Musical Hills

In 1959, a musical, of which I'm a fan of, debuted on Broadway. In the 1960s, it was transmogrified into a film. The movie had its brilliantly rehearsed celluloid debut in 1965. I'm referring to The Sound of Music--One of my favourite films.

There is an awe-inspiring blend of location footage and Boris Leven's scenery. Dee Dee Wood and Marc Breaux tailored dance routines of terrificness. Dorothy Jeakins designed the costumes instinctively (Jeakins actually cameos as a nun). Bill and Cora Baird's puppetry added pizazz to The Lonely Goatherd.

The DeLuxe process was befitting for this film. I'm enthralled by William Reynold's editing and Ted McCord's cinematography (there aren't color-filters of superfluousness). The contributions of Irwin Kostal, Robert Tucker and the sound folks are invaluable. Saul Chaplin was an associate producer of uncanniness (his wife was rad, too). The Rodgers and Hammerstein score is composed stupendously. Richard Rodgers penned 2 original songs for the film--It couldn't be painless penning them without Oscar Hammerstein II, so kudos. I Have Confidence is a viable character number. Something Good is a savvily executed duet.

Similar to the production values, the film's ensemble cast has efficiency. The actual Maria Von Trapp cameos alongside a child and grandchild. Reuniting with Robert Wise after 20 years, Norma Varden acts swimmingly as Frau Schmidt, Gil Stuart is appropriately off-putting as Franz. Ben Wright is sliminess incarnate as Herr Zeller. It's gratifying witnessing Marni Nixon in an onscreen role. Portia Nelson's Sister Berthe is exasperated, yet goodhearted. Anna Lee acts sublimely as the empathetic Sister Margaretta. Daniel Truhitte conveyed the devolution of Rolf. Eleanor Parker had iciness and respectability as The Baroness.

Peggy Wood acted radiantly as The Mother Abbess. Wood was a benevolent, maternal mentor. With magnitude, Peggy supplied a sagacious final film performance. Richard Hadyn's endearing Max Detweiler is one of my favourite movie characters. I laud Richard's shamelessness. Hadyn had refinement and eventual selflessness as Max, too. The multinational group of performers cast as the 7 Von Trapp children had buyability as siblings. The youngsters peppered their characters with personalities. The 21 going on 22 Charmian Carr had winsome youthfulness as Liesl. The 2 Leads had wondrous chemistry and enacted their character's arks. As The Captain, Christopher Plummer portrayed the role wryly and had edginess. Plummer possessed gravitas, too (reminiscent of Juanita Hall's Bloody Mary, the dubbing of Christopher was redundancy). Julia Andrews, a staggerful, film-carrying leading lady, triumphed as Maria. Julie managed to differentiate this performance from her prior musical film role.

Director Robert Wise and Ernest Lehman, the screenwriter, were this film's champions! They were peerless choices to direct and write. Robert directed the film with astringency. The movie's skillful at subtext. It reinterprets history into a cohesive screenplay. Ernest adapted Howard Lindsay and Russell Crouse's libretto proficiently. The story has positivity, complexity and seriousness. The film repurposes and rearranges the show's musical numbers. Lehman retained and paraphrased dialogue from the stage show. Though 2 of the show's songs were removed, there's political talk and the theme of upper-class romance.

Wise implemented business tidbits into the film. Despite the running-time, there is lucidity in the pacing. There's build-up to a suspenseful climax. The film skillfully descends into its musical numbers. There is a multitude of glorious scenes. The musical prelude, intermission, entr'acte and end credits cast-list possess the essence of a stage musical. The film's only historical deviation that doesn't gel is the ending, though. Anyhow, Robert and Ernest's efforts crafted one of the grandest stage musical-to-film translations. It appeals to children and adults. I'm awfully thrilled the film reached its fruition. I thank Darryl F. Zanuck for this film's existence. In conclusion, I must state that this post is dedicated to the memory of Gloria Brown, my esteemed grandmother. I loved her immensely. The Sound of Music was her favourite movie.