TUESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2022 - Some Sound of Music trivia

 TUESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2022 - Some Sound of Music trivia

This fall, the Central Texas Musical Arts Orchestra is playing broadway songs.  In particular, they are playing “The Sound of Music songs”.  I found the following trivia.

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1. The Title Was Originally Called 'Love Song'

In a telegram dated Feb. 6, 1959, lawyers for the original play pleaded with Rodgers and Hammerstein to "PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE get a new title!" for "their forthcoming musical play" because of copyright issues over the name, "Love Song."

"Over 300 musical compositions have already been copyrighted under that name," the telegram reads.

So the name was changed to "The Sound of Music."
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2. My Favorite things was changed:

On one of Hammerstein's early notes about the song, he wrote, “Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, curling my fingers in warm woolen mittens, riding down a hill on my big brother’s bike, these are a few of the things that I like.”

Next to “curling” is the handwritten word “kettle,” and next to "like" is the handwritten phrase, "my favorite things." Today, we know the lyrics as “Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens, silver white winters that melt into spring, these are a few of my favorite things.”

The name of the song was also originally called “Good Things,” and Hammerstein crossed it out and changed it to “My Favorite Things.”
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3. 'Do Re Mi' Was Originally Titled 'First Singing Lesson'

But was also later changed.

In the original play, "Do Re Mi" was the first song Maria sang to the von Trapp children, but for the movie, filmmakers made “My Favorite Things” the first song she sang with them instead. Originally, “My Favorite Things” was sung as a duet between Maria and Mother Abbess.

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4. Oscar Hammerstein Struggled With a Lyric for 'Sol'

When writing the song, “Do Re Mi,” Hammerstein wrote lyrics for each beat such as, “Do, a deer, a female deer, Re, a drop of golden sun,” but he struggled to come up with a lyric for the beat, “Sol,” which is pronounced “Sew,” but written both ways in his notes.

“Sow is a thing you do with grain, oat wheat,” reads one of Hammerstein’s handwritten notes about the song, as he tried out different lyrics.

It took him four days to come up with the lyric as we know it today: “Sew, a needle pulling thread.”
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5. The 'Do Re Mi' Scene Was Supposed to Include a Maze

When performing “Do Re Mi” in the movie, Maria and the von Trapp children were supposed to be seen running and singing through a garden maze on the house grounds. Filmmakers even drew up storyboards of what the scene would look like, and every single beat of the music in the song was timed exactly for the actors.

But in the end, the scene was scrapped.
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6. There Was Supposed to Be a Scene with Maria, Rolf, and Liesl

According to Burt Fink, the Rodgers and Hammerstein company’s senior vice president for Europe, there was a scene shot for the movie with Maria, Rolf, and Liesl together, but it was cut for time.

In the film’s current version, Maria never meets Rolf.
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Maria von Trapp sold the rights to her life story for a song

After her book The Story of the Trapp Family Singers was published in 1949, there was interest from various quarters in buying the film rights. In 1955, the von Trapp family was strapped for money and Maria sold the rights to German movie producer Wolfgang Reinhardt for a flat $9,000. She and her family would see no royalties from the two subsequent German films based on the von Trapp family’s adventures, or from the Broadway production of The Sound of Music, which ran for more than three years, or from the film version, which has grossed around $300 million.

20th Century Fox almost didn’t make 'The Sound of Music

When the Broadway show opened in 1959 and proved to be such a smash hit, the studio, which had already produced four R&H adaptations, bought film rights for $1.25 million. Then came Cleopatra, the $40 million drain on studio resources that temporarily shut Fox down and made any new expensive undertaking an iffy proposition. It was only when Richard Zanuck took over Fox production reins that the property was revived.
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The original director had a different vision for the movie

William Wyler, a Swiss-German Jew who had won three Best Director Oscars, was originally assigned to direct the film. He envisioned a lot more Nazis, swastikas, and cheering Austrian crowds to greet the Anschluss that takes up the movie’s final stretch. Eventually, Wyler decided to direct the disturbing psychological thriller The Collector instead, and Robert Wise, who had guided the film version of West Side Story to 10 Oscars, came onboard.
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Other actors were considered for the roles of Maria and Captain von Trapp

Doris Day was seriously considered for the role of Maria, along with Leslie Caron, Anne Bancroft, and even Grace Kelly. Walter Matthau was actually tested for the role of Captain von Trapp, with other names like Yul Brynner and Bing Crosby also floated for the part. Luckily, footage of Andrews in Mary Poppins was available to the filmmakers and she became the top choice. And Christopher Plummer was selected for the dash of danger he could bring to the Captain.

The actress who played Liesl was a bit older than '16 going on 17' 

Charmian Carr was 21 going on 22 when she portrayed the eldest von Trapp sibling. Nonetheless, she beat out competitors like Lesley Ann Warren, Teri Garr, Sharon Tate, and Mia Farrow for the role.

Andrews had a hair malfunction shortly before filming started

An attempt to give the star’s natural dark brown locks a few blond highlights resulted in something closer to orange. To get her presentable for “My Favorite Things,” the first number to be filmed at Fox Studios, Andrews’ hair was bleached to Maria’s familiar golden color.

Plummer's singing voice was dubbed

Singer Bill Lee provided the singing voice for Captain von Trapp. Also dubbed in the movie is the singing voice of Mother Abbess, played by Peggy Woods.

Shooting “Do-Re-Mi” was not exactly as easy as ABC

The Salzburg, Austria location filming that served The Sound of Music so well was a nearly constant battle against the elements since it was a very wet and chilly spring in the von Trapps’ hometown. Waiting for the sun extended location shooting from eight to 11 weeks, and the “Do-Re-Mi” number, which occupies about nine minutes of screen time, took almost two months to complete.

Andrews fell while shooting the opening twirl

The helicopter that captured this famous moment during the opening of the movie also caused a downdraft that not even Andrews could withstand. Luckily, the problem only occurred after the helicopter had passed, so no footage of Andrews taking a pratfall made it on camera.

Andrews and Plummer were shot in silhouette during “Something Good” to cover up a fit of giggles

Back in Hollywood, during one of the last scenes filmed, Andrews and Plummer were getting punchy. The arc lights hung over the gazebo set kept producing, in the actress’ words, “a raspberry sound.” Nothing could stem the tide of hilarity sweeping over the love scene, so cinematographer Ted McCord cast his romantic leads in shadow.

Much of this comes from 10 Things You May Not Know About 'The Sound of Music' - Biograph

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MY COMMENTS:

I had seen the movie, and then we were playing this in an orchestra.  There are two songs in our music that weren’t in the movie.  “How Can Love Survive” and “No Way to Stop It” were in the play version - and in our music - but not in the movie version!!!  I assume the studio had to keep to a reasonable length. 

I’m in an online group with some friends from Switzerland.  One day, one of my Swiss friends commented that she was hiking in the Alps.  I asked if she was singing “The Hills are alive with the Sound of Music”, and if she was yodeling.  She had never heard of the Sound of Music!!  

As a musical, it is still delightful and with a happy (Pollyanna) ending!!!

If you live locally, I hope you can make it to our concert!!!

LOVE WINS!!

Karen White, ©
August 16, 2022