For any person who likes musicals, The Sound of Music is an absolute must-see. It follows the story of a young Austrian nun, who goes away from her convent to help a widowed naval officer raise his seven children as their governess. They end up getting married but must quickly find ways to survive the Nazis.

The movie turned out to be a huge commercial success in numerous countries and won five Oscars and two Golden Globes. Even though it is based on the true story of the von Trapp family, like any other Hollywood movie, the facts depicted are not entirely accurate, Here's what really happened!

Liesl Was Actually A Boy Named Rupert

Another misconception about the family’s structure had to do with the kids’ actual ages. According to the film, the oldest child was their daughter Liesl, who fell in love with a Nazi soldier who then threatened to expose them. Keeping that incredible story aside, don’t be shocked when you read that none of it is actually truthful.

The Von Trapp family’s eldest was their son named Rupert. Although Leisl’s character is briefly based on their second-oldest, whose real name was Agathe, the unfortunate romance remains inaccurate. Rupert was, however, the brief inspiration behind Friedrich’s character.

Maria Didn't Really Wanted to Marry the Captain

Even though Maria was married to the Captain in real life, the truth is, as she has clearly stated in her memoirs, it wasn’t out of love, but merely for practical reasons. As a matter of fact, she stated that the only feeling she had on her wedding day was regret, as she could never become a nun after that.

Nevertheless, even though she didn’t originally love him, she did love the children. He needed a mother for his children, and she needed the security he could provide her. Eventually, she came to enjoy their matrimony and grew to love him as well.

The Protagonists Hated Working With Each Other

While we have already established that the romance between Maria and Captain von Trapp was initially fake, it’s even more shocking to know that not even the actors liked each other! As a matter of fact, Christopher Plummer never shied away from expressing his feelings for the movie, calling it 'The Sound of Mucus'.

They even had to shoot their kissing scene at the gazebo over twenty times because Julie Andrews couldn’t stop laughing! However, they did resolve all their issues and remained friends for a long after the movie was finished. Julie claims that Christopher’s cynicism proved to be helpful from time to time.

The Not So Secret Family Affair

When Charmian Carr released her autobiographical book called Forever Liesl: A Memoir of The Sound of Music, in the year 2000, one of the most intriguing details inside was the fact that it indicated her having a romantic affair with Christopher Plummer, who played her dad.

Given that she was 21 when the movie was being filmed, don’t worry, it was all completely legal. However, even though they have both clearly admitted that some affection had existed, they’ve also both denied it ever actually going to the next level and becoming a physical relationship.

They Didn't Hike To Another Country

In the movie, the von Trapp family is depicted hiking over the Alps all the way from Austria to Switzerland in order to escape from the Nazi invasion. However, such a trip, being 200 miles long, on foot, would practically be impossible given the situation. They did switch countries, but not in such a dramatized way.

In reality, all they had to do was to walk to the local train station. They boarded on the first train to Italy and from there, eventually, they traveled to London and then to the United States. It was still a colossal trip to undergo, but at least they weren’t on foot!

The Sixteen Going on Seventeen Accident

With her performance, Charmain Carr managed to make Liesl into a fan-favorite character. The truth is, that even though on the big screen her dancing skills are impeccable, she was actually involved in a freak accident while shooting for Sixteen Going on Seventeen, but she kept on dancing!

On the very first take, she slipped while jumping across a bench and fell through some glass. Given that they had to continue shooting, in the original movie her foot is wrapped with a bandage covered in makeup. However, that bandage isn’t visible in the 2005 remake.

The Real Maria Wasn't Invited

The real Maria von Trapp was the person who made everything possible. After all, she wrote the book called The Story of the Trapp Family Singers that inspired both the original theatrical play, as well as the movie. However, it turns out, she wasn’t even invited to the movie’s premiere!

This fact might as well be the strangest one, as the production cast was thought to be extremely considerate toward her. She even made a cameo appearance, during the song I Have Confidence. Even after everything, when the movie was first viewed on the big screens, she was told that there weren’t enough seats.

Maria Von Trapp, A True Matriarch

Maria was a very hard worker who had poured her life and soul into the von Trapp family. Even though she had originally fled when the Captain asked her to marry him, she returned and followed through; she had been the matriarch of the family ever since.

Not only was she in charge of their money, but also all the other family matters. The Captain, on the other hand, in real life, instead of being a harsh paternal figure, was reportedly kind and fairly close to his entire family. Quite the opposite of what the movie portrayed.

Plummer Ate So Much, His Clothes Had to be Refitted

Even though he has now admitted to the film being a perfect family movie, the likes of which we hadn’t seen for a long time, when Christopher Plummer was playing the role of Captain, he was less than amazed. As a matter of fact, he called the role names like awful, gooey and incredibly sentimental.

He was struggling with alcohol addiction and was eating so much in order to hide his distress that many of his suits had to actually be refitted. Like any other person, Plummer was fighting his demons at the time. He was also reportedly the person that taught Charmain how to drink!

