Everyone Hated ‘The Sound of Music’ - The Daily Beast THE HILLS ALMOST DIED Everyone Hated ‘The Sound of Music’ The Sound of Music premiered to horrific reviews in 1965. Now it’s the most beloved and popular movie musical ever. On its 50th anniversary, how did it climb that mountain? Kevin Fallon 03.02.15 7:35 PM ET As it turns out, twirling around like a maniac at the top of a hill is enough to make a person nauseated. At least, it’s enough to make critics nauseated, many of whom loathed The Sound of Music so much when it first hit theaters in 1965 that their critical bombs were vicious enough to nearly decimate those darned hills completely. The Sound of Music, the now iconic Julie Andrews- and Christopher Plummer-starring movie musical about love, nuns, Nazis, and clothing made out of curtains, celebrates its 50th anniversary Monday. It’s a milestone that celebrates decades of the film’s cultural influence, commercial success, and indisputable status as one of our favorite things.

So it’s startling to learn, then, that when The Sound of Music first premiered five decades ago, our beloved classic actually received middling-to-horrible reviews. In fact, many critics despised it. It’s a historical context that adds extra intrigue to the Sound of Music phenomenon. How did a film that was generally derided evolve to be considered the perfect movie musical, with hills so alive after all these years that Lady Gaga stole the Oscars show with her tribute to them? It’s been a steep mountain to climb. Back in 1965, eminent film critic Pauline Kael famously called The Sound of Music “the sugar-coated lie that people seem to want to eat.” Worse, she goes on to say, “We have been turned into emotional and aesthetic imbeciles when we hear ourselves humming the sickly, goody-goody songs.” She was not alone with her lashings. The New York Times’ Bosley Crowther devoted two full columns to his distaste for the film’s unpalatable sweetness and artificial execution, while other prominent critics couldn’t stomach the film’s utterly batty plot.

Crowther’s initial review was incensed by what he called the film’s “cosy-cum-corny” direction, calling the plot “romantic nonsense and sentiment.” In a later column written soon after the film’s release, he posited that The Sound of Music would destroy the movie-musical genre, taken to excellence by West Side Story and My Fair Lady, altogether. “Except for Julie Andrews…the cast is generally stiff or mawkish. In the case of Christopher Plummer, it is both,” he wrote. Crowther really didn’t like Plummer in the film. He branded Captain Von Trapp’s poignant crooning of “Edelweiss,” a film scene and performance that’s noted for many of us as the first time we’ve seen a single tear stream down our father’s cheek, with the m-word, too, calling it “a bit too painfully mawkish.” The barbs kept coming. The film? “Saccharine pudding.” The screenplay? “A virtual paraphrase of the musical-comedy book.” The direction? “Staged…so as to wring every drop of sentiment.” As a whole? “It all is sterile. As musical-film, it is not fresh.

It is not sound.” Still, Crowther was gracious enough to predict that the grandeur of the film’s sweeping shots of the Swiss Alps, not to mention Julie Andrews’s vigorously radiant performance, would be enough to appeal to the masses and make The Sound of Music a hit—something that Judith Crist, in an all-out-pan for the New York Herald Tribune, did not agree with, ruling that the film was designed for “the five to seven set and all their mommies.” And Crist’s colleague Walter Kerr called the film, “Not only too sweet for words but almost too sweet for music.” The Sound of Music’s director, Robert Wise, addressed the mixed critical reception years later, saying, “The East Coast, intellectual papers and magazines destroyed us, but the local papers and trades gave us great reviews.” (It’s also worth noting that Wise had initially turned down directing the film because he thought it was too saccharine.) Indeed, while critics like Crowther and Crist groaned their way through “The Lonely Goatherd,” a handful of critics were charmed by raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens and curtains on children, forecasting the wild success the film would eventually have.

