The Sound of Music (1965): Historical Accuracy Review

Introduction

The Sound of Music, released in 1965, became an Academy Award–winning icon of the American movie musical. As a historical account of the singing von Trapp family, the film is highly inaccurate and has several other strongly negative characteristics. However, its positive characteristics — chiefly its music and scenery/cinematography — override the negatives to make the film a well-loved classic.

Historical Background and Accuracy

The Sound of Music tells the story of the singing von Trapp family of Austria, who escaped Nazi control during Hitler's rule. The film is historically accurate in some respects. Maria, an Austrian postulant with a religious order of nuns, was sent to the Salzburg home of widower Georg von Trapp, a military officer, and his seven children. Maria and Georg eventually married. The family was also a singing family and did win an Austrian musical competition. Finally, Maria, Georg, and the seven children did leave Austria during Hitler's reign. These bare-bone facts, however, pale in comparison to the many misrepresentations in the film.

Historical Inaccuracies in Detail

The film is historically inaccurate in a number of respects. The real Maria was far less glamorous than her portrayal by Julie Andrews. The von Trapp home was not the near-palace shown in the film; it was a much smaller country villa. The film also depicts a flighty Maria being sent to the von Trapp home as governess to all seven children, whereas she was not flighty at all and was actually sent as a tutor for Maria, aged 12, who was recovering from scarlet fever.

The children's names, genders, and ages were also changed for the film. In the movie, the children are young and remain young throughout the story. They are portrayed as: Liesl, the oldest at 16; Louisa; Friedrich; Kurt; Brigitta; Marta; and Gretl. In reality, when Maria von Trapp arrived at the von Trapp home in 1926, the children were: Rupert, 15; Agathe, 13; Maria, 12; Werner, 11; Hedwig, 9; Johanna, 7; and Martina, 5. When the von Trapps left Austria in 1938, these seven original children were aged 27, 25, 24, 23, 21, 19, and 17 — nearly all adults.

The film also shows Maria introducing the children to music, when in fact the real von Trapp family was already musical and was introduced only to madrigal singing by Maria. According to the actual children, both Maria and Georg were quite different from their movie portrayals: Maria was not as sweet as depicted — she was reportedly a bossy, tough woman with a very bad temper — while Georg was not the stern taskmaster who disapproved of music shown in the film, but was actually gentle, warm-hearted, and musically inclined, as was the rest of his family before Maria arrived.

The film shows Maria and Georg marrying shortly before they escaped Austria, yet they actually married eleven years before leaving the country. The family performed professionally in Austria and did not need to sneak out of the country and into Switzerland by climbing over hills. The von Trapps began singing professionally out of financial necessity after losing most of their money in a bank failure in the 1930s. When they departed Austria, three additional children to whom Maria had given birth brought the total to ten children. The family already had a United States booking agent and traveled by train to Italy without any need for a dramatic escape from Salzburg. According to the children, their parents openly told people in Salzburg that they were going to America to sing. After arriving in Italy, the von Trapps requested and received travel financing from their American booking agent and then journeyed to the United States from Italy.

Furthermore, although the film portrays a love match, Maria publicly stated later that she did not love Georg and married him only because he asked her to become a second mother to his children. Ultimately, the von Trapps did escape Nazi control, but only because they were already out of Austria when their property was seized. Finally, all of the music in the film — including "Edelweiss," which is sometimes mistaken for an Austrian folk tune or even Austria's national anthem — was written specifically for the production.

Positive Aspects of the Film

The film, as a whole, is a mixed bag. Its best aspect is the Rodgers and Hammerstein score, filled with memorable songs that remain beautiful and catchy nearly half a century after the film's 1965 release. Much of the scenery — including the iconic opening shot of Maria in an Alpine meadow, as well as forests, lakes, castles, gardens, abbeys, and the von Trapp villa — is breathtaking even today.

The acting is also very good. Julie Andrews is as believable as any actress could be in such a sugary part, and it is difficult to imagine another actress in the role. Christopher Plummer is adequately strong, principled, and resolute. The child actors are endearing, and one could actually stand seeing more of them on screen, which is unusual. Supporting roles are equally well handled: Eleanor Parker is properly imposing as the Baroness, and Richard Haydn brings welcome comic relief as Max Detweiler. The juxtaposition of the family's naive Austrian opulence against the jarring Nazi takeover provides more than adequate tension and suspense. These factors have combined to make The Sound of Music an enduring part of cultural life well into the twenty-first century.

Conclusion

The Sound of Music is a famous account of the singing von Trapp family. This multiple Academy Award–winning musical adheres to a handful of bare-bone facts but is otherwise highly inaccurate about Maria, Georg, the von Trapp children, their relationships with music, and the circumstances surrounding their departure from Austria. While the film's artistic license created a strikingly dishonest portrayal of the von Trapps' lives, there are additional negative aspects: the film is predictable, sappy, dated, cloying, and poorly developed romantically. Nevertheless, the film has several positive qualities and secured its place as a notable part of our culture primarily through its outstanding musical score and cinematography.