Curtis join an all-girl band capitalizing on their musical skills. When they met Marilyn Monroe as Sugar "Kane" Kowalczyk, a ukulele player and singer, their heterosexual hormones drop into place. Curtis reverts to dressing like a man to woo Sugar. The film has many sexual innuendoes that would make Mae West envious. In the 1950s as more films had adult themes, this film is regarded as the final nail in the coffin of the censorship Hays Office.

The film was nominated for six Academy Awards but won only for Costume Design. However, the American Film Institute in 2000 named it the best comedy film of the century. Marilyn Monroe at the time was addicted to drugs and could not remember her lines. Legend has it that it took 47 takes for her to deliver three words - "It's me, Sugar". She kept saying either "Sugar, it's me" or "It's Sugar, me".

Answer: Doris Day - teacher; Clark Gable - pet

Gable plays James Gannon, a successful but self-taught journalist. He receives an invitation to address a college journalism class that he declines with a nasty letter. His boss urges him to go anyway. He arrives late just in time to hear Erica Stone, (Doris Day) read his bombastic letter to the laughs of the class. He sits down for the rest of the period. Stone, believing that Gannon is a new pupil, welcomes him. Gannon begins to attend the class regularly and Stone is amazed how well he has taken to journalism. A romance develops and Gannon perceives Hugo Pine (Gig Young) as a rival for Erica Stone's affection. When Erica recognizes the deception, the relationship must be repaired.

Gig Young was nominated for Best Supporting Actor and Fay and Michael Kanin for screenplay. This film relies on dialogue and situation rather than prat falls, the type of sophisticated comedy that Doris Day mastered.

Answer: Transition from silent and sound films

Hollywood is in turmoil as actors and allied movie personnel are in danger of their careers unless they can adjust to the new technology of sound. Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen) is one such actress as she has an irritating screeching voice that will not do well in movie theaters so Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds) is hired to dub over Lamont's lines.

Don Lockwood, who has been typecast as a swashbuckling hero in silent films to make a career change as a song and dance man along with his best friend Cosmo (Donald O'Connor). Lockwood convinces the producers the change the current production "The Dueling Cavalier" into a musical.

Some of the humor is based on misplaced microphones and voices that are not recorded or come from unexpected sources. Gene Kelly performs his famous "Singin' in the Rain" dance and Donald O'Connor ends his "Make 'Em Laugh" dance by dancing through a wall. Jean Hagen was nominated for Best Supporting Actress as was the musical score.