Whitney Williams in Variety called it “one of the top musicals to reach the screen.” Richard L. Coe in The Washington Post praised the film for having a “sure-fire story, fabulous views of the Bavarian Alps, and the lilting score of Rodgers and Hammerstein, a fine cast, and, above all, Julie Andrews,” predicting that the Sound of Music would become the “best-loved picture of 1965.” He was correct. The film was such a box office hit that it briefly replaced Gone With the Wind as the highest grossing film of all time. Adjusted for inflation , the film still stands as the third-highest-grossing movie ever at the domestic box office, ahead of modern blockbusters like Titanic, The Empire Strikes Back, and Avatar. Get The Beast In Your Inbox! Daily DigestStart and finish your day with the top stories from The Daily Beast. Cheat SheetA speedy, smart summary of all the news you need to know (and nothing you don't). By clicking "Subscribe," you agree to have read the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Subscribe Thank You! You are now subscribed to the Daily Digest and Cheat Sheet.

We will not share your email with anyone for any reason More, it’s the rare family film in which its popularity stands the test of time, most recently revitalizing the live-event TV business with NBC’s smash hit (but also critically derided ) live musical staging and revitalizing Lady Gaga’s career with a spectacular Oscars tribute. In fact, the film eventually became so popular that Pauline Kael was reportedly fired from her position as movie critic at McCall’s for panning it. It’s certainly not unusual for a film to be ravaged by critics but voraciously consumed by moviegoers. The success of the Transformers franchise certainly speaks to that. (The Sound of Music, the film industry’s original Transformers?) But bad films that still manage to eke out decent box office returns don’t stand the test of time the way The Sound of Music has. There’s a disconnect, it seems, between the film’s initial critical response and its longevity. Are we only viewing The Sound of Music through rose-colored glasses tinted with memories of watching it with our grandmothers, or of starring as a Von Trapp child in a production when we were kids, or of learning what a female deer was called by singing along to “Do-Re-Mi”?

Is our opinion of The Sound of Music inextricable from our cherished memories of and emotional attachment to it? That is most certainly true, and perhaps the driving force behind its 50-year reign as Hollywood’s most popular movie musical. But it doesn’t account for the fact that, undeniably, this is not a perfect film, or at least not the perfect film that we’ve convinced ourselves that it is all these years later. Even some of the more positive Sound of Music reviews from 1965 make no qualms about the fact that this movie’s plot is absolutely ridiculous. There are two main conflicts driving the narrative in The Sound of Music. In one, a father is upset that his children’s clothes are made out of curtains. In the other, the Nazis are invading Austria. They are given the same weight. How did the movie overcome that irrefutable flaw to become a movie that’s not just enjoyable, but widely considered to be good? It should be fairly obvious: with the indomitable spirit of Julie Andrews. Julie Andrews singlehandedly saved what should have been a turkey of a film. All signs pointed to its failure.

It’s already been pointed out that Robert Wise initially balked at directing it because he thought the material was bad to begin with, and it’s Hollywood legend at this point how unenthused Christopher Plummer was to be starring in it, famously referring to the film as The Sound of Mucus and allegedly requiring to be liquored up before going on set. But did you know that Andrews had also initially turned down the role because she feared it was too similar to Mary Poppins, the nanny she so winningly had just brought to life the year before? We should all be so thankful that she didn’t. From first frame to last, she imbues Maria and the film with a boundless ebullience, professionalism, and richness that radiates off the screen—and still hasn’t lost its shine. She doesn’t just elevate subpar material. She turns subpar material into iconic cinema. “With a wide-eyed, trusting Miss Andrews as Maria, eventually Baroness Von Trapp, you believe every world of the tale…as you never did when Mary Martin tried it,” Coe writes.

(Martin played Maria in the stage musical.) Even critics who hated the film, like Crowther, credited Andrews for making the whole movie seem less asinine than it really was. “Despite the hopeless pretense of reality with which she and the others have to contend, especially in the last phase, when the Von Trapps are supposed to be fleeing from the Nazis and their homeland, Miss Andrews treats the whole thing with the same air of serenely controlled self-confidence that she has when we first come upon her trilling the title song on a mountain top,” he writes. And then, his highest praise: “Miss Andrews is nothing daunted. She plays a more saccharine nanny than Mary Poppins, but it doesn’t get her goat.” It’s hard to imagine anyone else being able to pull such a feat out of her bag of tricks, but it’s because Andrews’s reservoir of skills and virtues is as infinite as Mary Poppins’s own carpet bag that we’ve all come to view The Sound of Music as excellence. The accomplishment of a performance like hers almost can’t be quantified or characterized, if only in the adoration for it all these years later.

