A Memorable Musical

When the musical that taught us “Do-Re-Mi…” turned 50 this week, there was much celebration in the world of entertainment.

We know that good music featured in most Hollywood productions of the 50s and 60s, but the success that ‘The Sound of Music’ saw, remains unmatched. Very few movies have made as lasting an impact as this one did.

Among the last two generations, I am sure, at some point of their lives, many parents would have beamed with pride – or recall their parents beaming with pride – as they watched their children shyly perform ‘Do-Re-Me’ to some living room audiences.

We don’t know if Salzburg’s hills are alive with the sound of music now, but in our minds, the movie will remain among a few of our favourite things.

We may not know how to solve a problem like Maria, but we know that this guitar-wielding, music-loving postulant at the Nonnberg Abbey had had that confidence in confidence alone.

The film - based on the true story of Maria Von Trapp – not only gave us a beautiful tour of the green vales and hills of Austria and Swiss Alps, but also showed us the struggles of a wannabe nun caught in a moral dilemma – whether to choose the love of this world, or the glory of the other.  

To choose between the widowed Captain - with seven children - and her long-time decision to become a nun, must have been very tough.

Interestingly, however, in her memoir called ‘The Story of the Trapp Family Singers’ the real Maria Von Trapp whose role Julie Andrews played, said this: "I really and truly was not in love. I liked him but didn't love him. However, I loved the children, so in a way I really married the children. I learned to love him more than I have ever loved before or after."

Released on March 2, 1965 – and shot for a little over $8 million – the film is today third on the list of Hollywood blockbusters, with a staggering $1.2 billion in ticket sales, when adjusted for inflation. That is an estimate from Fortune Magazine.

I believe, however, that the real worth of this movie can never ever be effectively quantified.  

For example, the city of Salzburg in the last fifty years has grown into a major tourist destination in Austria, mainly due to ‘The Sound of Music’. Can we estimate the employment it must have generated in the tourism industry there?

Also, millions of long-playing records, cassette tapes, VHS tapes, CDs and DVDs of this movie and its music must have been sold in the last half-century. Can we estimate the collective worth?

Those spirit-uplifting melodies and those eye-soothing locales – not to mention the powerful historical backdrop of the Third Reich – have definitely contributed to increased knowledge and mental well-being of those who watched and listened? Can we ever estimate that special feel-good factor?

This fifty year old movie still delights and excites children and families in ways that current movies cannot.

No wonder, a restored version of ‘The Sound of Music’ is being planned for a re-release in more than 500 U.S. theatres in April.

So, the movie-makers should know. The movie’s time is not done yet.  And they cannot say: “So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye!