No, this does not come across as a poor man's version of The Sound of Music. It was the precursor of it by almost ten years, not strictly a musical as such, although naturally full of music, and the most successful film in the (struggling) West German cinema of the 50's.
The version I saw was clearly an amalgam of this one and its less-popular sequel The Trapp Family in America, merged into a standard 100-minute running time, dubbed in English, with many scenes inevitably cut - and it shows. But it is closer to the true family history than the more famous musical, where they were setting out to 'climb every mountain' straight into Mussolini's Italy! It accurately shows the Von Trapps having to flee the country because they'd gone bankrupt, for reasons to do with the 1938 German annexation of Austria. And Germany's top star Ruth Leuwerik makes a more realistic Maria than Julie Andrews ever did, a suitable mix of glamour and grit that would carry her team across the States if it killed her. Equally, Hans Holt as the Baron manages to carry conviction in the part without looking quite such a cad as Christopher Plummer.
The film ends with a nice touch, as they start building a new family home in the mountains in Vermont, all singing as they go!
The version I saw was clearly an amalgam of this one and its less-popular sequel The Trapp Family in America, merged into a standard 100-minute running time, dubbed in English, with many scenes inevitably cut - and it shows. But it is closer to the true family history than the more famous musical, where they were setting out to 'climb every mountain' straight into Mussolini's Italy! It accurately shows the Von Trapps having to flee the country because they'd gone bankrupt, for reasons to do with the 1938 German annexation of Austria. And Germany's top star Ruth Leuwerik makes a more realistic Maria than Julie Andrews ever did, a suitable mix of glamour and grit that would carry her team across the States if it killed her. Equally, Hans Holt as the Baron manages to carry conviction in the part without looking quite such a cad as Christopher Plummer.
The film ends with a nice touch, as they start building a new family home in the mountains in Vermont, all singing as they go!