She’s what breathed life into the hills 50 years ago, when everything else about The Sound of Music should have had them on life support. And after all this time that has passed, she’s still what keeps them alive. READ THIS LIST The Sound of Music (Musical) Songs | StageAgent The Sound of Music Scenes Songs *before song when it is a dance number, *before character name that only dances in a song that is sung by other characters 1. Preludium - The Nuns Of the Nonnberg Abbey a. Morning Hymn 4. My Favorite Things - Maria and Mother Abbess 5. My Favorite Things (Reprise) – Maria 6. Do-Re-Mi - Maria and the Von Trapp Children *7. Sixteen Going on Seventeen - Rolf and Liesl 8. The Lonely Goatherd - Maria and the Children 9. The Lonely Goatherd (Reprise) 10. How Can Love Survive? - Max, Elsa and Capt. Von Trapp 11. The Sound Of Music (Reprise) - The Children and Capt. Von Trapp *12. So Long, Farewell - The Children and Capt.

Von Trapp 13. Morning Hymm - The Nuns 14. Climb Ev'ry Mountain - Mother Abbess and the Nuns 15. My Favorite Things - The Children and Maria 16. No Way To Stop It - Elsa, Max and Capt. Von Trapp 17. An Ordinary Couple - Maria and Capt. Von Trapp 18. Gaudeamus Domino - The Nuns 19. Maria (Reprise) - The Nuns 20. Confitemini Domino - The Nuns 21. Sixteen Going on Seventeen (Reprise) - Maria and Liesl 22. Do-Re-Mi (Reprise) - Maria, Capt. Von Trapp and the Children 23. Edelweiss - Capt. Von Trapp, Maria and the Children 24. So Long, Farewell (Reprise) - Maria, the Children and Capt. Von Trapp 25.

Finale Ultimo - The Company A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters. Guide written by The Sound of Music :: Rodgers & Hammerstein :: Show Details GUEST BLOG: Liesl from THE SOUND OF MUSIC Live! on NBC A guest blog from the amazing young woman portraying Liesl in the upcoming NBC broadcast of THE SOUND OF MUSIC Live! read more Did you know? The real Captain von Trapp was offered command of a submarine in the Navy of the Third Reich, which he refused. The von Trapps were invited to sing for Hitler?s 50th birthday party, which they also declined. The eldest son, Rupert, was offered a medical post in a good Viennese hospital; but, he realized it was because many Jewish doctors had been fired. With tensions rising, the family emigrated to Italy four months after the Anschluss in 1938. Did you know? In THE SOUND OF MUSIC, Maria von Trapp was a novice at Nonnberg Abbey.

The historic Nonnberg Abbey was founded in the 8th century by Avendrid, niece of St. Rupert who is considered the patron saint of Salzburg. The city also has a cathedral monastery and is often called ?The Rome of the North.? Did you Know? At the 1960 Tony Awards Mary Rodgers found her musical ONCE UPON A MATTRESS competing against a show by her father Richard Rodgers - THE SOUND OF MUSIC - for the category of Best Musical! In 1967 THE SOUND OF MUSIC finished its run at the Palace Theatre, London, after six years and 2,385 performances - at the time, the longest running American musical in British theatrical history. The birthday of Maria von Trapp. In 1905, Maria Augusta Kutschera Trapp was born aboard a train in the Tirol, Austria. The story of her early life served as the inspiration for THE SOUND OF MUSIC. The birthday of Florence Henderson, who played Maria von Trapp in the first U.S. National Tour of THE SOUND OF MUSIC, starting in 1961.

