The Sound of Music

Factual error: The von Trapps are shown walking over the border to Switzerland after a short drive out of the centre of town...except Salzburg is about 200km east of Switzerland. If one walked across the border at Salzburg, you'd be entering Germany, which is where (I believe) the people they were trying to get away from lived. Take a look at a map.

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Suggested correction: Even though the von Trapps were 200km from the Swiss border, in the last 5 mins, they received a car from the sisters at the convent and the sisters disabled the cars of their pursuers.

Captain Von Trapp was clear, when they were about to hide, that they would drive into the mountains in Salzburg (which the movie did a close up on to show it was those mountains specifically) and walk over them on foot confirming the movie is pretending those are mountains into Switzerland. The director himself admitted this when the real Maria Von Trapp complained of this error. He said "In Hollywood you can make up your own geography."

Factual error: At his wedding, Captain Von Trapp is wearing three medium-width rank rings on the cuffs of his uniform (similar to a Commander in the Royal Navy and US Navy). In the Austro-Hungarian Navy, in which he served, this rank badge did not exist. Von Trapp actually held the rank of Korvettenkapitän (Lieutenant-Commander), indicated by one medium ring and one narrow ring. Even had he held the rank of Linienschiffskapitän (Captain), he would have worn one medium and three narrow rings. The only rank which had vaguely similar insignia to that in the film was Linienschiffsleutnant (Lieutenant), with three narrow rings. Even allowing for artistic licence re Von Trapp's actual rank, the insignia he is wearing simply did not exist.

Necrothesp

Factual error: The von Trapp family's eating habits do not match the time and place. eg. They cut up all of the meat on the plate into bitesize pieces, then put down the knife, take the fork in the right hand and continue eating with only the fork. This would not have happened in an Austrian family of their rank at that time in history.

Factual error: When the Von Trapp family is hiding in the Abbey to avoid the Nazis, they are hiding behind some headstones. In reality, these headstones are flush against the wall and no one would be able to fit behind them.

Factual error: When singing "Do-Re-Mi", Maria is playing a Goya guitar. Goya brand guitars were not invented until the mid-1950s, a good ten years after this takes place.

Factual error: The story is set prior to the Anschluss, which was Austria's forced annexation with Germany in 1938. At this time Austrian vehicles still drove on the left (Hitler eventually changed that). When Von Trapp brings the Baroness to his home for the first time, he drives on the right.

Factual error: When they're making their escape in the Citrôen a shot is shown under the car. The tyres on the Citrôen are "Michelin X" radials. These were not on the market till 1948.

Boris Kaputnik

Revealing mistake: When the kids step out of the water and walk towards the house, the floor is already soaking wet from previous takes.

Sacha

More mistakes in The Sound of Music

Maria: I don't understand.
Captain von Trapp: Well, we called off our engagement, you see, and...
Maria: Oh, I'm sorry.
Captain von Trapp: Yes. You are?
Maria: Mm-hmm. You did?
Captain von Trapp: Yes. Well, you can't marry someone when you're in love with someone else... Can you?

More quotes from The Sound of Music

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.

More trivia for The Sound of Music

Question: In the scene where the nuns are singing 'How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria', one nun says 'I even heard her singing in the abbey.' This is used as though Maria was doing something bad, but throughout this song, aren't the nuns in the abbey, and aren't they singing? If it was so wrong for Maria to do this, why is it okay for them?

Answer: Postulants/Novices, such as Maria, were forbidden from singing in the Abbey. However, these rules did not necessarily apply to the sisters who are singing. In addition, it's a musical, and the nuns weren't "really" singing. Their complaints about Maria are simply put into a song.

More questions & answers from The Sound of Music

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