‘I got a little bored with the character’: The Sound of Music star didn’t have great memories of the film

Maria, a spiritual young woman, leaves the convent to become the governess of Captain von Trapp’s seven children. This authoritarian widow rules the house with an iron fist, and as soon as she arrives, Maria faces hostility from the children…

An absolute classic of the musical comedy that won five Oscars in 1966, including Best Director for Robert Wise and Best Picture, The Sound of Music was adapted from Julie Andrews’ Mary Poppins triumph by a new Julie Andrews who powers the film. Especially communicative energy.

Christopher Plummer as the stern Captain Von Trapp is far from unremarkable. A great actor who died in February 2021 at the age of 91, a hard worker, Plummer starred in many films, some of which were particularly memorable: The Man Who Would Be King, Dolores Claiborne, Somewhere in Time, Waterloo, Night of the Generals, Army of 12 Monkeys. .

His role as the humble patriarch in Weisz’s film was instrumental in launching his career. However, the actor underestimated his role and this film.

“It was a bit like beating a dead horse.”

in the given interview The Boston Globe In January 2010, Plummer noted A melody of happiness, which he won’t even name, is content to call it a “film”. In his autobiography published in 2008, in spite of myselfHe calls it directly “Sound of slime”.

Although he enjoyed working with Julie Andrews, her character on the other hand bothered him. “I got a little tired of the character. Even though we worked pretty hard to make it interesting, it was a bit like beating a dead horse. And it’s not for me. I mean, not everyone can like it. It’s not my cup of tea. .

Plummer repeated it a year later, at the microphone The Hollywood Reporter : “It was so scary and sentimental and sad. I had to work really hard to put some humor into it.”

“I felt a sudden rush of pride to be a part of it“

That said, Plummer was hot and cold about the film. Because, even in his autobiography, he seems to have corrected himself. He says that once he was watching the movie again after having lunch with his friends.

“I said to myself: ‘Am I going to run away?’ My friends, the hosts, wanted me to stay. “Kids will have a lot of fun with Captain Von Trapp watching himself on the screen. I stayed last. I hadn’t seen the movie in years, and the more I watched it, the more I realized what a great movie it was.

The best in the genre, warm, touching, funny and absolutely timeless. I suddenly understood why it brought so much pleasure to so many people. There I was, the cynical old fart that I am, completely mesmerized by this curse – and moreover, I felt a sudden surge of pride at having been a part of it.”