Best known for playing Carol Brady on The Brady Bunch from 1968 to 1974, Florence Henderson began her career as a stage actress. In addition to THE SOUND OF MUSIC, Henderson starred as Laurey in the 1953 Broadway revival of OKLAHOMA!, as Anna in the Los Angeles Music Center's inaugural production of THE KING AND I, and as Nellie at the Music Theater of Lincoln Center?s SOUTH PACIFIC in 1967. In 2010 she performed on "Dancing with the Stars"" - even waltzing to ""Edelweiss"" from THE SOUND OF MUSIC!" In 1990, in celebration of THE SOUND OF MUSIC's silver anniversary, Twentieth Century Fox hosted a gala screening/reunion for director Robert Wise, star Julie Andrews, and other members of the cast in Los Angeles; the movie is subsequently rereleased for a limited engagement in Los Angeles and New York. The birthday of Russel Crouse, book writer of the musicals CALL ME MADAM and THE SOUND OF MUSIC. Crouse was born in 1893. The birthday of singer Marni Nixon.

Marni Nixon became famous as the singing voice of Deborah Kerr in Rodger & Hammerstein?s film THE KING AND I, as well as Audrey Hepburn in MY FAIR LADY and Natalie Wood in WEST SIDE STORY. Nixon finally appeared as a performer on camera while singing the part of Sister Sophia in the film THE SOUND OF MUSIC. In 1961, the national tour of THE SOUND OF MUSIC, starring Florence Henderson, began at the Riviera Theatre, Detroit. It played in 35 cities before closing at the O'Keefe Center, Toronto, on November 23, 1963. In 1965, Twentieth Century Fox premiered the movie version of THE SOUND OF MUSIC, directed by Robert Wise and starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. It played in New York for a record-setting 93 weeks. The movie's initial U.S. release lasted 4.5 years, and from 1966 to 1972 THE SOUND OF MUSIC was cited by Variety as the "All-Time Box Office Champion."" It remains the most popular movie musical ever made." The birthday of Julie Andrews, born in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England.

International star of stage and screen, her long and cherished association with Rodgers & Hammerstein includes starring as the title character in the original TV production of CINDERELLA (1957), playing Maria in the iconic movie version of THE SOUND OF MUSIC (1965), and singing the role of Anna in the studio cast recording of THE KING AND I (1992) In 1959, the world premiere of THE SOUND OF MUSIC was presented at the Shubert Theatre, New Haven. In 1959, Oscar Hammerstein II began work on "Edelweiss,"" his 1,589th and last lyric, written for THE SOUND OF MUSIC. It is completed on October 21st and went into the show during its pre-Broadway tryout in Boston." In 1889 book writer Howard Lindsay was born. Lindsay became best known for writing the books to THE SOUND OF MUSIC, CALL ME MADAM, MR. PRESIDENT, and ANYTHING GOES. In 2006, Connie Fisher starred in the London revival of THE SOUND OF MUSIC to rave reviews.

She had been cast as Maria by the BBC?TV reality show HOW DO YOU SOLVE A PROBLEM LIKE MARIA, masterminded by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Millions of Britons voted, making Fisher, formerly a telemarketer, an overnight star. The success of the reality show won it an international Emmy Award and prompted the largest advance of a musical in West End history. In 1959, THE SOUND OF MUSIC opened at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, New York. In 1966 at the 38th annual Academy Awards, THE SOUND OF MUSIC received five Oscars, including Best Picture of the Year. In 1960 at the 14th annual Tony Awards, THE SOUND OF MUSIC received five, including Best Actress (Mary Martin) and, for the first time in Tony history, shared a tie for Best Musical (with FIORELLO!). Did you know that composer Richard Rodgers found his musical competing against a show written by his own daughter? ONCE UPON A MATTRESS had opened on Broadway in 1959, with music by Mary Rodgers. In 1913, Mary Martin was born in Weatherford, Texas.

She created the roles of Nellie Forbush in SOUTH PACIFIC and Maria von Trapp in THE SOUND OF MUSIC, winning a Tony Award for each. In 1961 THE SOUND OF MUSIC opened at the Palace Theatre, London. Did you know? Thirteen-year-old Andrew Lloyd Webber got to attend the opening because of a fan letter he had written to Richard Rodgers. The birthday of actor Jon Voight. Did you know? Before he made his name on the big screen, the future star played Rolf Gruber during the original Broadway run of THE SOUND OF MUSIC in the early 1960s. Did you know? In real life, the von Trapp family fled Austria and eventually settled in Vermont. Eventually they opened a resort business in their new American home that is still in operation today. The Trapp Family Lodge first opened in 1950 with 27 rooms. Today, the resort has 100 2-bedroom guest houses and 16 villas that sits on 2,700 acres of land. Guests can play tennis, go Nordic skiing and ? of course ? take music lessons. Did you know?

