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?
There Was No Nazi Love Affair
In the theatrical version of the story, Liesl, the oldest von Trapp sibling, falls in love with a Nazi soldier, who later tries to turn them all in. This may be a nice plot twist, but it was completely made up by the screenwriters and never happened in reality. The writers felt that the love story would add some drama to the film.
The oldest von Trapp child was actually a boy named Rupert and not a girl named Liesl. When the movie came out, Rupert was 54 years old and working in Vermont as a doctor. Doctor Rupert liked to tell people that he was the inspiration for Liesl, without the Nazi love affair, of course.
A Father Daughter Love Affair?
One of the craziest and definitely the most uncomfortable secret from behind the scenes of The Sound of Music is that Christopher Plummer, who played Captain von Trapp, was rumored to be having a relationship with Charmian Carr, the actress who played his daughter Liesl. When they weren’t busy acting like father and daughter, the two actors, 13 years apart in age, found some time for an off-camera dalliance.
While appearing on The Oprah Winfrey show, Charmian Carr talked about the enormous crush she had developed on her co-star during their nine months of shooting. She never confirmed that there had been a physical relationship, but rumors about the affair ran rampant.
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!
They Were Refugees
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.