What Do You Know About The Golden Age Of Hollywood?
Between the 1920s and the early 1960s, Hollywood experienced a “Golden Age” of creativity, innovation, and glamour. The movies were a booming business, and people flocked to theaters to see their favorite stars on the silver screen. Groundbreaking films from the era like Casablanca, Citizen Kane, and Gone with the Wind are classics today, and we still go ga-ga for Marilyn Monroe and Humphrey Bogart.
How much do you remember about the magical golden days of Hollywood? Take our quiz and find out! Let us know in the comments how you did!
What is the name of this theater?
A) Globe Theatre
B) Fox Theater
C) El Capitan Theatre
D) Grauman’s Chinese Theatre
D) Grauman’s Chinese Theatre
Grauman’s Chinese Theatre held its grand opening on May 18, 1927. The legendary director Cecil B. DeMille’s film “The King of Kings” premiered that night. Today, it is known TCL Chinese Theatre.
Which of these films catapulted Grace Kelly to fame?
A) Ben-Hur
B) Sunset Boulevard
C) Some Like It Hot
D) Mogambo
D) Mogambo
Grace Kelly first rose to fame after appearing in director John Ford’s film Mogambo alongside Clark Gable and Ava Gardner. Kelly won an Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe Award for her role in 1954.
Which iconic director is known as the “the Master of Suspense”?
A) Elia Kazan
C) John Huston
D) Frank Capra
B) Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock was one of the most groundbreaking directors in history. Upon his 1980 death, the New York Times called him “the master manipulator of menace and the macabre, and the leading specialist in suspense and shock.”
Which film was Marilyn Monroe’s biggest box office success?
A) Some Like It Hot
B) Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
C) The Seven Year Itch
D) How To Marry A Millionaire
C) The Seven Year Itch
Marilyn Monroe was the classic blonde bombshell. Despite her enduring fame, she only worked as a top-billed actress for a decade. The Seven Year Itch earned $6 million in theatres.
Which actor is best known for Singin’ in the Rain?
A) Cary Grant
B) Marlon Brando
C) Laurence Olivier
D) Gene Kelly
Which of these phrases did Humphrey Bogart say in “Casablanca”?
A) “Here’s looking at you, kid.”
B) “You got a skinny little runt named Dalton working here?”
C) “Things are never so bad they can’t be made worse.”
D) “The problem with the world is that everyone is a few drinks behind.”
A) “Here’s looking at you, kid.”
When Humphrey Bogart died of esophageal cancer in 1957, he reportedly said “Goodbye Kid. Hurry back” to wife Lauren Bacall as she left the hospital to pick up their children.
D) Gene Kelly
1952’s “Singin’ in the Rain” also starred Donald O’Connor and Debbie Reynolds. The American Film Institute lists the film as the greatest movie musical ever made. Film critic Roger Ebert said that it’s “a transcendent experience” that no movie-lover should miss.
Who is this actress?
A) Olivia De Havilland
B) Shirley MacLaine
C) Debbie Reynolds
D) Ava Gardner
A) Olivia De Havilland
Olivia De Haviland is a British-American actress with a career that spanned half a century. She starred in films such as The Adventures of Robin Hood, Gone with the Wind, The Snake Pit, To Each His Own, and The Heiress.
Which of these stars became the first black actor to win an Academy Award for Best Actor?
A) James Earl Jones
B) John Amos
C) Louis Gossett Jr
D) Sidney Poitier
D) Sidney Poitier
Sir Sidney Poitier was also the first Bahamian to win an Oscar, for his role in 1964’s “Lilies of the Field.” He was also knighted and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his contributions to the film industry and for his diplomatic service.
Which of these films did not feature Elizabeth Taylor?
A) Cleopatra
B) Key Largo
C) National Velvet
D) Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
B) Key Largo
The 1948 film noir classic “Key Largo” starred Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, as well as Lionel Barrymore in a supporting role. Warner Bros reports that the movie earned nearly $4.5 million worldwide.
Who is this actress?