As soon as Julie Andrews was cast in the movie of THE SOUND OF MUSIC, attention turned to who would play her Captain von Trapp. Executives at 20th Century Fox were eager for Bing Crosby (a suggestion director Robert Wise never took seriously.) Filmmakers also thought about Sean Connery, Rex Harrison, and Yul Brynner ? known for his role in THE KING AND I. The part eventually went to Christopher Plummer. Did you know? During the filming of ?Sixteen Going On Seventeen? for THE SOUND OF MUSIC, Charmian Carr (as Liesl) ended up dancing through the plate-glass windows of the gazebo. Fortunately for everyone involved, this was her last sequence filmed and she only sprained her ankle. Agathe von Trapp wrote about her family's emigration in the book MEMORIES BEFORE AND AFTER THE SOUND OF MUSIC : "Even though it was clear to us that we had to leave Austria as soon as possible [following the Anschluss of March 1938]...Mother [Maria von Trapp] looked for divine approval concerning the move.

Papa [Baron Georg von Trapp] called us all together, opened the Bible, and let his finger pick a passage at random. Then he read to us:""Now the LORD had said unto Abram: Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee"" (Gen. 12:1 KJV.)""" Theodore Bikel, who starred in the original Broadway production of THE SOUND OF MUSIC as Captain von Trapp to Mary Martin's Maria, had personal connection to the role. Born in Vienna, his family fled to Palestine following the Nazi annexation of Austria on this day in 1938. Bikel's background as a guitar player and folk singer helped inspire the Rodgers & Hammerstein song Edelweiss. Did you know? In March of 1961, avant garde jazz saxophonist John Coltrane caused a sensation when he released the album "My Favorite Things"".

It was a Jazz landmark, named for its 14 minute riff on Rodgers & Hammerstein's ""My Favorite Things."" Not only did the album (also titled ""My Favorite Things"") introduce Coltrane's new quartet - with McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones and Steve Davis - but it also was his first record for Atlantic Records, and opened up new harmonic explorations for jazz musicians." Did you know? Georg von Trapp's service to the Austro-Hungarian Empire was chronicled in "To the Last Salute: Memories of an Austrian U-Boat Commander"". A skilled and fearless naval captain, he sank over 30 boats during World War I, but von Trapp's job disappeared when Austria lost its seaports to Italy. Trapp's birthplace Trieste became part of Italy too, allowing his family to flee from the Nazi annexation years later across the border with his passport - the conclusion of THE SOUND OF MUSIC." In THE SOUND OF MUSIC, the Captain and Maria first realize their feelings for each other while dancing a classic Austrian folk dance called the Laendler. The Laendler was a popular folk dance in 3/4 or waltz time.

Richard Rodgers cleverly uses the music from ?The Lonely Goatherd? for the ballroom scene during which Maria and the Captain dance and fall in love. In the film version of THE SOUND OF MUSIC, the real Maria von Trapp has a cameo appearance in the background in the Residenzplatz during ?I Have Confidence,? shot on location in Salzburg. Dressed in Austrian garb, she is visible for only a fleeting moment, as Julie Andrews sings her story to the cameras. Unaware that filming this short segment would require several takes, Maria later declared ?That?s one ambition I?m giving up.? Did you know? In a 1987 studio cast recording of THE SOUND OF MUSIC, opera stars sang the leads, with Eileen Farrell as the Mother Abbess, and H�kan Hageg�rd as the Captain. The role of Maria was sung by Frederica Von Stade (b. 1945) an American opera singer highly lauded for her mezzo-soprano voice, and known for performing The Barber Of Seville, The Merry Widow, Pelleas Et Melisande and . This recording was part of a trend to create ?cross-over?

