Golden Age of Hollywood – Do You Know the Musical Scores?
Music was an integral part of the movies that were produced during the Golden Age of Hollywood. Whether it was an opening song while the credits were rolling or the score for one of the extravagant, fabulous movie musicals, there were compositions that became memorable parts of the films. Check your knowledge of these songs, singers, and composers with our 10 true or false questions.
1) Clark Gable never did a song and dance number in any movie as he thought it would not be good for his image.
2) “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” sung by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz was planned to be cut from the film.
3) Ava Gardner’s singing vocals were dubbed in the Showboat film.
4) Rogers and Hammerstein had 3 musical scores that were written directly for film.
5) The first film that featured Frank Sinatra in a singing role was in the 1942 movie, Ship Ahoy.
6) The 1933 film, 42nd Street was groundbreaking for it’s musical numbers that included “Sunny Side of the Street.”
7) Max Steiner wrote the Soundtrack for the 1939 film, Gone with the Wind and it was performed by the Glenn Miller Orchestra.
8) “White Christmas” sung by Bing Crosby in the 1942 movie, Holiday Inn was written by Irving Berlin and earned him his only Academy Award.
9) “A Fine Romance” was the popular song in the movie Top Hat starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.
10) “As Time Goes By” was written for the 1942 film, Casablanca.
Answers:
1) False – In the 1939 movie, Idiot’s Delight Gable did a number with his co-star, Norma Shearer. The number is “Putting on the Ritz” written by Irving Berlin.
2) True – The MGM executives were in favor of removing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” song from The Wizard of Oz.
3) True – Gardner’s songs were dubbed by Annette Warren who was considered a gifted singer during that era.
4) False – The only original score they wrote directly for a movie was State Fair in 1945.
5) False – Sinatra appeared in a full-length film in an un-credited cameo singing performance in Las Vegas Nights with the song, “I’ll Never Smile Again” performed with Tommy Dorsey’s The Pied Pipers.
6) False – The song in 42nd Street is “Sunny Side of Every Situation.”
7) False – While Max Steiner did write the soundtrack, it was actually performed by the Warner Bros. Studio Orchestra.
8) True –Irving Berlin received other Academy Award nominations, but it was his only win.
9) False – The song is a fan-favorite from Swing Time.
10) False – “As Time Goes By” is a jazz song written by Herman Hupfeld in 1931.
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