The Sound of Music

Question: Why did the captain first start loving Maria when she sat on the pinecone? I always assumed it was because she chose to sit on it rather than tell him and get his children punished for putting it there, but I'm not sure.

Answer: Probably a mixture of knowing his children put the pine cone there and Maria protected them, and probably because Maria is so ridiculous (in a good way) and he finds her likeable.

Question: What is the highest note Maria sings? I'm auditioning for this musical on Friday.

Answer: According to this website (https://singingcarrots.com/artist-range?artist=The%20Sound%20of%20Music), the song with the highest pitch is "The Lonely Goatherd", with a range between C4-A5. All those yodels, I suspect. Good luck with the audition.

Chosen answer: Max is not the children's uncle but a close family friend. He helps the Von Trapps to escape by stalling the announcement the winners of a music concert held at the end. Being the first-place winners, the Von Trapps are announced last, but they have already slipped away into the mountains.

raywest

Question: When Captain Von Trapp says, "Another name I haven't heard before," what is the tone implied? Like, was it sarcasm or did he really never hear that name before?

Answer: Sarcasm.

Question: What would've happened if they were caught at the end?

MikeH

Answer: The likely responses of the Nazis would have been either to execute them all, or hold Captain von Trapp's family hostage while he served in the Kriegsmarine.

LorgSkyegon

Question: Wouldn't Max and the nuns have been tortured and executed for helping them escape?

MikeH

Answer: Quite possibly yes.

LorgSkyegon

Question: Quite often I notice that Brigitta is holding the hand of Greta and was wondering why.

Answer: Kym Karath, the actress who portrayed Greta, was only six-years-old at the time and needed some guidance while filming the scenes, particularly ones involving many cast members and with much activity going on. That would be a bit much for a small child to handle alone.

raywest

Question: Why does the Captain not like Max? After he tells the children that he'll be bringing the Baroness back with him from Vienna to visit, he says Max will be coming too, and he rolls his eyes when he says that.

Answer: I don't think he dislikes Max, but finds him a bit frivolous and annoying. Max also entered the children in the festival against the Captain's wishes.

raywest

Answer: This is proved to be true as Georg loses his temper with him several times about his attitude to the Nazis and about his children singing in public.

Answer: Not to mention that he seems to be a spendthrift and a moocher off his rich friends.

LorgSkyegon

Question: Exactly how did the Von Trapps escape after their last performance "So Long, Farewell"? How did a Nazi officer not catch them?

Answer: In the movie we aren't shown what soldiers, if any, are behind the scenes that would be there to catch them, so they could have snuck by. In real life there was no escape necessary, the Von Trapps actually just climbed onto a train saying they were going to America to perform.

jimba

Continuity mistake: Christopher Plummer throws down the drape the kids used for clothing on the ground. Then he walks away and there's a clear shot of the ground and the drape has vanished.

More mistakes in The Sound of Music

Maria: I don't understand.
Captain von Trapp: Well, we called off our engagement, you see, and...
Maria: Oh, I'm sorry.
Captain von Trapp: Yes. You are?
Maria: Mm-hmm. You did?
Captain von Trapp: Yes. Well, you can't marry someone when you're in love with someone else... Can you?

More quotes from The Sound of Music

Trivia: In the boating scene, Kym Karath (Gretl) nearly drowned when she fell in the water. The scene originally called for Julie Andrews (Maria) to pull her out of the water as Kym couldn't swim, but Andrews fell out of the wrong side of the boat. In fact, the crew had to stop filming to rescue Kym. In the movie Heather Menzies (Louisa) pulls her out - Kym threw up on her after swallowing so much water.

More trivia for The Sound of Music

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.