The Inside Scoop

Guest blogger: Julie Apple

10 little known facts about the filming of The Sound of Music, starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer

1) Also considered for the leading male role were the famous actors Walter Matthau, Sean Connery, and Yul Brynner
2) Gretl was not able to swim…. So in the scene where the children fell into the lake, Maria was supposed to catch her. During take two, however, they fell on opposite sides of the boat and Gretl was left on her own... bobbing under a few times. A nearby crew member had to jump in and rescued the sinking youngster. When the director announced that they were going to do a take three, the poor, terrified Gretl threw up on the spot all over Louisa. Thus, a take three never happened and take two is the one that appears in the movie. Next time you watch, look out for Gretl's bobbing head.
3) There were actually two gazebos that were used for the filming of “Sixteen Going on Seventeen,” one for the outside shots and another, larger one for the inside scenes.
4) During the filming of “Sixteen Going on Seventeen,” Liesl's slippers had no tread. So when she leaped onto the bench, she disastrously slipped and flew right through the window. Despite a sprained ankle, they filmed the scene anyway. Consequently, if you look closely while watching the scene, you’ll notice that Liesl’s ankle is wrapped up with an ace bandage. (This detail has been edited out of the DVD version.)
5) The gazebo scene between Maria and the Captain where they sang “Something Good” was filmed in the dark because Julie and Chris could not keep from laughing at the strange, raspberry sounds coming from the archaic lighting fixtures. After many unsuccessful tries at taping the scene with the lights on, Chris proposed that they do the scene with the lights off so that no one would be able to tell if they were laughing.
6) Two separate palaces were used for the filming of the Von Trapp estate. One was used for the front and back of the building itself and another one was used for the backyard gardens and lake.
7) The singing voice of the Captain did not belong to Christopher Plummer.
8) In the song “So Long, Farewell!” when Kurt miraculously hits the high note in his solo, it is not his voice that is used. It’s actually a female’s voice!
9) Only the outdoor and the wedding scenes were actually filmed in Austria. Everything else was recorded back in Hollywood.
10) In the final scene, where the whole Von Trapp family climbed up the mountains, the Captain was directed to carry Gretl on his back. Chris, however, refused to do so saying “I will not carry that fat girl!!!” As a result, a skinnier stand-in was required.