Movie Musicals from 1934 to 2004 Quiz

Answer: Betty Grable

Ginger Rogers, who starred with Fred Astaire, tried to have Betty Grable sacked from this film, fearing that Grable would upstage her. "The Gay Divorcee", a romantic comedy about Americans falling in love in London, was a film version of the stage play, but only kept one of Cole Porter's original sixteen songs ("Night and Day").

Answer: Your toes

It is difficult to believe that it has been over half a century since Danny Kaye sang the lines: "In Hans Christian Anderson, your feet have a loyal friend. The kind of a doctor, I'm sure, your toes would recommend." The film, a very romanticised musical biography, was also based on a broadway play, and the best songs were rewritten for Mr. Kaye.

Answer: Carousel

This film, made in 1956, was the fanciful story of a carousel barker and a mill girl falling in love, and was not as successful as its predecessor. Gordon MacRae had drinking problems on the set of the film, becoming very much like his character, the unlikeable Billy Bigelow.

Answer: Singin' in the Rain

This 1952 musical, about the difficult change from silent films to "talkies", has recently been adapted for the stage. For the title song, the director used milk to represent rain, as nothing else would show up through the camera's filters (this explains the white puddles). Gene Kelly had a fever of 103 degrees Fahrenheit at this point. He also directed the film.

Answer: Marni Nixon

The remarkably versatile Marni Nixon did a tour of America in 1999, when it was revealed that she was the voice behind the celebrities in "My Fair Lady" (Audrey Hepburn) and "The King and I" (Deborah Kerr). Miss Nixon also sang a duet with herself in "West Side Story", dubbing for both Natalie Wood and Rita Moreno.

Answer: Romeo and Juliet

The story actually goes back further than that - Shakespeare stole the idea (the romantic tragic story of a "death-marred love" between two teenagers whose parents dispute) from an ancient sonnet ("Romeus and Juliette"), which was based on a folk tale. "Tonight" is probably the most famous song from "West Side Story". It involves five tunes being sung at once in a harmonious clash.

Answer: A cockney accent

Even now, when amateur performers put on a show that involves cockney accents, the director will probably say: "Don't do a Dick Van Dyke!" Mr. Van Dyke explained later that he was concentrating on his dancing, forgetting his accent.

Answer: Truly Scrumptious

This is why there is a song in the film entitled "Truly Scrumptious". "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" is based on Ian Fleming's novel. The screenplay was by Roald Dahl, who also wrote screenplays for some James Bond films (they too were based on Fleming books).

Answer: Money

The film's best song is probably "Money Makes the World Go Round", performed in a cabaret style by Liza Minelli and Joel Grey. It is probably the film's pivotal song, as it is at this point that the leading lady (a cabaret worker, played by Liza Minelli) pursues a rich man for the money.

The "risque" songs and dance routines are brimming with hidden morals, as the story twists, covering drugs, prostitution and homosexuality in the first half alone. There is also a steady undercurrent of the conflicts in Berlin on the brink of war, and the suffering that Jews were put through.

In the end, of course, everything goes back to normal.

Answer: Moulin Rouge!

"Moulin Rouge!" is a lot like "Cabaret", in terms of the plot. That is to say it involves a cabaret performer in the 1930s and covers delicate areas. It is by no means my favorite film, but the blend of popular and original songs appeals to a lot of people.