The Music of Harry Warren Trivia Quiz

Answer: Gold Diggers of 1935

"Lullaby of Broadway" was in "Gold Diggers of 1935", one of the great Busby Berkeley musicals. The film stars Dick Powell, Gloria Stuart and Adolphe Menjou. "Lullaby of Broadway" is a actually a film within the film, featuring Wini Shaw as a Broadway singer. Berkeley stated it was his favorite sequence from any of his films. Warren wrote the music and Al Dubin wrote the lyrics to "Lullaby of Broadway".

"Lovely to Look At" by Jerome Kern was nominated for "Roberta" (1934), and "Top Hat" (1934), the Fred Astaire - Ginger Rogers musical, was nominated for "Check to Cheek" by Irving Berlin. "Broadway Melody of 1936" was nominated for Best Picture, but none of its songs were nominated.

Warren was born in Brooklyn on December 24, 1893 as Salvatore Anthony Guaranga. His father Americanized the family name to Warren when Harry was a child.

Answer: Hello, Frisco, Hello

"You'll Never Know" appears in "Hello, Frisco, Hello" (1943). Warren wrote the music and Mack Gordon wrote the lyrics for the film. Alice Faye sang "You'll Never Know" in the movie, and later in her career it became her signature song. The film covers a vaudeville troupe in 1915 San Francisco. Along with Faye, the film starred John Payne, Jack Oakie and Lynn Bari.

"Hit Parade of 1943" was nominated for "Change of Heart". "Stage Door Canteen" was nominated for "We Musn't Say Goodbye" which was written by Al Dubin. And "Star Spangled Rhythm" was nominated for "That Old Black Magic" by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer.

Warren, a native New Yorker, got his start in Tin Pan Alley, but decided Hollywood offered brighter pastures and moved to Los Angeles in 1932.

Answer: On the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe

"The Harvey Girls" stars Judy Garland as a young women heading west who encounters a group of young women starting a Harvey House restaurant. She is teamed up with "Wizard of Oz" castmate Ray Bolger. The cast includes Angela Lansbury, Virginia O'Brien and Cyd Charisse.

"On the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe" was the song that won the Oscar for Warren and Johnny Mercer. Warren and Mercer wrote all the songs for the film.

Warner worked for Warner Brothers from 1932 to 1938, working on dozens of musicals at the height of the Golden Age of Musicals. He later worked for 20th Century Fox, MGM and Paramount.

Answer: The Caddy (1953)

"That's Amore" was sung by Dean Martin in "The Caddy" (1953), and it would go on to become Martin's signature song. Jerry Lewis hired Warren and Jack Brooks to write songs for the film so that his partner Martin could show off his singing talents. The song was nominated for an Academy Award but lost to "Secret Love" from "Calamity Jane" (1953).

"The Caddy" features Lewis in the title role, and Martin as the golfer who Lewis trains. Their conflict on the golf course causes them to be kicked off the tour and they wind up becoming entertainers.

"That's Amore" is notable for its use in the 1954 Hitchcock thriller "Rear Window" and in the 1997 romantic comedy "Moonstruck".

Warren wrote some of the most popular music of the 20th century. Twenty one of his songs reached number one on the radio program "Your Hit Parade" and another 20 were in the top ten.

Answer: Chattanooga Choo Choo

"Sun Valley Serenade" stars Olympic ice skating Sonja Henie as, surprise, a figure skater. The film is notable for the appearance of Glenn Miller and his Orchestra, which appeared in only two films before the band leader's untimely death. It is set at the Sun Valley Lodge in Idaho, a real ski resort.

Warren teamed up with Mack Gordon, a frequent collaborator, to write the music for "Sun Valley Serenade" (1941). "Chattanooga Choo Choo" was nominated for an Oscar, but lost to "The Last Time I Saw Paris" by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein.

"Chattanooga Choo Choo" was recorded by Glenn Miller, and became the first song ever to receive a gold record for one million sales.

Lawrence Welk devoted three episodes of his show to specials featuring Warren's music. There have been multiple albums and television specials devoted to Warren as well.

Answer: Going Places

Harry Warren and Johnny Mercer wrote "Jeepers Creepers" for "Going Places", a musical comedy starring Dick Powell and Anita Louise. Powell pretends to be a jockey, and gets in over his head. Laughter and songs ensue. Ronald Reagan also appears in the film.

Warren and Johnny Mercer were nominated for Best Song, but lost to Bob Hope's theme song "Thanks for the Memories" which appeared in "The Big Broadcast of 1938".

"That Certain Age" is a musical starring Deanna Durbin and Melvyn Douglas. It was nominated for "My Own" by Harold Adamson, another of Warren's collaborators.

