Cast: Julie Andrews (Maria), Christopher Plummer (Captain Georg Von Trapp), Eleanor Parker (The Baroness), Richard Haydn (Max Detweiler), Peggy Wood (Mother Abbess), Charmian Carr (Liesl), Heather Menzies-Urich (Louisa), Nicholas Hammond (Friedrich), Duane Chase (Kurt)
Directors: Robert Wise
My rating: 8.5 / 10

Plot 
In Salzburg, Austria in 1938, Maria (Julie Andrews) is a free-spirited young trainee Nun at Nonnberg Abbey. Her love of music and the mountains, her youthful enthusiasm and imagination, and her lack of discipline cause some concern among the nuns. The Mother Abbess, believing Maria would be happier outside the abbey, sends her to the villa of retired naval officer Captain Georg von Trapp (Christopher Plummer) to be Governess to his seven children. The Captain has been raising his children using strict military discipline following the death of his wife. Although the children misbehave at first having managed to drive away eleven prior Governess, Maria responds with kindness and patience, and soon the children come to trust and respect her. Liesl (Charmian Carr), the oldest, is won over after Maria protects her from discovery when she is nearly caught sneaking back into the house after meeting with Rolfe, a messenger boy she is in love with.

While the Captain is away in Vienna, Maria makes play clothes for the children and takes them around Salzburg and the surrounding mountains, and teaches them how to sing. When the Captain returns to the villa with the wealthy socialite Baroness Elsa Schraeder (Eleanor Parker) and their mutual friend, the musical agent Max Detweiler (Richard Haydn), they are greeted by Maria and the children returning from a boat ride on the lake that concludes when their boat overturns. Displeased by his children’s clothes and activities, and Maria’s impassioned appeal that he get closer to his children, the Captain orders her to return to the abbey. Just then he hears singing coming from inside the house and is astonished to see his children singing for the Baroness. The Captain joins his children, singing for the first time in years. Afterwards, he apologises to Maria and asks her to stay.

Impressed by the children’s singing, Max proposes he enter them in the upcoming Salzburg Festival, but the suggestion is immediately rejected by the Captain as he is opposed to his children singing in public. He does agree, however, to organise a grand party at the villa. The night of the party, while guests in formal attire waltz in the ballroom, Maria and the children look on from the garden terrace. When the Captain notices Maria teaching Kurt the traditional Ländler folk dance, he cuts in and dances with Maria in a graceful performance, culminating in a close embrace. Confused about her feelings, Maria blushes and breaks away. Later, the Baroness, who noticed the Captain’s attraction to Maria, convinces Maria that she must return to the abbey. 

Back at the abbey, when Mother Abbess learns that Maria has stayed in seclusion to avoid her feelings for the Captain, she encourages her to return to the villa to look for her life. After Maria returns to the villa, she learns about the Captain’s engagement to the Baroness and agrees to stay until they find a replacement governess. The Captain’s feelings for Maria, however, have not changed, and after breaking off his engagement, the Captain marries Maria in a grand ceremony with the Nonnberg Abbey nun’s very happy for her having solved ‘How do you solve a problem like Maria’.

While the Captain and Maria are on their honeymoon, Max enters the children in the Salzburg Festival against their father’s wishes. When they learn that Austria has been annexed by the Third Reich the couple return to their home, where a telegram awaits informing the Captain that he must report to the German Naval base at Bremerhaven to accept a commission in the German Navy. Strongly opposed to the Nazis, the Captain tells his family they must leave Austria immediately for Switzerland. Many of the Von Trapps’ friends are prepared to accept the new regime, including Liesl’s boyfriend Rolfe, who has joined the Hitler Youth. That night, as the von Trapp family attempt to leave, they are stopped by a group of Brownshirts waiting outside the villa. When questioned by Gauleiter Hans Zeller, the Captain maintains they are headed to the Salzburg Festival to perform. Zeller insists on escorting them to the festival, after which his men will accompany the Captain to Bremerhaven.

Later that night at the festival the von Trapps performed a number of songs including a song about Austria that moves most of the audience.  Max informed that crowd that their new Nazi friends will be taking the Captain away at the end of the night, thereby raising some sympathy for him.  During their final number, the von Trapp family then slip away and seek shelter at the nearby abbey, where the nuns hide them in the cemetery crypt. Brownshirts soon arrive and search the abbey, and the family is discovered by Rolfe. Upon seeing Liesl, he hesitates to raise the alarm (long enough to allow the family time to flee), and the family is able to escape using the Abbey’s car. When the soldiers attempt to pursue, they discover their cars will not start as two nuns have removed parts of the engines to help their escape, confusing to Mother Abbess.

The next morning, after driving to the Swiss border, the von Trapp family lead by Maria who grow up in the mountains and loves them, make their way on foot across the Swiss Alps into Switzerland and freedom.

What’s to Like
The historical setting, the music and songs, the landscapes, the acting.

What’s not to Like
Nothing.  

Thoughts
The songs are amazing and worth buying the sound track they are so uplifting and at times funny.  Maria is a free spirit who loves the outdoors and singing and is struggling with her future commitment to become a nun.  The majority of the other nuns really like her but know she doesn’t really fit in with this life.  Mother Abbess is the catalyst for the entire film, first pushing Maria to the von Trapp family and then inspiring her to go back when she flee due to her growing feelings for the Captain.  Mother Abbess says finding love with the Captain doesn’t mean she has less love for God.  Mother Abbess is a very positive religious leader role model which you really don’t see much in modern films.

I get easily drawn into movie set around historical events but the songs and the story of love and the von Trapps family’s recovery from tragic loss is inspiring.  The sad betrayal of Liesl’s first love grounds the film somewhat so that it’s not all sunshine and roses.

A great uplifting film really worth watching.

Academy Awards

• Best Picture – winner
• Best Director (Robert Wise) – winner
• Best Sound – winner
• Best Film Editing – winner
• Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment – winner
• Best Actress in a Leading Role (Julie Andrews) – nominee
• Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Peggy Wood) – nominee
• Best Cinematography, Colour – nominee
• Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Colour – nominee
• Best Costume Design, Colour – nominee