Edelweiss Isn't Even Austrian

One of the best-known songs from the movie is Edelweiss. However, even though it is said to be an Austrian song that was sung by the Captain in order to express his dislike for the Nazis, the song was in fact written for the movie and is not widely known in Austria.

As a matter of fact, it was the last song that Oscar Hammerstein ever wrote before he passed away from stomach cancer in 1960. Oscar had written songs for numerous theatrical and movie productions in the past, and Edelweiss was one of them.

Richard Dreyfuss Almost Became A von Trapp

Over Richard Dreyfuss’ long-lasting career, he has had roles in multiple movies including Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. However, what many people do not know is that he had auditioned to be part of The Sound of Music for the role of one of the von Trapp children.

Even though the production was blown away by his incredible acting skills, keep in mind that he was close to being eighteen years old at the time. However, his lack of dancing skills was why he didn’t get the coveted role.

Maria von Trapp Was Almost Portrayed by Doris Day

The 50s and 60s were the peak eras of Doris Day’s career as she was able to jumpstart her career and participate in movies like Love Me or Leave Me, Lover Come Back, and Pillow Talk. She was also greatly considered for the role of Maria von Trapp, instead of Julie Andrews.

It must have been an incredibly difficult choice to make given the production’s casting options. It’s said that Doris didn’t end up playing Maria because of her being too American. However, that exact trait of hers was what made her such a success, to begin with. Doris sadly passed away in 2019 after contracting pneumonia.

Historically Inaccurate and Extremely Stereotypical

As mentioned earlier, when the movie was released, it quickly became a hit throughout the world, becoming one of the highest-grossing films of all time. Especially in the United States, even though the critics were mixed, the people loved it, and still do, to this day.

That was not the case, however, for Austria. As a matter of fact, many people there hated the movie, and most Austrians today have not even heard of it! The movie was heavily judged for being too Americanised, filled with historical inaccuracies and incredibly stereotypical.

The Movie Critic Who Lost Her Job

When Pauline Kael was still alive, every production trembled to see her critiques. She was known to be highly opinionated and outspoken. When The Sound of Music was released, Pauline was working for the McCall magazine. However, legend has it that after calling the movie a sugarcoated lie, she was immediately fired.

Even though she was fired from the magazine one way or the other, that didn’t mark the end of her career as she continued on as a writer for The New Yorker. Not only that, but she had also published her best-selling book that same year, in 1965, titled I Lost It at the Movies.

The Real Maria Was Raised An Atheist

Even though Maria von Trapp is depicted as this fun and loving person, the truth is, that the real Maria had suffered a lot in her days. She was born in a hospital in Vienna, Austria and was orphaned by the age of ten.

Her foster parents were raising her as a socialist and an atheist, following a strict teaching system. Maria ran away right after she graduated and entered a monastery in hopes of becoming a nun. Two years after she joined, she was asked to take care of the von Trapp children and eventually got married to Georg von Trapp.

She Was Expecting One Child Instead of Seven

When Maria agreed to work for the von Trapp family, she actually had no clue what was about to happen. She had expected that she would be taking care of one child that was suffering from scarlet fever, the same fever that resulted in the child’s mother’s death.

Upon arriving at the house, she quickly realized that she had signed up for something much more. However, that didn’t seem to be a problem for her, as she quickly became attached to every single one of the von Trapp children, despite the huge responsibility that she had to undertake.

The Captain's Love Wasn't Reciprocated, Initially

Not only did Maria not want to get married to Captain Georg, but as a matter of fact, when the offer was made, she ran away, back to the monastery. There, she consulted with the mother abbess who advised her that it was God's will that she marry him.

Maria was greatly angered by the fact that she could no longer become a nun, but on the other hand, she understood the necessity of this arrangement. As she walked down the aisle in her classic wedding gown, her decision was made easier knowing how much she loved all the children, and slowly but surely she came to adore Georg as her husband.

How Maria Got to Share Her True Story

Once the entire family had migrated to the United States, not only did they become successful performers and singers, by the name The Trapp Family Singers, but Maria also took it upon herself to share their stories with the public and wrote many books about it.

She was the author of The Story of the Trapp Family Singers, which was the inspiration for the movie, and also, of her very own autobiography. When the contracts were made for the movie to be created, Maria had no clue that she was actually signing away the rights of her own life story.

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

While everyone, other than Christopher Plummer that is, found Julie Andrews to be the perfect person to work with, one of the many things she did to win the cast over was to sing for the kids. Given that she had just finished working on the Mary Poppins film, it was natural for her to still remember all the songs.

During the breaks, Julie Andrews would put on her best smile and sing Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious to the children. With the Mary Poppins movie not yet released, most, if not all of the children, actually thought that she was making it all up along the way!

Oscar Hammerstein's Last Song

There have been many misconceptions and confusions surrounding Edelweiss. Even though the flower itself is somewhat of a national Austrian symbol, the song, as mentioned earlier, is not. Through the movie, many people were lead to believe that it was an old Austrian song or even their national anthem.

