25 The Hills Are Alive Facts You Didn’t Know About ‘The Sound of Music’

7. Colorful recognition

The Sound of Music won the best picture Oscar in 1966. The broadcast of that show was remarkable for being the first time the Academy Awards was shot in color.

8. Tripping Andrews up

The trip Maria suffers when she’s running across the courtyard to the Von Trapp domicile was not written into the script. The director chose to keep it because he felt the misstep added to the character’s nervousness for the scene.

9. A kinder pop

The real-life father of the von Trapp clan was not, in fact, as hard-nosed as Christopher Plummer plays him in the movie. In fact, Maria von Trapp allegedly met with director Robert Wise to discuss softening his sharp edges. Wise refused to budge.

10. Stringing her along

Julie Andrews didn’t know how to play the guitar before The Sound of Music. She learned specifically for the film.

11. The real story

The real-life relationship between Maria and Georg von Trapp was not nearly as romantic as portrayed in the film. When the captain proposed in real life, Maria wrote in her 1948 memoir, “I really and truly was not in love. I liked him but I didn’t love him. However, I loved the children. And so, in a way, I really married the children.”

12. I could have been a contender

Julie Andrews was far from the first or only actress considered for the role of Maria. Reportedly, studio execs also courted Audrey Hepburn and Doris Day for the part. Both Sean Connery and Bing Crosby turned down the Captain von Trapp role. Fred Astaire was considered for the role of Max and Grace Kelly for the Baroness. Mia Farrow also auditioned for the part of Leisl.