There's No Business Like Show Business - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[charlie]

The Red Circle 1970

Master thief Corey is fresh out of prison. But instead of toeing the line of law-abiding freedom he finds his steps leading back to the shadowy world of crime crossing those of a notorious escapee and alcoholic ex-cop. As the unlikely trio plots a ...

The Red Circle features neo noir, tense, bleak, stylized and atmospheric style.

[aaron]

Training Day 2001

On his first day on the job as a narcotics officer a rookie cop works with a rogue detective who isnt what he appears.

Training Day features tense, realistic, neo noir, harsh and twists and turns style.

[terry]

The scene where Vicky Parker (played by Marilyn Monroe) argues with her producer over the gown that she will wear in the Broadway show was based on a real-life dispute between Monroe and director Walter Lang. Monroe didn't like the gowns that Miles White had designed for her to wear in this film, and insisted that costume designer Travilla should design new costumes for her.

[tom]

Ethel Merman and Donald O'Connor had previously co-starred in "Call Me Madam (1953)," also directed by Walter Lang and featuring a musical score by Irving Berlin.

[sophie]

Ethel Merman had no objection when Marilyn Monroe was added to the cast, telling a friend, "Hell, she's the one we need to sell the picture." However, Merman chafed at Monroe's lack of professionalism, including her constant tardiness and her over-reliance on her acting coach, Natasha Lytess, instead of director Walter Lang. Mitzi Gaynor, who played Merman's daughter in the film, found ways to break the tension. "Whenever Marilyn wouldn't come out of her dressing room, I gave Ethel a wink, hinting that something naughty was going on in there. Of course that wasn't true, but if Ethel thought maybe some hanky-panky was going on, she could enjoy the situation."

[michele]

Marilyn Monroe demanded, and got, an increase in pay to $3,000 a week for this film.

[amber]

The song "When the Midnight Choo-Choo Leaves for Alabam'," sung by Ethel Merman and Dan Dailey in Irving Berlin's There's No Business Like Show Business (1954), was previously rendered by Judy Garland and Fred Astaire in Easter Parade (1948). In 1950, Judy Garland had started to film (but didn't complete) Annie Get Your Gun (1950) as Annie Oakley, the role that Ethel Merman had originated on Broadway in 1946.

[carl]

One day, Marilyn Monroe's husband, Joe DiMaggio, visited the set. He refused to be photographed with Monroe, but insisted on being photographed with Ethel Merman, whom he called "my favorite star."

[javier]

At the time he made this film, Donald O'Connor had recently concluded a short-term contract at M-G-M and had not yet signed with another studio. Francis (1950), in which he and his co-star, a talking mule voiced by Chill Wills, had proved to be a big box office hit several years earlier and, with a franchise on the horizon, O'Connor returned to his first home studio, Universal, where he would eventually make five more Francis films while simultaneously focusing on building a variety career on television.

[veronica]

During the filming of the scene where Donald O'Connor and Marilyn Monroe were kissing, there were over 1,000 onlookers who had drifted over from other sets.

[jessica]

Lamar Trotti received a posthumous Oscar nomination for Best Original Story. He died of a heart attack in 1952, two years before this movie was released.

[edgar]

The film grossed $5,100,000 at the box office and ranked as the 13th most popular film of 1954.

[eli]

Merle Oberon visited Marilyn Monroe on set during the making of the film.

[bryan]

Johnnie Ray, who plays the older son Steve, was a popular singing star of the early 1950's, and had recently had a chart-topping hit with his version of "Cry." According to screenwriters Henry Ephron and Phoebe Ephron, 20th Century Fox hired Ray for this film, hoping that the singer could duplicate the success of Frank Sinatra, and become a major movie star. Then they discovered that, unlike Sinatra, Ray couldn't dance or act! The studio's solution was to have the Ephrons rewrite the film so that Steve Donahue leaves the family act early on to become a priest, as a way to "get [Ray] off-screen as quickly as possible." Movie-goers did not respond well to Ray's acting debut, and this remains the one and only major film in which he ever appeared.

[Svetapennob]

Thief 1981

Frank is an expert professional safecracker specialized in high-profile diamond heists. He plans to use his ill-gotten income to retire from crime and build a nice life for himself complete with a home wife and kids. To accelerate the process he ...

Thief features neo noir, atmospheric, cerebral, cult classic and retro style.

[javier]

Chaos 2005

Two cops a rookie and a grizzled vet pursue an accomplished bank robber.

Chaos features exciting, surprise ending, realistic, serious and suspenseful style.

[Brianval]

Sicario 2015

A young female FBI agent joins a secret CIA operation to take down a Mexican cartel boss a job that ends up pushing her ethical and moral values to the limit.

Sicario features suspense, realistic, serious, tense and neo noir style.

[tammy]

Contraband 2012

When his brother-in-law runs afoul of a drug lord family man Chris Farraday turns to a skill he abandoned long ago smuggling to repay the debt. But the job goes wrong and Farraday finds himself wanted by cops crooks and killers alike.

Contraband features exciting, realistic, clever, suspenseful and serious style.

[Aaronduthf]

Training Day 2001

On his first day on the job as a narcotics officer a rookie cop works with a rogue detective who isnt what he appears.

Training Day features neo noir, tense, realistic, harsh and suspense style.

[wallace]

Drive 2011

A Hollywood stunt performer who moonlights as a wheelman for criminals discovers that a contract has been put on him after a heist gone wrong.

Drive features neo noir, atmospheric, suspense, tense and serious style.