Even though the lyrics that Oscar Hammerstein wrote were of great sentimental value, and given that it was the last song he ever wrote, it does give Edelweiss some historical importance but was nothing more than a simple song made for a movie.

Keeping Marta's Smile

Much like most children her age, when the movie was being filmed, Debbie Turner, who was playing the role of Marta, had teeth falling out. After all, she was almost nine years old at the time. The production had to find a solution for Debbie to have a full set of teeth for the movie.

So, whenever a tooth would fall out, they would replace it with a false one. There was nothing more important than to maintain a perfect smile on her cute face. We remember falling in love with that joyful look she had. We would have never guessed what really went on behind the scenes.

A Different Georg

Another misconception that was created by the film had everything to do with Georg von Trapp’s character. In the film, he is portrayed by Christopher Plummer as this strong and strict parent, when in reality, he was the exact opposite, despite his military background.

As a matter of fact, the Captain was extremely kind-hearted and loving. He used to spend a lot of time playing with his children. Rumour has it that when Maria met up with the director, Robert Wise, she tried asking to have him depicted more realistically but was turned down.

The Wartime Broadcasting System

Some time ago, the BBC announced its plans to create a wartime broadcasting system. There had been many changes made to this program, given that there was a dispute about whether or not it should include entertainment programs, rather than just repeating a pre-set post-attack statement.

One of the entertainment programs that made the cut, was none other than, songs from The Sound of Music. It also involved other comedic productions, but they thought that the songs would be a gentle and joyful touch to raise any survivor's morale. However, the broadcasting system was gradually dropped and different mechanisms have taken its place.

Louisa With A Blonde Wig

Another witty fact about the cast is that Angela Cartwright, who was playing the role of Louisa, was initially supposed to be wearing a blonde wig. For some reason, the production thought it better for Louisa to be blonde than brunette. She would, of course, go through with it, but they decided it wasn’t needed.

Angela continued on her career as an actress, especially since the movie was such a big hit. She remains partially active to this day, however, her last appearance on TV was in 2015. Right after the movie, she landed a role in the hit TV show Lost in Space.

Not So 16 After All

The song Sixteen Going on Seventeen is probably one of the most memorable songs from the movie. However, in reality, it was a tiny bit ironic, given that Charmian Carr had long celebrated her sweet sixteen when the movie was being filmed. Let’s not forget her on-stage romance with Plummer.

It is not at all uncommon for a movie to cast adults to play the roles of teenagers, as it has been done for many movies before and after The Sound of Music. Charmian as a matter of fact was old enough to buy her own alcohol at the time! She was 21 going on 22.

New Names and Different Ages

Even though the entire movie was based on the von Trapp Family Singers, the truth is that both the names and the children’s ages were entirely different. In reality, Friedrich and Leisl didn’t even exist, as the oldest child of the family was a young man named Rupert.

It is not uncommon for movies based on real-life events to change the names of the characters, but in Leisl’s case, her entire storyline is fiction. Her character was, however, rumored to have been based on the second oldest von Trapp child, Agathe.

Stunt Double

The movie’s closing shot is definitely one of the most memorable scenes of the entire film, as the entire family is depicted walking on the mountain. It was, in fact, one of the last scenes they filmed, however, Kym Karath, who was playing the role of Gretl, von Trapp’s youngest, is apparently not in it.

She had reportedly gained weight while the movie was being filmed and Christopher Plummer refused to carry her on his soldiers. As a result, he requested a stunt double for the scene, and that stunt double is the person we see on Plummer’s back.

The Next Generation of the von Trapps

Traditions are important and the von Trapp family seem to be honoring theirs, given that, though generations have passed, the legacy carried on; there were still von Trapps singing and performing for the world to see. The only difference was that instead of going by The Trapp Family Signers, they were known as The von Trapps.

They were the grandchildren of Werner von Trapp, the inspiration behind Kurt’s character from the movie, and by extent the great-grandchildren of Georg. They were quite successful for as long as they lasted and even managed to perform with Pink Martini and released a collaboration album in 2014 called Dream a Little Dream.

The Children's Height

One of the most important features that all the seven children needed to have was for their height to ascend in accordance to their ages. However, when you are talking about teenagers at the peak of their growth sprout, it can easily get a bit out of control.

Nicholas Hammond, who was playing Friedrich, had to be shorter than Leisl but yet taller than Louisa. When they started the filming, Nicholas was 5 foot 3 and had to wear heels, but by the time they finished he had already grown six inches taller and could certainly take them off.

Keeping It Formal

It goes without a doubt, that The Sound of Music is now an all-time classic movie. No matter how many times we watch it, it never gets old. The last random movie fact for today is quite unique since there is no actual reasoning behind it.

We know that the Captain’s real name was Georg, however, we cannot be sure that Maria’s character did, given that she never used his real name throughout the entire movie. From the very beginning until the very end, she referred to him as Captain, Sir and sometimes darling.