The Trapp Family

At Nonnberg Abbey in the Federal State of Austria in the 1930s, a spirited novice named Maria (Ruth Leuwerik) is sent by her abbess to the estate of a widowed Austro-Hungarian Navy war hero, Baron von Trapp (Hans Holt), to look after his seven unruly children. The baron is a stern disciplinarian and runs his household like a World War I U-boat. When Maria arrives, she encourages the children to play games like other kids, and teaches them how to sing. When the baron discovers how Maria is ignoring his orders, he sends her back to the convent. Later, when he hears his children singing songs they've learned from Maria, his feelings for her change. Gradually, the baron falls in love with the young woman and proposes marriage. After obtaining permission to marry from the abbess, Maria becomes the Baroness von Trapp. After the Captain loses his fortune, the family's priest, Dr. Franz Wasner (Josef Meinrad), encourages Maria and the children to sing for charity, and soon they develop a large following. After the Nazis annex Austria, the baron, unwilling to live under the Nazi regime, has the family flee to the United States, where they continue performing. But their troubles are far from over when a naïve Maria tells the immigration inspector they want to stay forever, after he asks how long they will be visiting the country. ==Cast==

The film is based on Maria von Trapp's memoir, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers, written in 1948 to help promote her family's singing group following the death of her husband, Captain von Trapp, in 1947. Hollywood producers expressed immediate interest in purchasing the title only, but Maria refused, wanting her entire story to be told. The movie was filmed on location in Salzburg, Austria, and Murnau am Staffelsee in Bavaria, West Germany. ==Release==

The Trapp Family was released in West Germany on October 9, 1956, by Gloria Film and became a major success. Two years later, Liebeneiner directed a sequel, The Trapp Family in America, and the two films soon became the most successful films in West Germany during the post-war years. Their success extended throughout Europe and South America. ==Critical response==

In his review of the 1961 United States version for The New York Times, Howard Thompson gave the film a positive review, calling it "genteel, tuneful and frankly sentimental". According to Thompson, the film "steers an undramatic, but disarming, course", with "friendly" acting and "pretty" cinematography. The central attraction for Thompson, however, is the traditional folk music: Thompson concludes, "The children will love it. Nobody, certainly, will resent such a happy family, content to love one another and, thank heaven, to sing." ==Adaptations==

In 1956, Paramount Pictures purchased the United States film rights, intending to produce an English-language version with Audrey Hepburn as Maria. ==References==