albums featuring opera singers performing traditionally musical theatre roles. SHOW BOAT, SOUTH PACIFIC and ANNIE GET YOUR GUN were among the shows to receive this treatment. In 1963, THE SOUND OF MUSIC closed at the Mark Hellinger Theatre, New York, after 1,443 performances. Did you know? THE SOUND OF MUSIC has no overture! Having little experience with liturgical music, Richard Rodgers did some research at the Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York while writing the score. Mother Morgan, head of the music department there, invited Rodgers to a concert specially arranged for him to show off the different kinds of musical prayer. For the opening of the musical, Rodgers set the Catholic prayer ?Dixit Dominus? for the nuns of Nonnberg Abbey. Did you know? At the end of THE SOUND OF MUSIC, the von Trapp family climbs over the mountains to freedom into neighboring Switzerland. In reality, Salzburg does not border Switzerland; it borders Germany. If the real von Trapp family had actually climbed over the Obersalzberg Mountain, as they do in the film version, they would have found themselves face to face with Hitler?s mountain retreat, Eagle's Nest at Berchtesgaden.

Did you know? Walt Disney was so impressed by Julie Andrews? Broadway portrayal of Guinevere in Lerner and Loewe?s CAMELOT that he went backstage and asked her to play Mary Poppins. Film director Robert Wise then decided to cast Andrews as Maria in THE SOUND OF MUSIC as soon as he saw ?rushes? of her scenes while shooting MARY POPPINS. Did you know? The real children of Captain von Trapp with his first wife were named Rupert (1911-1992), Werner (1915-2007), Hedwig (1917-1975), Johanna (1919-1994), Martina (1921-1951), Agatha (b. 1913) and Maria F. (b. 1914). Maria had 3 children with Georg after their marriage: Rosmarie (b. 1929), Elenore aka ?Lorli? (b. 1931) and Johannes (b. 1939). Did you know? After Hammerstein passed away, Rodgers needed a new writing partner.

For the first time in his career, he turned to himself for words. In 1962, Rodgers crafted new songs for the re-make of STATE FAIR and wrote both music and lyrics for the musical NO STRINGS. When the film version THE SOUND OF MUSIC needed new numbers, Rodgers wrote and composed the songs ?I Have Confidence? and ?Something Good.? In 1964 Director Robert Wise and his SOUND OF MUSIC cast and crew wrapped up eleven weeks of shooting on location in and around Salzburg, Austria.

“The soaring optimism of Climb Ev’ry Mountain is a match for any 60’s pop anthem and the genius of the show lies in the affirmation that it is possible to have youthful exuberance, idealism and love without the sex and drugs and rock'n'roll.” — Paul Simei-Barton, The New Zealand Herald , October 06, 2014 "An irresistible score that's always in tune!" — Entertainment Weekly, January 01, 2001 "The loveliest musical imaginable...the dialogue is vibrant and amusing in a plot that rises to genuine excitement." — New York Telegram And Sun, January 01, 1959 "The sentiments of THE SOUND OF MUSIC are genuine and are presented, unabashedly and effectively, in the show's music, lyrics and dialogue...It is uplifting theater, appealing successfully and without apology to the better side of our natures." — Douglas J. Keating, The Philadelphia Inquirer , December 23, 1993 "It's not just the perfect compatibility of music and lyrics that makes audiences flock unremittingly to THE SOUND OF MUSIC. The show can jerk tears from even the driest of eyes.

And if that isn't enough, there's the opportunity for a gaggle of children to mesmerise with their talents and charisma. It's a near- perfect recipe." — Peter Brown, LondonTheatre "The show has considerable integrity and has weathered the years so well." — Michael Billington, The Guardian Cast Description, Written By: Tim Crouse , January 01, 1970 Maria Rainer: A young, orphaned Nonnberg Abbey postulant whose impetuous behavior calls her fitness for the veil into question, Maria is dispatched by the Mother Abbess on a probationary tour of duty as governess to the seven children of the widowed Captain Georg von Trapp. Initially cowed by the Captain's autocratic manner, she holds her own with him, wins over his children, restores music to his house, and discovers, to her distress, that he has fallen in love with her and she with him.

