Film Notes
     "Some people may sneer at this 1965 musical, but the truth is the film has earned its status as a perennially watchable romantic-drama, largely on the strength of a fun story and chemistry between stars Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. Veteran filmmaker Robert Wise (The Day the Earth Stood Still) mostly stays out of the way of the film's appealing elements, which include a based-on-fact tale of Austria's von Trapp family, who fled their Nazi-occupied country in 1938. Andrews is delightful and even fascinating as Maria, who sheds her tomboyish ways as a novice nun to accept the mantle of adulthood, becoming matron of the motherless von Trapp clan. Plummer is matinee-idol handsome and gives a smart performance to boot, and the cast of young people and kids who make up the singing von Trapp children make a strong impression. Based on the Rodgers and Hammerstein stage musical, the score includes such winners as Maria and the future John Coltrane hit My Favorite Things. (Tom Keogh, Amazon.com)
     Much of the footage was shot in Salzburg, where director Wise spent 11 weeks filming. The scene performance at the Salzburg Festival was shot in the spectacular Felsenreitschule, or the Rocky Riding School. Additional cast: Charmian Carr, Duane Chase, Debbie Turner, Kym Karath, Portia Nelson, Ben Wright, Gil Stuart, Evadne Baker and Doris Lloyd. Additional credits: Maurice Zuberano (2nd unit supervisor) and Bill & Cora Baird (puppeteers) Shot in 65mm. Color by DeLuxe. The play ran on Broadway for 3 1/2 years, starring Mary Martin as Maria. Screenwriter Ernest Lehman's earlier projects include North by Northwest and Sweet Smell of Success. Marni Nixon, who plays Sister Sophia in The Sound of Music has lent her vocal cords to many film stars. Nixon's voice was used in place of Audrey Hepburn's in My Fair Lady, for Natalie Wood's in West Side Story, and for Deborah Kerr's in The King and I. Her brief role as Sister Sophia in this film marks her first on-screen appearance. (Amazon.com)