In the theatrical version of the story, Liesl, the oldest von Trapp sibling, falls in love with a Nazi soldier, who later tries to turn them all in. This may be a nice plot twist, but it was completely made up by the screenwriters and never happened in reality. The writers felt that the love story would add some drama to the film.
The oldest von Trapp child was actually a boy named Rupert and not a girl named Liesl. When the movie came out, Rupert was 54 years old and working in Vermont as a doctor. Doctor Rupert liked to tell people that he was the inspiration for Liesl, without the Nazi love affair, of course.
The Real Maria Wasn’t in Love with Anybody
Maria and the entire von Trapp family were actually based on real people, but the movie did not get all the details exactly right. Maria, for instance, never fell in love at all. In The Sound of Music, it looks like Maria, fresh from the convent, falls head over heels in love with Captain Von Trapp the moment their eyes meet. Sadly, things didn’t happen quite that way.
In her biography from 1948, Maria in fact stated, “I liked him, but I didn’t love him. However, I loved the children, and so in a way I really married the children.” That is much less romantic than love at first sight, but still a nice sentiment.
A Father Daughter Love Affair?
One of the craziest and definitely the most uncomfortable secret from behind the scenes of The Sound of Music is that Christopher Plummer, who played Captain von Trapp, was rumored to be having a relationship with Charmian Carr, the actress who played his daughter Liesl. When they weren’t busy acting like father and daughter, the two actors, 13 years apart in age, found some time for an off-camera dalliance.
While appearing on The Oprah Winfrey show, Charmian Carr talked about the enormous crush she had developed on her co-star during their nine months of shooting. She never confirmed that there had been a physical relationship, but rumors about the affair ran rampant.
The Actors Really Didn’t Like Each Other
There are often stories in Hollywood about actors who have to pretend to be lovers or friends but really can’t stand each other. This was unfortunately the case between Christopher Plummer and Julie Andrews. Despite the fact that everyone else on set loved Andrews and even called her an angel, Christopher Plummer thought she was too nice and gentle. He even told the media that working with her was like, “getting hit over the head with a Valentine card.”
Plummer was also not afraid to voice his objections to the movie’s feel good quality. He has been known to refer to it as “The Sound of Mucus,” and “S&M.” Wow, does this guy also hate rainbows and kittens?
Charmian Carr Wasn’t The Best Dancer
Actress Charmain Carr played the role of Liesl. She was young and beautiful and looked elegant and graceful, but truthfully, she wasn’t a great dancer. According to reports, Carr nearly broke her ankle while filming iconic number “16 going on 17”. In the film’s original version, a bandage can be easily spotted on her ankle, but it was digitally removed in the remastered version from 2005.
The actress talks about this in the film’s commentary, saying that people are surprised that she was injured while performing a simple dance routine. Don’t worry Liesl, no one is good at everything!