The Sound of Music (1965)

A woman leaves an Austrian convent to become a governess to the children of a Naval officer widower.

Director:

Robert Wise

Writers:

Howard Lindsay (book), Russel Crouse (book),

Stars:

Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Eleanor Parker

Won 5 Oscars. Another 12 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Julie Andrews	...	Maria
Christopher Plummer	...	Captain Von Trapp
Eleanor Parker	...	The Baroness
Richard Haydn	...	Max Detweiler
Peggy Wood	...	Mother Abbess
Charmian Carr	...	Liesl
Heather Menzies-Urich	...	Louisa (as Heather Menzies)
Nicholas Hammond	...	Friedrich
Duane Chase	...	Kurt
Angela Cartwright	...	Brigitta
Debbie Turner	...	Marta
Kym Karath	...	Gretl
Anna Lee	...	Sister Margaretta
Portia Nelson	...	Sister Berthe
Ben Wright	...	Herr Zeller

Storyline

In 1930's Austria, a young woman named Maria is failing miserably in her attempts to become a nun. When the Navy captain Georg Von Trapp writes to the convent asking for a governess that can handle his seven mischievous children, Maria is given the job. The Captain's wife is dead, and he is often away, and runs the household as strictly as he does the ships he sails on. The children are unhappy and resentful of the governesses that their father keeps hiring, and have managed to run each of them off one by one. When Maria arrives, she is initially met with the same hostility, but her kindness, understanding, and sense of fun soon draws them to her and brings some much-needed joy into all their lives -- including the Captain's. Eventually he and Maria find themselves falling in love, even though Georg is already engaged to a Baroness and Maria is still a postulant. The romance makes them both start questioning the decisions they have made. Their personal conflicts soon become ...

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Plot Keywords:

children | governess | austria | love | nun | 

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Taglines:

The Happiest Sound In All The World!

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Family | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 March 1965 (UK)

Also Known As:

Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music

Filming Locations:

Schloss Leopoldskron, Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria

Box Office

Budget:

$8,200,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$163,214,286 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Robert Wise Productions, Argyle Enterprises

Technical Specs

Runtime:

174 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Mono (Westrex Recording System) (35 mm prints) Stereo (some 35 mm prints) DTS 70 mm (70mm re-release)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

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.

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Goofs

The Captain and Maria return to Salzburg early from their honeymoon when they hear about the annexation of Austria to Germany. They pull up to their home, and the Captain quickly tears up a Nazi flag that has been displayed there. It is clearly warm and there are leaves on the trees - late spring or summer. The annexation of Austria took place on 13 March 1938, and it would therefore have been colder, grayer, and there would not have been any leaves on the trees.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Maria: [singing] The hills are alive with the sound of music / With songs they have sung for a thousand years. / The hills fill my heart with the sound of music. / My heart wants to sing every song it hears.

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Crazy Credits

The 20th Century Fox logo is played in complete silence.

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Connections

Spoofed in American Dad!: American Dream Factory (2007)

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Soundtracks

"I Have Confidence"
(1965) (uncredited)
Played during the opening credits
Music and Lyrics by Richard Rodgers
Sung by Julie Andrews while going to the Von Trapps
Played as background music

User Reviews

It just gains more and more fans every year

"The Happiest sound in all the world"? Quite possibly and easily the most famous musical film in Hollywood history. Most of us grown-ups still love it but at the same time we're also tired of seeing it over and over again (maybe that's why it's not rerun on NBC every single year anymore). Julie Andrews takes her MARY POPPINS success and adds even more to it with her delightful rendition of the role that Mary Martin originated on the Broadway stage in 1959 and ran even farther with it than Martin ever could. In my opinion, and I don't think I'm alone here, Martin was too old for the part (she was in her mid to late 40s in the stage version and Andrews was 30 when the transition came to film came around--a perfect age). As for the rest of the cast, it is just as talented: Christopher Plummer in the role he will be forever remembered for (even though he hated the part) is an achingly true Cap. Von Trapp with those "hidden talents" making subtle appearances throughout the film until blatantly bursting out into the open in the film's closing scenes; Richard Haydn makes for a comical and yet sincere "Uncle" Max, Peggy Wood is a starchy yet compassionate Reverand Mother and Charmian Carr as Liesl stands out as our perrenial favorite of the seven children. The locales are breathtaking as well (esp. the opening scenes which is probably the most beautiful aerial shot in all of film history and the cunning floral designs of the public Austrian gardens during the DO-RE-MI sequence). So let's all keep watching this most cherished of all musical films each year and never forget it's universal sentiment: to 'climb ev'ry mountain, ford ev'ry stream, follow ev'ry rainbow till you find your dream'.