He was perhaps the most famous international star of the 1930s (see above). After the World War II years in occupied France his film career seemed over. Then, in the 1950s, he returned as popular as ever (see below).
Make no mistake, though. Despite that amiable Gallic facade Maurice Chevalier exhibited throughout his Hollywood career, he weathered more than his share of tough times, some of which his critics said were of his own making.
Ok, let’s get to our quiz. As usual, we’ll publish answers tomorrow.
1) Question — Which actress summed up (for some) Chevalier’s career when she said to him that “I’ll admit you’re very funny but not terrific …not colossal?” a) Leslie Caron; b) Jeanette MacDonald; c) Audrey Hepburn; or d) Joan Crawford.
2) Question — Before he even set foot in Hollywood, Chevalier was noted for his exceptional athletic skills. Which feat most cemented his sporting reputation? a) his long-distance running records; b) the swordsmanship displayed in early vaudeville performances; c) his accomplishments as an acrobat; or d) his role as boxing champ Georges Carpentier’s sparring partner.
3) Question — Early in his career, Chevalier turned himself into the main attraction at a renowned Parisian tourist stop. Was it a) the Paris Opera; b) La Tour d’Argent; c) the Folies Bergere; or d) the Olympia Music Hall?
4) Question — Chevalier and frequent costar Jeanette MacDonald generated romantic sparks offscreen as well as on. a) True or b) false?
5) Question: Contemporary political correctness looks askance at Chevalier’s rendition of a song from Vincente Minnelli’s 1958 classic, Gigi. Can you name the song and explain why it could be considered “offensive?”
6) Question — In 1942, during the German occupation of France, Chevalier discovered that his name appeared on a Free French list of “prominent collaborators who deserved death.” a) True or b) false?
7) Question — Chevalier paid off well-connected friends to get himself exonerated of Nazi collaboration charges. a) True or b) false.
8) Question — Which one of these actress did NOT costar with Chevalier in a movie made during his successful return to Hollywood? a) Deborah Kerr; b) Shirley MacLaine; c) Mamie Van Doren; d) Hayley Mills; or e) Sophia Loren?
9) Question: How old was Chevalier when his first foray into Hollywood began? How old was he when his Hollywood comeback began? a) 41 and 69; b) 15 and 55; c) 25 and 72; or d) 19 and 45?
10) Question: Was Chevalier forced to make propaganda films for the Germans in World War II? a) Yes or b) no.
I don’t usually weigh in on quiz answers unless I know the answers without checking IMDB or some other source. On the other hand, the answers I do know are usually almost self-evident. In future I will try to take a stab at the quizzes and let the chips fall where they may. At least I think I will.
But not today. The one I do know is #5. “Thank Heaven For Little Girls.” Enough said.
And #4, Jeanette MacDonald? Romantic sparks? Really? I guess I’m enough younger than her peak demographic to have not “gotten her”, at all.
MAURICE CHEVALIER… If Anyone Cares enough to REALLY know!
1) Guessing B
2) C
3) C
4) B
5) Thank Heaven For Little Girls… Regarded by the PC mafia today as linked to pedophilia.
6) A
7) B
8) C
9) A
10) B
Censors viewing THE MERRY WIDOW (1934) were horrified by the suggestion that Maxim’s was little more than a glorified brothel, and they reached the brilliant conclusion that this harmless operetta was riddled with filth. In a scene where Danilo carries Sofia to a couch, drops her there, and then sits beside her, these guardians of society’s morality only passed the scene after both stars had somehow contorted their bodies enough to get both their feet planted firmly on the floor! The two stars, by the way, did not get along at all. Maurice Chevalier called Jeanette MacDonald ‘a prude’ and she referred to him as ‘a bottom pincher’.
Which he was.
In the biography Thank Heaven For Little Girls, author Edward Behr says Chevalier was prone to depression and claimed his mother was the only woman he loved.
Behr says that Chevalier tried to commit suicide in March 1971 and damaged his health so badly that he died less than a year later.
But seeing as today’s quiz features a good deal on Maurice Chevalier’s WWII period…
And if anyone reads what I write here, I suggest you go back to Joe & Frank’s article on Chevalier from November 28, 2011.
Sadly, as is so typical, nobody COMMENTED on what they wrote.
With that article in mind though, see another side of the Chevalier WWII story from Oxford music scholar and writer Daisy Fancourt…
https://holocaustmusic.ort.org/resistance-and-exile/french-resistance/maurice-chevalier/
Interesting info, Graham. I will travel back in time to 2011.
The production code stuff is always entertaining, frequently hilarious, but also, of course, sad. I have to/care to believe that some people thought the restrictions were ludicrous even st the time.