50 free Easter Parade Movie trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
Easter Parade is the 1948 MGM musical that brought Fred Astaire out of retirement, gave Ann Miller her big MGM break and handed Judy Garland one of her most beloved numbers in the tramp duet 'A Couple of Swells'. This quiz has 49 free Easter Parade movie trivia questions with answers. It covers the plot (Pastini's, Juanita, the Ziegfeld audition, the bunny in the top hat), the songs Irving Berlin dug out of his trunk and the ones he wrote on the spot, the casting near-misses involving Gene Kelly, Cyd Charisse and Frank Sinatra, the Oscar it won, the number that was cut as too risqué, and the fire that means the soundtrack will never be heard in stereo. There are questions on the title song's 1933 origins too. Each answer was checked against Wikipedia's entries on the film, its songs and its stars, and every question carries a citation, so it is safe to use for an Easter family quiz or a classic-film night.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01In what year was the film Easter Parade released?
1948
It opened on June 30 and premiered in New York on July 8, becoming the year's top-grossing musical.
Q 02Which studio made Easter Parade?
MGM
It was the second-highest grossing MGM musical of the 1940s, behind only Meet Me in St. Louis.
Q 03Who directed Easter Parade?
Charles Walters
It was only Walters's second feature as director; the former Broadway dancer had made his debut with Good News months earlier.
Q 04Who produced Easter Parade for MGM?
Arthur Freed
Freed's unit made most of MGM's great musicals, from Meet Me in St. Louis to Singin' in the Rain.
Q 05Who wrote the songs in Easter Parade?
Irving Berlin
All sixteen musical numbers are his, mixing old catalogue tunes with new ones written for the film.
Q 06Which actor was originally cast opposite Judy Garland but broke his ankle before filming?
Gene Kelly
He was replaced by Fred Astaire, who had announced his retirement two years earlier and was coaxed back.
Q 07How long had Fred Astaire been retired from films when he was offered Easter Parade?
Two years
He would go on to 'retire' several more times over the following decade while making classic musicals.
Q 08What is the name of Fred Astaire's character?
Don Hewes
Hewes is a Broadway hoofer whose partner walks out on him at the top of the film.
Q 09What is the name of Judy Garland's character?
Hannah Brown
Don plucks her out of a restaurant floor show to prove he can make anyone a star.
Q 10Peter Lawford plays Don's best friend. What is the character's full name?
Jonathan Harrow III
Frank Sinatra was considered for the role before it went to Lawford.
Q 11What is the name of the dance partner, played by Ann Miller, who walks out on Don for a solo career?
Nadine Hale
The role was Ann Miller's major MGM debut after years at RKO and Columbia.
Q 12Ann Miller replaced which dancer, who withdrew after tearing ligaments in her knee?
Cyd Charisse
Charisse would get her Astaire pairing five years later in The Band Wagon.
Q 13In what year is Easter Parade set?
1912
The period setting was the reason one number was cut as too risqué.
Q 14At which restaurant does Don drown his sorrows and first spot Hannah?
Q 21Which Easter Parade screenwriter later became a bestselling thriller novelist?
Sidney Sheldon
The trio won the Writers Guild award for Best Written American Musical for the script.
Q 22Which Academy Award did Easter Parade win?
Best Original Music Score
Johnny Green and Roger Edens collected the Oscar for the scoring.
Q 23What was Easter Parade's approximate worldwide box office?
$6.8 million
It cost about $2.66 million and was the highest-grossing musical of 1948.
Pastini's
Mike the bartender there, played by Clinton Sundberg, later hears Hannah's own woes.
Q 15What dancing handicap does Hannah suffer from when Don starts training her?
Left-right confusion
Don's first attempt to remake her in Nadine's image flops, so he lets her be herself.
Q 16What exotic stage name does Don initially give Hannah?
Juanita
He buys her a new wardrobe to match, and the act bombs.
Q 17Under what name does the duo finally become a hit?
Hannah & Hewes
The billing puts her name first, a sign of how far Don's ego has come.
Q 18For which famous show do Don and Hannah audition, running into Nadine there?
The Ziegfeld Follies
Don turns the Follies down rather than share a bill with his ex-partner.
Q 19What live animal arrives among the anonymous gifts sent to Don near the end?
A bunny in a top hat
Flowers and a chocolate egg come with it, echoing the Easter presents Don bought at the start.
Q 20On which street do Don and Hannah walk in the closing Easter parade?
Fifth Avenue
He slips a diamond ring onto her left hand as they stroll.
Q 24Which Judy Garland number was cut from the film for being too risqué for its period setting?
Mr. Monotony
She sang it in a tuxedo jacket, fedora and black nylons; audiences finally saw it in That's Entertainment! III in 1994.
Q 25Why can Easter Parade's musical numbers never be remixed into stereo?
The original audio recordings burned in a fire
Only a monaural composite track survives, the same fate that befell White Christmas six years later.
Q 26Who plays François, the maître d'hôtel?
Jules Munshin
Munshin went on to be the third sailor with Kelly and Sinatra in On the Town the next year.
Q 27Which of these is Ann Miller's big solo tap number?
Shakin' the Blues Away
Studio publicists claimed she could tap 500 times a minute.
Q 28In which number do Astaire and Garland appear dressed as tramps?
A Couple of Swells
Garland kept it in her stage act for the rest of her life.
Q 29Which song had the composer originally written for the tramp scene before being asked for something funnier?
Let's Take an Old-Fashioned Walk
The replacement was reportedly written in about an hour, and became one of the film's most loved numbers.
Q 30Which number does Astaire perform in a toy shop early in the film?
Drum Crazy
He dances his way into stealing a toy bunny from a little boy.