The Sound of Music

Trivia: The front and back of the von Trapp house are actually two different houses. Also, the gazebo (which belongs to the house used for the back shots) is across a river from the house. You can take the Sound of Music tour in Salzburg.

Trivia: In the boating scene, Kym Karath (Gretl) nearly drowned when she fell in the water. The scene originally called for Julie Andrews (Maria) to pull her out of the water as Kym couldn't swim, but Andrews fell out of the wrong side of the boat. In fact, the crew had to stop filming to rescue Kym. In the movie Heather Menzies (Louisa) pulls her out - Kym threw up on her after swallowing so much water.

Trivia: When the Captain and Maria were singing in the gazebo, they had to just show their shadows because they would laugh too much in the light, so they hid their faces.

Trivia: The von Trapps actually escaped via train, en route to their next performance as part of their tour. They did not escape while being chased through the mountains.

Jack's Revenge

Trivia: "Edelweiss" was the last song Oscar Hammerstein wrote before his death.

Trivia: When Julie Andrews is singing "I Have Confidence" she trips. The trip was completely accidental, and not choreographed, but the director felt it was in character, so he left it in.

Trivia: They filmed Julie Andrews singing on the hills at the very beginning of the film by helicopter and everytime the helicopter went round she was blown down.

Trivia: When filming the sound of music in the scene where Liesl is dancing in the gazebo during the song 'I Am Sixteen Going On Seventeen', where she dances from bench to bench, she actually went through one of the panes of glass on the first jump and sprained her ankle because there were two pairs of shoes she had for that scene (one with rubber grips and one without). The ones with rubber grip were meant for the actual filming not the rehearsal but she had been rehearsing with the ones without rubber grip and someone forgot to change them. She was OK but she had to do the dance with a bandage on her ankle.

Craig Bryant

Trivia: Kurt sang all of his part except in "So Long, Farewell" where he sings "Goodbye" in a high voice. The actual note was sung by Darleen Carr, the younger sister of Charmian Carr, who was one of the singers used to "fill out" the choral sound of the seven Von Trapp children.

Trivia: In the end when the family is climbing over the hills to safety, it is not really Gretl on the shoulders of Captain Von Trapp. On the DVD, it's revealed that while in Austria, Kym Karath gained a lot of weight. This was one of the last shots filmed and so she was a bit too heavy to be carried on Christopher Plummer's back, so he requested a lighter double.

leyesalot82789

Trivia: When Julie Andrews is singing "I Have Confidence" she goes through a little tunnel. There is a cameo appearance of the real Maria von Trapp, who you can see to Julie Andrews' left. This occurs when she is singing "I must stop these doubts, all these worries".

Trivia: In reality, Maria was the one who was very strict with the children, while Captain von Trapp was friendly and relaxed.

Trivia: More than one take of the boating scene was filmed (Julie Andrews recalls two). On the one used in the movie, Julie Andrews falls off the far side of the boat. However, in the original theatrical trailer shown on the 40th edition DVD, another take is shown in which everyone falls off the near side.

Jeff Swanson

Trivia: Reverend Mother's singing was dubbed, as she herself declared that she was too old to handle the vocals.

leyesalot82789

Trivia: When Maria is arguing with the Captain, she says that she isn't finished and the Captain retorts, "Oh, yes you are, Captain!" Calling Maria Captain was a slip of the tongue but director Robert Wise thought it was funny so he left it in.

Continuity mistake: Christopher Plummer throws down the drape the kids used for clothing on the ground. Then he walks away and there's a clear shot of the ground and the drape has vanished.

More mistakes in The Sound of Music

Maria: I am not finished yet, Captain!
Captain Von Trapp: Oh yes you are, Captain! Fraulein, you will pack your things this minute and return to the Abbey.

More quotes from The Sound of Music

Question: Why were the Nazis so desperate to get Captain von Trapp into their navy? Austria hadn't had a navy since the end of the first world war, so his skills weren't exactly up to date.

Answer: True, but a decorated and highly respected command officer, particularly one with proven wartime experience, is still a major asset. While he might not be directly familiar with the current equipment, naval tactics wouldn't have altered to any great degree and his ability to lead and inspire those under his command would remain the same.

Tailkinker

More questions & answers from The Sound of Music

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.