A) Rita Moreno
B) Judy Garland
C) Norma Shearer
D) Audrey Hepburn
C) Norma Shearer
Viewed as a feminist pioneer for her roles as courageous and liberated women, Norma Shearer was the first actor to be nominated five times for an Academy Award. She won for best actress in 1930’s “The Divorcee.”
Which of these is not a James Stewart film?
A) Double Indemnity
B) Vertigo
C) The Philadelphia Story
D) Rear Window
A) Double Indemnity
James Stewart is one of the most beloved actors of all time. The American Film Institute lists him as the third-greatest male screen legend of the Golden Age of Hollywood. He passed away in 1997, at the age of 89.
Which actresses’ eyes inspired a 1981 hit song?
A) Marilyn Monroe
B) Joan Crawford
C) Elizabeth Taylor
D) Bette Davis
D) Bette Davis
“Bette Davis Eyes” was written by Donna Weiss and Jackie DeShannon. It was sung by vocalist Kim Carnes for the 1981 version that became Billboard’s biggest hit of the year. Bette Davis was 74 when the song was released and sent thank you notes to all three women for making her look “cool” to her grandchildren.
Who is this actor?
A) Humphrey Bogart
B) Marlon Brando
C) Paul Newman
D) Gary Cooper
D) Gary Cooper
Gary Cooper was one of the biggest stars of his times, with a career that spanned more than 30 years. He starred in 84 films during that time! In 1961 he was given an Academy Honorary Award for his body of work.
For which film did Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre first put out a red carpet for the stars to walk on?
A) Nosferatu
B) Robin Hood
C) The Gold Rush
D) The Passion of Joan Arc
B) Robin Hood
Although the concept of a “red carpet” walking path goes back to a 458 BC play, its modern use as an entertainment staple came about in 1922. Theater owner and showman Sid Grauman put down a red carpet for the premiere of “Robin Hood,” starring Douglas Fairbanks. This was the first Hollywood movie premiere.
Which movie earned Shirley MacLaine her first Academy Award nomination?
A) Rear Window
B) A Change of Seasons
C) Some Came Running
D) Some Like it Hot
C) Some Came Running
MacLaine was nominated for Best Actress in 1955. She’s been nominated six times, and won in 1983 for “Terms of Endearment.” She’s also won an Emmy Award, five Golden Globes, and the coveted Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award.
Who is this actress?
A) Bettie Page
B) Bette Davis
C) Vivienne Westwood
D) Veronica Lake
D) Veronica Lake
Veronica Lake was one of the most glamorous actresses of her time, with women around the country imitating her signature peek-a-boo hairstyle. She became famous in film noir flicks such as “The Blue Dahlia” and “This Gun For Hire.” Fun fact: she earned her pilot’s license and in 1946 she flew solo from Los Angeles to New York.
Which of these men was never married to Elizabeth Taylor?
A) Donald Sutherland
B) Michael Wilding
C) Richard Burton
D) John Warner
A) Donald Sutherland
The stunning actress Elizabeth Taylor was married eight times, which caused an absolute media frenzy. Her husbands were: Conrad Hilton Jr., Michael Wilding, Mike Todd, Eddie Fisher, Richard Burton (married twice), John Warner, and Larry Fortensky.
Which of these is the highest-ranking actor in military history?
A) Elvis Presley
C) Paul Newman
D) James Stewart
D) James Stewart
Stewart was a veteran of both World War II and the Vietnam War. He eventually became a Brigadier General in the United States Air Force Reserve. He once said, “When I got back from the war in 1946 people didn’t want the Mr. Smith kind of movie anymore, and I refused to make war pictures.”
Who played Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind?
A) Eva Marie Saint
B) Kim Novak
C) Natalie Wood
D) Vivien Leigh
D) Vivien Leigh
“Gone with the Wind” was based on Margaret Mitchell’s novel of the same title. The film was the highest-earning film to date, a record that stood for half a century. Vivien Leigh won an Oscar for her performance as Scarlett O’Hara.
Who was the first African American woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role?
A) Nina Mae McKinney
B) Josephine Baker
C) Dorothy Dandridge
D) Theresa Harris
C) Dorothy Dandridge
Dandridge received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for playing the title character in 1954’s “Carmen Jones.” She had also been nominated for a Golden Globe and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
