The word refugees has complicated political connotations these days. Some people believe that their country should do whatever it can to help them, while others fear them or consider them a threat to their safety or livelihood. Therefore, it may come as a surprise that the entire von Trapp family were in fact Austrian refugees.
The family left the country at the beginning of the Second World War. They left their house, took a train to Switzerland and made their way to the United States from there. The movie shows a more daring and cinematic escape in which the family crosses over the Alps. Fortunately, the reality was not as exciting. The von Trapps received a warm reception on arrival and went on to work as a traveling singing company.
The Actors Really Didn’t Like Each Other
There are often stories in Hollywood about actors who have to pretend to be lovers or friends but really can’t stand each other. This was unfortunately the case between Christopher Plummer and Julie Andrews. Despite the fact that everyone else on set loved Andrews and even called her an angel, Christopher Plummer thought she was too nice and gentle. He even told the media that working with her was like, “getting hit over the head with a Valentine card.”
Plummer was also not afraid to voice his objections to the movie’s feel good quality. He has been known to refer to it as “The Sound of Mucus,” and “S&M.” Wow, does this guy also hate rainbows and kittens?
Charmian Carr Wasn’t The Best Dancer
Actress Charmain Carr played the role of Liesl. She was young and beautiful and looked elegant and graceful, but truthfully, she wasn’t a great dancer. According to reports, Carr nearly broke her ankle while filming iconic number “16 going on 17”. In the film’s original version, a bandage can be easily spotted on her ankle, but it was digitally removed in the remastered version from 2005.
The actress talks about this in the film’s commentary, saying that people are surprised that she was injured while performing a simple dance routine. Don’t worry Liesl, no one is good at everything!
The Real Maria Wasn’t Invited To The Premiere
The real Maria von Trapp was snubbed by the film’s producers! She describes the experience in one of her many memories. Maria had reached out to them asking to attend the film’s premiere and they simply replied with no. They told the woman who the movie was based on that there were no seats left.
It is unbelievable that the inspiration of the film, who actually lived through these experiences, was not invited to see the film about her own life. The producers felt that it was a waste of time and money to allocate a seat to someone who wasn’t famous and wouldn’t be photographed by the paparazzi. They invited celebrities to fill the seats instead.
Maria Was The Tough One
In the Sound of Music, the children live an overly structured, military-style life, from which they are rescued by the gentle and fun-loving Maria. She is the polar opposite of the harsh Captain von Trapp, who fills his children’s lives with endless drills and never-ending chores.
In real life, they had the exact opposite roles. Maria was in charge of the family finances and served as the director of the troupe, while the Captain mainly focused on giving encouragement. He was also not much of a stage performer and would only make a token appearance near the end of every performance.