"Carefree" (1938), the Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers musical, was nominated for the song "Change Partners" by Irving Berlin.

Fans of Warner Brothers cartoons are familiar with Warren's work, especially "We're in the Money". His works appears in dozens of cartoons.

Answer: Dick Powell

Warren once again teamed up with Al Dubin to provide the songs for "Dames" (1934). The film is about a rich prude (Hugh Herbert) who sees New York City and especially Broadway as a center of debauchery. He attempts to shut down a show starring Dick Powell and Ruby Keller. Joan Blondell plays a showgirl who is able to successfully blackmail Keeler's father (Guy Kibbee) into backing their show financially. Along with "I Only Have Eyes for You" the film includes "Shuffle Off to Buffalo" and "The Girl at the Ironing Board".

The song is performed twice in "Dames" (1934). Powell sings it to Ruby Keeler aboard a ferry and it is later in a production number performed by Powell and Keeler. "Dames" is one of several films where Warren worked with choreographer Busby Berkeley.

In 1989, "I Only Have Years For You" won an ASCAP Award as the Most Performed Feature Film Standard.

Answer: Diamond Horseshoe

"Diamond Horseshoe" featured Dick Haymes as a medical student who dreams of being a singer, and Betty Grable is a showgirl who is supposed to distract him.

Warren teamed up with Mack Gordon to write the songs for "Diamond Horseshoe". Other songs in the film include "In Acapulco", "I Wish I Knew", "I've Got a Gal in Kalamazoo" and "Chattanooga Choo Choo".

"Tonight and Every Night" (1945) was nominated for "Anywhere" by Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn. The team was also nominated for the Gene Kelly - Frank Sinatra musical comedy "Anchors Aweigh" (1945). Jerome Kern and Yip Yarberg were nominated for the Deanna Durbin western musical "Can't Help Singing" (1945).

The music of Warren is ubiquitous in television history. It has appeared on shows ranging from "The Twilight Zone" to "MASH" to "The Simpsons".

Answer: Lynn Bari

Eberle was a member of Miller's band. Lynn Bari played Jaynie Stevens, the vocalist for the band. They sing the song together.

Carole Landis was Natalie Mercer. Ann Rutherford was Connie Ward, who impulsively marries the band's trumpeter (George Montgomery), and Mary Beth Hughes was Caroline Steele. For fans of "M*A*S*H", Harry Morgan has a small role in the film. It also has Cesar Romero playing the piano.

While Warren and Mack Gordon wrote "At Last" for "Sun Valley Serenade" and John Payne and Pat Friday did record a version of the song, it was not used in the final film. Several instrumental versions of the song can be heard in the film. The song would also appear as a full ballad in the Glenn Miller film "Orchestra Wives" (1942).

"At Last" was a big hit for Glenn Miller in 1942 and there were several covers in the 1940s. Nat King Cole covered it in 1957, but it was Etta James doing an arrangement by Riley Hampton that would make the song immortal. Her version of the song reach reached #2 on the R&B Charts. Since 1961, dozens of artists have done covers of the song.

Two of the more notable are Celine Dion, who recorded it in 2002 and Beyonce Knowles, who performed the song as Etta James in the 2008 film "Cadillac Records". Beyonce won a Grammy for her performance of the song; she also performed it at Barack Obama's inaugural ball in 2009. Christina Aguilera, a big fan of James, regularly performs "At Last" at concerts.

Warren would continue writing music for films in the 1960s and 1970s, but was not nearly as successful as he had been in the 1930s and 1940s. His last Oscar nomination was for the romantic comedy "An Affair to Remember" (1957). The songwriter died in September 1981.

Answer: Forty Second Street

Warren and Al Dubin wrote the songs for the 1933 musical "42nd Street". It stars Warner Baxter as an aging director putting on his last show. Bebe Daniels plays the star of the show. The film is notable as the film debut of Ruby Keeler, and an important early role for Ginger Rogers. It is also notable for the choreography of Busby Berkeley. "42nd Street" was so successful it helped save musicals as a genre.

In New York City, Forty-Second Street lies at the heart of Manhattan. It is where Times Square, Grand Central Station, the Public Library and the Port Authority are located. It is also the southern edge of the theater district known as Broadway.

The film about a Broadway musical was converted into a Broadway musical itself in 1980. It won the Tony Award for Best Musical. The original Broadway cast starred Jerry Orbach and Tammy Grimes. The show is a celebration of the songs of Harry Warren and his collaborators Al Dubin and Johnny Mercer.

Thirty Fourth Street is where you go to find miracles. Wall Street is where you go to search for greedy people. Fifth Avenue is where to go to find tourists; it contains Museum Row and the Empire State Building.