5 ‘Sound of Music’ Facts That Will Become a Few of Your Favorite Things

Gabrielle Moss November 18, 7:29 pm

THE SOUND OF MUSIC, (poster art), Julie Andrews, 1965 5 Things Yiur Didn't know — 20th Century-Fox Film Corp./Courtesy Everett Collection

The hiiiiiiillllls are allllliiiiiiiive … with some fun facts about The Sound of Music! The 1965 musical starring Julie Andrews as a charming nun turned governess and Christopher Plummer as the stone-hearted widower who eventually falls for her is a family classic and still being discovered by new generations 59 years after its release.

But even if you’ve logged countless hours enjoying raindrops on roses or trying to solve a problem like Maria, there’s probably still a lot that you don’t know about this holiday classic. Like, for example, that it wasn’t always considered a holiday classic. So have confidence that you’re about to learn something new about one of the most beloved musicals of all time.

1Christopher Plummer Hated It (Until He Didn’t)

THE SOUND OF MUSIC, Christopher Plummer, 1965.

20th Century Fox Film Corp./Courtesy Everett Collection

Originally a 1959 Rodgers & Hammerstein musical, The Sound of Music was met with instant acclaim on Broadway, taking home five Tony Awards in its initial run. And when it was first released in theaters, the film adaptation of The Sound of Music was immediately a hit with audiences — it was the highest-grossing film of 1965 and won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for Robert Wise. However, at least one person was not so pleased with the film — star Christopher Plummer.

Though the film raised the profile of Plummer, who had previously been primarily known as a theater actor, he remained displeased with the film for decades afterward. Plummer admitted to being irate and curmudgeonly on set, and openly insulted the film for decades, once referring to it as “The Sound of Mucus.” He skipped the 40th anniversary cast reunion, and in a 2010 profile of the actor, it was reported that he ” disliked almost every aspect of [the film], except working with Julie Andrews.” In 2011, he described the film as “so awful and sentimental and gooey” to The Hollywood Reporter.

But in his 2012 memoir, he reported that rewatching the film changed his mind. “The more I watched, the more I realized what a terrific movie it is,” he said. “[I was] totally seduced by the damn thing — and what’s more, I felt a sudden surge of pride that I’d been a part of it.”

2Julie Andrews Wasn’t Initially a Fan, Either

Though Andrews has had a much more positive take on the film throughout the decades, she wasn’t totally sure of the film when she signed on. In fact, she had seen the play on Broadway and hadn’t loved it. “I’m ashamed to admit that at the time we weren’t wildly impressed,” she reveals in her 2019 memoir Home Work. “We loved the music, but the show seemed rather saccharine to us.”

In fact, Andrews was so unimpressed, she parodied the play with frequent collaborator Carol Burnett in a 1962 TV special. The skit pokes fun at the Von Trapps’ sizable family and yodeling, and parodies “My Favorite Things” by having the singers praise “pigs’ feet and cheese.”

3There’s a Reason Julie Andrews’ Hair is So Short

THE SOUND OF MUSIC, Julie Andrews, 1965.

20th Century Fox Film Corp./courtesy Everett Collection

Maria’s short, sensible hairdo makes sense for a young nun — but there’s a little bit more to the story of how her iconic look came to be.

Andrews first cut her hair so it could fit under wigs more easily while shooting Mary Poppins. But she discovered that she liked the look and kept her hair short even after that movie wrapped.

Filming on The Sound of Music began with the naturally brunette Andrews sporting a cropped ‘do and highlights. However, the film’s producers felt that the back of her head was a bit dark on camera, so they sent her out for more highlights. Something went awry, and Andrews came back with not highlighted brunette hair, but “a bright orange mop,” she wrote in Home Work. To salvage the situation, some of the orange hair was cut off, and the remaining hair was dyed pure blonde, giving us the Maria that we know today.

4It’s Based on a True Story

THE SOUND OF MUSIC, Christopher Plummer, Charmian Carr, Kym Karath, Angela Cartwright, Julie Andrews, Nicholas Hammond, Heather Menzies, Duane Chase, Eleanor Parker, 1965

20th Century Fox Film Corp./Everett Collection

Part of the charm of The Sound of Music is that it seems to exist so far outside of the realm of real life. A singing nun who becomes the governess and then stepmother to a perky family of harmonizing children — all of whom must band together to safely sneak out of pre-World War II Austria? It feels more like a fairy tale than reality. But it’s all true! Well, sort of.

Much of the film is loosely based on the memoir The Story of the Trapp Family Singers, by Maria von Trapp. Maria really was a novice nun, and she really did leave the convent to be a governess to military hero Captain Georg von Trapp’s children. However, a few of the facts were different. There were 10 von Trapp children, not seven, Georg was known to be warm rather than stern, and Maria and Georg married a decade before the family fled Austria. Speaking of fleeing: The family didn’t sneak over the Alps to freedom; they simply took a train to Italy, where Georg held citizenship, and from there traveled to America.

Portrait of the Baroness Maria Von Trapp (front, centre) singing with her children; (L-R) Johannes, Eleonore, Hedwig, Martina, Maria, Rosemarie and Werner, in London, circa 1950.

George Konig/Keystone Features/Getty Images

But perhaps most surprisingly to fans of the film, Maria did not marry Georg because she had fallen for the widower. Instead, she married him because she loved being part of the von Trapp family and because her fellow nuns advised that the marriage was God’s will. “I really and truly was not in love,” Maria von Trapp wrote. “I liked him but didn’t love him. However, I loved the children, so in a way I really married the children. … [By] and by I learned to love him more than I have ever loved before or after.”

5It Wasn’t Originally Considered a Christmas Movie

THE SOUND OF MUSIC, from left, Duane Chase, Charmian Carr, Debbie Turner, Angela Cartwright, Nicholas Hammond, Kym Karath, Christopher Plummer, Heather Menzies, Julie Andrews, 1965,

20th Century Fox Film Corp./Everett Collection

Though The Sound of Music is closely associated with Christmas and the holiday season these days, it isn’t technically a Christmas film. Much of it takes place during warmer weather, and there’s no mention of Christmas or a scene of the Von Trapps decorating the Christmas tree (the photo above is a publicity shot, not a scene from the movie). The film was originally released in March, and for a number of years, was aired annually on TV in the late winter or spring, closer to Easter.

But in 2002, NBC began airing the film as part of their pre-Christmas programming, creating a connection between the film and the holiday. “The Sound of Music‘s universal themes of love, family and overcoming hardship in the face of adversity are exactly what we’re all thinking about over the holiday season” Andy Kubitz, ABC Entertainment’s exec VP of programming strategy, told TV Insider in 2020.

There’s also the fact that “My Favorite Things,” which again makes no specific mention of Christmas, is considered Christmas standard. The song’s first connection to Christmas came in 1961, when Andrews sang the song on a TV holiday special. But its inclusion on a 1964 Christmas album by singer Jack Jones cemented its reputation as a holiday tune; in the years that followed, it appeared on Christmas albums recorded by everyone from the Supremes to Eddie Fisher.