Headlining Movie Musicals Trivia Quiz

Answer: My Fair Lady

Based on George Bernard Shaw's 1930s play "Pygmalion", in which a Cockney lass was taught to speak and act like a lady by a lonely professor, "My Fair Lady" originated as a theatre production starring Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews. Rex Harrison reprised his role as Professor Henry Higgins in the 1964 movie, though with Audrey Hepburn playing the main role of Cockney flowergirl Eliza Doolittle.

Despite Audrey Hepburn's sufficient singing abilities, her singing was dubbed in the movie by seasoned singer Marni Nixon in order to raise the pitch.

Answer: Les Misérables

Based on the 1862 novel by Victor Hugo, which followed the life of parole violator Jean Valjean from prison to revolution on the streets of Paris, "Les Misérables" has enjoyed over 25 years of success as a Broadway and London West End musical in theatres. The musical has been turned into a film a number of times, but the 2012 movie version attracted wide critical acclaim, winning three Academy Awards in 2013.

In order to play their emaciated characters in the 2013 film, Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman both undertook intense diet regimes, with Jackman even going without water for a number of days in order to ensure a sunken look to his face.

Answer: Calamity Jane

Starring Doris Day in the titular role, the 1953 film "Calamity Jane" was an early example of a film musical that spawned a stage musical, rather than the other way around. The film won an Academy Award for Best Original Song with "Secret Love", performed by Doris Day.

Based on the life of the real Martha Jane Canary (Calamity Jane), the film explores her tomboy Wild West lifestyle and her blossoming relationship with Wild Bill Hickok, though historians have yet to find any other proof of their real life relationship than Calamity Jane's own stories.

Answer: Chicago

Set in Jazz-era Chicago, Illinois, the 2002 film "Chicago" starred Catherine Zeta Jones as showgirl Velma Kelly and Renee Zellweger as housewife Roxie Hart, both murderesses. The plot follows their struggle to achieve the fame necessary to secure a not-guilty verdict for their crimes in 1920s Chicago.

The story appears to be have been based on the lives of two real-life Jazz-era murderesses, Beulah Annan and Belva Gaertner.

Answer: Grease

The 1978 smash-hit "Grease", starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John as teenagers Danny and Sandy, has not only seen worldwide success as a movie, but also a spin-off Broadway and London West End musical. The musical follows American student gang member Danny and goody-two shoes Australian exchange student Sandy, as their love blossoms despite their differing backgrounds and respective hindering friends.

It is now a well known fact that Olivia Newton-John was sewn into the trousers she wore for the final scenes of the movie, but it is a lesser known fact that the song "Hopelessly Devoted to You" was filmed long after the movie's main filming had wrapped. The producers decided that they needed a strong ballad and asked Newton-John back to film it.

Answer: Singin' in the Rain

The 1952 classic movie musical "Singin' in the Rain" portrays the transition of Hollywood in the 1930s from silent movies to talkies. Despite the film focusing on the dubbing of Jean Hagen's character, Lina Lamont by Debbie Reynolds' character, Kathy Selden, Hagen's voice was considered much richer and, as such, she actually did much of the dubbing which was attributed to the Kathy Selden character.

The famous scene, in which Gene Kelly sings the title song in the rain, was filmed whilst he was sick with a fever and the rain caused the woolen suit he was wearing to shrink.

Answer: The Sound of Music

Starring Julie Andrews as the eponymous nun-turned-governess, Maria, and Christopher Plummer as Captain Von Trapp, the 1965 movie "The Sound of Music" was based on the Rogers and Hammerstein II stage musical of the same name.

The musical itself is based on the true story of the escape of the Von Trapp Family and Maria Augusta Kutschera from early Nazi-influenced Austria in the 1930s. Although some dramatic licence was taken by the producers and director of the film, the base story of the singing family, marriage to a nun and escape to Switzerland away from the Nazis is true.

Answer: Wizard of Oz

The 1939 classic "The Wizard of Oz" was based on the 1900 Frank L. Baum children's novel "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz". Starring Judy Garland as Dorothy, a girl who is caught in a tornado in Kansas and ends up in the magical land of Oz, the film was notable at the time of its release for the advanced special effects used and transitions from sepia toned filming to early Technicolor. Dorothy's travels through Oz and her encounters with the Wicked Witch of the West, as she struggles to reach the wizard that she hopes will send her home, is one of the best known musical storylines of all time.

Filming such advanced special effects in such an early era of cinema rendered filming often dangerous. Margaret Hamilton, starring as the Wicked Witch of the West, was severely burned by the fire and smoke used to mask her exits and her stand-in, Betty Danko was seriously injured when filming the scenes of the witch riding a bike through billowing smoke. In addition, Buddy Ebsen, the original actor cast as the Tin Man, had such a severe reaction to the aluminium powder make up used to coat his body that he ended up in hospital in an iron lung, leaving his part to be recast.

Answer: Guys and Dolls

The 1955 movie "Guys and Dolls" was based on the earlier Frank Loesser stage musical of the same name. It followed a group of gamblers, led by the perpetually-engaged Nathan Detroit, in their quest to play an illegal floating craps game.

In order to stay true to the script as it was originally written, the cast used very few speech contractions (e.g. "can't" or "won't"), using fully worded sentences (e.g. "can not" or "will not"),rendering the speech unusual to most audiences' ears.

Frank Sinatra had originally wanted to play the role of Sky Masterson, but was moved into the role of Nathan Detroit in favour of a young Marlon Brando. Sinatra was largely unimpressed by Brando's vocal performances and subsequently made the Sky Masterson song "Luck Be A Lady" an integral part of his own stage show.

Answer: Mamma Mia!

Based on the songs of Swedish pop group ABBA, "Mamma Mia!" (2008) featured Amanda Seyfried as Sophie, a girl who decides to invite her father to her wedding, but ends up inviting three different men as it is unclear which is the father. Meryl Streep starred as her mother, Donna.

Pierce Brosnan, starring as potential father Sam, signed on for the film without knowing what it was, purely on the basis that Meryl Streep was involved. Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, former members of ABBA, each had a cameo appearance in the closing credits sequence.