Retreating to the Abbey, she is sent back to the von Trapp villa by the Mother Abbess, in order to find "how God wants you to spend your love." That turns out to be as a wife to the captain, a second mother to his offspring, and a pathfinder who helps lead them out of the peril looming over them. Captain Georg von Trapp: A decorated naval hero of the First World War, adamantly opposed to the Nazis and their designs on his beloved Austria. Traumatized by the loss of his wife, he has distanced himself from his home and the music which once animated it. The arrival of the postulant Maria Rainer as a governess breaks open his shell, bringing him back to his children and music. Marrying her, he gains a stalwart, resourceful partner in his daring decision to flee with his family from the dictates of the Third Reich, to freedom. The Mother Abbess: Spiritual head of Nonnberg Abbey, mentor to Maria.

Her credo: "You have to find the life you were born to live." She shepherds Maria from a mistaken vocation as a nun to a true one as a wife and mother, finally helping her to escape, with her new family, over the mountain where both she and Maria grew up. Max Detweiler: A charming, well-connected impresario, he is a confidant of the Captain's lover, Elsa Schraeder, and apparently, like her, a moral chameleon. His collaboration with the regime in Berlin threatens his friendship with the Captain, but in the end he risks everything to save the von Trapps. Elsa Schraeder: A chic, attractive Viennese widow, president of her late husband's corporation, now involved in a relationship with Captain von Trapp. Her expectations of marrying the Captain founder on her willingness to accept the Nazis, a moral pliancy that is anathema to him. A widower, he has shut out of his life everything that reminds him of his wife, including music and his seven children.

Song # Written By: Bert Fink 20th Century Fox, a once grand and glorious studio, had done very well by the Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals: movie versions of OKLAHOMA!, CAROUSEL, SOUTH PACIFIC, THE KING AND I and STATE FAIR had all been produced under the auspices of this studio, and had collected nine Academy Awards among them. Successful as they were, none of these films could prepare the studio—or the film industry itself—for the phenomenon that was THE SOUND OF MUSIC. In 1964 THE SOUND OF MUSIC was viewed as a respectable stage property with a good track record: still going strong in the West End (where it would eventually become the longest running American musical in London history), and on a U.S. national tour, THE SOUND OF MUSIC, had by this time racked up a healthy 1443-performance run on Broadway, and collected five Tony Awards including Musical of the Year. In Hollywood, however, where there’s no such thing as a sure thing, turning this stage property into a potentially viable movie was considered a longshot.

For one thing, the movie's budget was—for the first time—large: more than $8 million, and much of that due to the decision to film as much of the movie as possible on location in Salzburg, near and around the Von Trapp villa (though not the villa itself) and the mountains. Also, the cast was relatively unknown. For the central role of Maria, the likes of Mia Farrow, Lesley Ann Warren and Doris Day were each considered before the decision was made to go with 29-year-old Julie Andrews. Although already established as a Broadway star for her roles in THE BOYFRIEND, MY FAIR LADY and CAMELOT, Julie Andrews had yet to be discovered by the movie audiences, and was perhaps best known in Hollywood for Jack Warner's decision to pass her over for the lead in the movie of MY FAIR LADY (which went instead to Audrey Hepburn). Walt Disney, however, took the chance and hired her for MARY POPPINS, and it was after viewing rough footage of her work for Disney that the folks at Fox signed her up immediately.

Joining Julie for the film were Christopher Plummer as the Captain (who, although he wanted to do his own singing, was eventually dubbed in the musical numbers by Bill Lee); Peggy Wood, Eleanor Parker, Anna Lee and Richard Haydn. Twenty-one-year-old Charmaine Carr headed up the cast of the seven children. Marni Nixon, the phantom dubber who provided the singing voice for the leads in WEST SIDE STORY, MY FAIR LADY and THE KING AND I, actually appeared on screen this time as Sister Sophia, and so did the real-life Maria Von Trapp, who makes a quick appearance in a Salzburg sequence. To make THE SOUND OF MUSIC an on-screen reality, a team of old hands at movie musicals was assembled. Robert Wise, who had won two Oscars in 1961 for another Broadway-to-Hollywood musical adaptation, WEST SIDE STORY, was signed on to produce and direct THE SOUND OF MUSIC. Ernest Lehman, who worked with Rodgers and Hammerstein on the screen adaption of THE KING AND I, did similar honors here. Richard Rodgers himself took an active role in the movie and significantly amended the score.

