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The Sound of Music has managed to remain timeless for over 55 years since its release. This is due to the movie’s iconic score of songs as well as its stars, including veteran actors Christopher Plummer and Julie Andrews. The seven von Trapp children are important parts of the story as well, and each of them had a different part in the overall narrative.

Charmian Carr attends The Last 70mm Film Festival Series, 'The Sound Of Music' screening at AMPAS Samuel Goldwyn Theater on July 30, 2012 in Beverly Hills, California | Tibrina Hobson/WireImage
Charmian Carr attends The Last 70mm Film Festival Series, ‘The Sound Of Music’ screening at AMPAS Samuel Goldwyn Theater on July 30, 2012 in Beverly Hills, California | Tibrina Hobson/WireImage

The von Trapp children were the backbone of ‘The Sound of Music’

When nun-in-training Maria first arrives at the von Trapp house, she took her job as governess of the seven children very seriously. The children, however, didn’t take her seriously, and made her life difficult at every turn.

Over time, however, they grew to love Maria. She taught them how to sing with the classic song “Do-Re-Mi” and even worked with them to put on a singing puppet show to “The Lonely Goatherd.”

Perhaps the most important von Trapp singer was Liesl, the eldest child who was famously “16 going on 17.”

Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer surrounded on all sides by the Von Trapp children from 'Sound of Music'
The cast of The Sound of Music | Bettmann/Getty Images

Charmian Carr had fun filming ‘The Sound of Music’

Charmian Carr, who played Liesl, spoke at length about her experience filming The Sound of Music. Though she was playing a teenager, she was actually in her twenties when she was whisked off to Austria to film the movie.

In 2010, the cast of The Sound of Music came together for a highly anticipated reunion on The Oprah Winfrey Show. The film’s stars, including the von Trapp children who were all grown up, revealed behind-the-scenes stories and reminisced on that time in their lives.

Charmian Carr was 21 years old when she played eldest daughter Liesl. When Winfrey asked Carr what she learned from her on-screen father Plummer, her answer was honest: “I learned how to drink!”

Carr recalled her and Plummer’s nights out at bars around Salzburg in her autobiography, Forever Liesl: A Memoir of The Sound of Music. “It was my first time away from home, when I became an adult and drank my first champagne,” she remembered, referencing Liesl’s only wish in the beloved song “So Long, Farewell.”

(L-R) Nicholas Hammond as Friedrich, Kym Karath as Gretl, Angela Cartwright as Brigitta, Julie Andrews as Maria, Christopher Plummer as Captain Von Trapp, Charmian Carr as Liesl, Heather Menzies as Louisa, Debbie Turner as Marta and Duane Chase as Kurt singing, in black and white
(L-R) Nicholas Hammond as Friedrich, Kym Karath as Gretl, Angela Cartwright as Brigitta, Julie Andrews as Maria, Christopher Plummer as Captain Von Trapp, Charmian Carr as Liesl, Heather Menzies as Louisa, Debbie Turner as Marta and Duane Chase as Kurt | Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images
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‘The Sound of Music’: Christopher Plummer Was Drunk While Filming This Pivotal Scene

Charmian Carr hurt herself doing a famous scene

One of Liesl’s pivotal scenes is her rendezvous with Rolfe in the gazebo, where the two dance around while singing the iconic “Sixteen Going on Seventeen.” It was the last scene of the movie to be filmed, and after several production snafus, the scene gave them one more to deal with.

According to The Take and IMDb, Carr had a dangerous accident on the first take of filming the “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” scene. She had a hard time nailing the steps of Liesl’s whimsical dance, which included jumping on the benches on the side of the gazebo. The benches were smooth, so Carr had no traction when she first jumped on them as part of her dance sequence. Before she knew it, she lost her footing and fell straight through one of the gazebo’s glass panes.

While she wasn’t badly injured, Carr still hurt her ankle in the process, requiring a pain injection by the doctor on set. To cover up the injury, the doctor applied a bandage and added makeup, and the wardrobe team added stockings to her costume in an attempt to hide it all. As a result, her right ankle is visibly thicker than her left in the film.

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