The Sound of Music - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[discussimdb]

Fan of The Sound of Music or just want to share your movie knowledge? This topic is dedicated to all trivia and questions related to The Sound of Music

[sandra]

In 2015, this movie celebrated its 50th anniversary. At the 2015 Academy Awards, pop singer Lady Gaga sang a medley of this movie's songs, namely "The Sound of Music", "Edelweiss", "My Favorite Things", and "Climb Every Mountain". Dame Julie Andrews then came out and embraced Lady Gaga. It is believed that Lady Gaga did not know Andrews was there.

[jamie]

Maria Von Trapp was one of the Von Trapp Singers. She was the stepdaughter of Maria Von Trapp, Sr., on whose memoir The Sound of Music was based, and the daughter of Captain Georg Von Trapp, the patriarch of the family. She was the one who got Scarlet fever, and then Maria, Sr. was sent by the Nonnberg Convent in Salzburg to tutor her during this period, which is how Maria, Sr. met Georg and all of the other Von Trapps in the first place. (Maria, Sr. was sent to tutor Maria, Jr. She was not sent to be the family governess, like it said in this movie). Maria, Jr. was also the last surviving member of the original Von Trapp Singers, and she died on February 18, 2014.

[steve]

In the closing shot, when the family is climbing over the hills to safety, it is not really Kym Karath as Gretl on the shoulders of Captain Von Trapp. In the DVD version, it is revealed that while in Austria, Kym Karath gained a lot of weight. This was one of the last shots filmed, and so she was evidently a bit too heavy to be carried on Christopher Plummer's back. Plummer requested a stunt double and that is who's seen being carried on his back.

[carl]

Marni Nixon had become well-known in Hollywood circles as a ghost singer for the leads in several movie adaptations of hit Broadway musicals. She provided the vocals for Deborah Kerr in The King and I (1956), Natalie Wood in West Side Story (1961), and Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady (1964). This movie provided a rare on-screen performance by Marni Nixon, who played Sister Sophia. Dame Julie Andrews had previously appeared on Broadway in My Fair Lady (1964), but was passed over for the movie. The producers were wary of how Andrews would react to Nixon, because she dubbed Audrey Hepburn's vocals in a role made famous by Andrews. When Andrews first met Nixon, she exclaimed, "Marni, I'm a fan of you!", and the producers were relieved.

[morris]

The songs "I Have Confidence" and "Something Good" were written especially for this movie by Richard Rodgers, the latter song replacing "An Ordinary Couple" from the stage version. The two numbers became so popular and so integrated into the musical that most subsequent stage productions, including the 1998 Broadway revival, have felt the need to add them on (and delete "An Ordinary Couple" in the process).

[miriam]

At the beginning of filming, Heather Menzies-Urich (Louisa) was about three inches taller than Nicholas Hammond (Friedrich). He had to wear heel lifts to make him look taller. By the end of the shoot, Nicolas Hammond had grown six inches (5'3" to 5'9"). He often filmed in no shoes and Charmian Carr had to stand on a box to make her taller. All of the Von Trapp children grew a lot during filming, so heel lifts and various camera tricks were used to keep their heights steady.

[morris]

Two of the Von Trapp children are called "Liesl" and "Kurt". In The Book Thief (2013), two of the characters are called "Liesel" and "Kurt", and that was set during World War II as well.

[phyllis]

Of the seven actors and actresses that played the Von Trapp children, five were from the United States, one from Canada, and one from England.

[janice]

First movie of Christopher Plummer and Dame Julie Andrews together.

[duane]

One of two musical movies produced and directed by Robert Wise and written by Ernest Lehman that featured a main protagonist named Maria: Natalie Wood in West Side Story (1961), and Dame Julie Andrews in this movie.

[richard]

This movie's success encouraged Twentieth Century Fox to invest in a string of costly musicals. None of them, Doctor Dolittle (1967), Star! (1968), nor Hello, Dolly! (1969) turned out to be hits.

[sophie]

Christopher Plummer admitted that he found Dame Julie Andrews insufferable and annoying during filming, referring to her as Ms. Disney to other cast and crew. Later, he admitted to being immature in his feelings and that Andrews was a great actress who behaved like a true professional. The two are now good friends.

[jim]

This movie dropped three songs from the original show: "How Can Love Survive" and "No Way to Stop It", which screenwriter Ernest Lehman felt were unnecessary, and "An Ordinary Couple", which was replaced by "Something Good". Ernest Lehman was of the notion that audiences would find the Baroness sympathetic if she sang, and hence her songs ("How Can Love Survive" and "No Way to Stop It") were cut, even though the songs don't necessarily evoke sympathy. "How Can Love Survive" is a duet between Elsa and Max, where the two characters reflect on how wealthy the Baroness and the Captain are, and how difficult it is to keep romance alive amidst opulence. "No Way to Stop It" is a trio, where Elsa and Max try to convince the Captain not to oppose the Nazis, but to carry on living life as usual.

[charlie]

The production was surprised to discover that Salzburg had the world's seventh highest average rainfall. Many alternative locations had to be sourced as exterior filming was often impossible.

[tammy]

Julie Andrews performed the song "My Favorite Things" from this show on live television, on "The Garry Moore Show" Christmas show in 1961, four years before she performed it in this movie, released in 1965. It can be watched on YouTube.

[camila]

Production designer Boris Leven's design for the living room at the Benedict ranch home "Reata" in Giant (1956) was used again as the grand entry hall for the Von Trapp family home. Both used the same split staircase, proportions, scale, and mezzanine hallways. However, the color scheme, details, and decorations were different for each movie. Each were also independently constructed in different studios.

[riley]

According to producer and director Robert Wise, the grass on the hill of the opening song was supposed to be much longer than it was. The filmmakers had made an arrangement with the farmer who owned the land to leave the grass long, but when they arrived for filming, it had been cut. Wise commented that the scene turned out very well after all.

[ruby]

Joan Gearin is a noted historian and archivist who studied the real story of the Von Trapps. She uncovered testimony about one of the Von Trapp children, also named Maria, who talked about her relationship with her mother, the famous Maria Von Trapp. Maria, Jr. described Maria, Sr. as being kind of manic: she said though she was a caring and loving person, Maria, Sr. wasn't always as sweet as the fictional Maria. She tended to erupt in angry outbursts consisting of yelling, throwing things, and slamming doors. Her feelings would immediately be relieved and good humor restored, while other family members, particularly her husband, found it less easy to recover. In her 2003 interview, the younger Maria confirmed that her stepmother "had a terrible temper. And from one moment to the next, you didn't know what hit her. We were not used to this. But we took it like a thunderstorm that would pass, because the next minute, she could be very nice."

[marc]

This is Rodgers and Hammerstein's last musical. Oscar Hammerstein had already been diagnosed with cancer when he and Richard Rodgers began working on a new musical based on Maria von Trapp's memoirs.