“The Sound of Music,” available on Disney+, is a bona fide cult musical comedy — notably winning five Oscars — and could have ended completely differently if the planned alternate ending had seen the light of day.
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It is one of the most popular musicals of all time. “The Sound of Music,” available on the Disney+ streaming platform, has won five Oscars, including Best Picture, and has become a cinematic classic since its release in 1965. Directed by Robert Wise and based on the musical of the same name by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, the story follows Maria, a young woman played by Julie Andrews, who goes to the house of Captain Georg von Trapp, played by Christopher Plummer , is sent to become the governess of her seven children. Captain von Trapp, a strict widower, rules his household, but Maria brings cheerful energy and music. She quickly becomes friends with the children and even falls in love with the captain. The film takes place in Austria at the beginning of the Second World War.
A serious but positive ending for The melody of happiness
Maria and the captain eventually marry, and upon their return from their honeymoon, the Third Reich annexed Austria. The captain receives orders to serve at the German naval base. However, since he was strongly against Nazi ideology, he decided to flee Austria with his family. That's why The Sound of Music takes a serious turn towards the end and focuses on the von Trapp family's escape from the Nazis during the war. Although it was well received in many countries, there was not the same enthusiasm in others. Germany and Austria in particular are not particularly enthusiastic about the story.
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What did the alternate ending say? The melody of happiness ?
In Julia Antopol Hirsch's book “The Sound of Music: The Making of America's Favorite Movie,” which offers a behind-the-scenes look at the film, she revealed the alternate ending to “The Sound of Music.” And that prevented the family from escaping. The Munich branch of 20th Century Fox wanted to avoid the topic of war and National Socialism at all costs and therefore called for an early end to the musical. The Sound of Music therefore ended with the wedding between Maria and the captain. Director Robert Wise intervened and protested, leading to the originally planned ending.
Article written in collaboration with 6Medias