Two songs were cut, "An Ordinary Couple" (a wistful love duet sung by Maria and the Captain) and "How Can Love Survive?" (a brittle, sardonic duet with an atypical Hammerstein lyric, sung by Elsa and Max). Replacing them were two new songs with both music and lyrics by Rodgers (Oscar Hammerstein had died in the summer of 1960, less than a year after THE SOUND OF MUSIC opened on Broadway): "I Have Confidence" and "Something Good." Filming took place throughout the spring and summer of 1964, including eleven weeks on location in and about Salzburg. For those who like to bookend their data, the first scene filmed (in the studio in California) featured Maria and the children singing "My Favorite Things," and shooting ended at the beginning, with the now-classic opening sequence featuring Julie Andrews on top of the hill and the spectacular Alpine scenery. As an early test for the movie, Fox executive Richard Zanuck arranged for a sneak preview in Minneapolis in February 1965. "The weather was miserable, and we thought nobody would show up," he recalled.

"But the theatre was full, and at intermission the whole audience stood up and applauded for five minutes. They did it again at the end, and we looked at each other, shell-shocked." Ernest Lehman commented, "We didn't know at the beginning it would be such a phenomenon." The world premiere of THE SOUND OF MUSIC was held at the Rivoli Theatre in New York City on March 2, 1965. It played there for a record-breaking 93-week engagement, igniting a momentum that went on to shatter records in all areas of popular entertainment. The initial U.S. release of the film lasted for more than four years. From Japan to Parsi (for the Iranian market), from London to Lisbon, from SUONA DELLA MUSICA in Italy to LA MELODIE DI BONHEUR in France, THE SOUND OF MUSIC quickly became a sound hear the world over. Nominated for ten Academy Awards, THE SOUND OF MUSIC received five, including Best Director for Robert Wise and Best Picture of the Year. From 1966 to 1969 it was the number one Box Office Champion, according to Variety's survey.

To this day, THE SOUND OF MUSIC is one of the twenty-five top grossing films of all time, and the oldest title on that list. It has become the most popular musical ever made . The motion picture soundtrack, released internationally on the RCA label, has gone platinum and gold and sold over 10 million units worldwide. The movie has also made a successful transition to the small screen, appearing as a perennial favorite on television throughout the world, and in the home video market. The weekend before THE SOUND OF MUSIC was released, Richard Rodgers was interviewed by the The New York Times. He expressed his delight at seeing THE SOUND OF MUSIC turned into a movie that functioned as a satisfying work in its own right. Having lavished praise on screenwriter Lehman, director/producer Wise, the cast and the movie as a whole, Rodgers ended the interview on a note of caution: "There is, of course, no way for me to tell how the public will respond to THE SOUND OF MUSIC as a movie." It turned out he had nothing to worry about.

Theatre World Award — Best Written American Musical Film Academy Awards 1965 — Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment - Irwin Kostal 1965 — Best Director - Robert Wise 1965 — Best Sound - James P. Corcoran, Fred HynesFilm Editing, William Reynolds Tony Awards — Best Musical - Book by Howard Lindsay, Russel Crouse; Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II; Music by Richard Rodgers; Produced by Leland Hayward, Richard Halliday, Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II — Best Featured Actress in a Musical - Patricia Neway — Best Scenic Design - Oliver Smith — Best Conductor and Musical Director- Frederick Dvonch — Best Actress in a Musical - Mary Martin Golden Globe Awards (United States) July 24, 1965 — Best Motion Picture Actress Musical/ Comedy - Julie Andrews 1965 — Best Motion Picture Musical/Comedy Vocal Range of Characters:

Question: According to the title of a song from the musical "The Sound of Music", who was lonely?
Answer: Goatherd