Forever Liesl: A Memoir of the Sound of Music by Charmian Carr

Author:Charmian Carr [Carr, Charmian]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Performing Arts, Biography & Autobiography, Entertainment & Performing Arts, Direction & Production, Film & Video, History & Criticism
ISBN: 9780140298406
Google: K7xsTkA-JIsC
Publisher: Penguin
Published: 2001-03-15T08:00:00+00:00

The Ambassador

I wouldn’t understand for months. It was just a movie, after all. Not until I’d traveled around the world and witnessed the outpouring of emotion and enthusiasm in dozens of countries and cities would I begin to comprehend the impact The Sound of Music was having on audiences around the globe.

Most films open in general release in a thousand theaters across the country. But in the mid-sixties, there was a trend toward opening big films on a small number of screens. So, in March of 1965, The Sound of Music opened in the United States in only 131 theaters, each equipped with seventy-millimeter screens and six-track stereophonic sound.

Since Twentieth Century Fox had signed me to a seven-year contract, they turned me into an ambassador for the film. I traveled alone, appearing at premieres and special events across the country and, later, around the world. It wasn’t unheard-of for an actor to do this for a month or so, but I was on the road for almost two whole years. Though it had long been my dream to travel, this was more than I’d ever wished for! Fox began by sending me on domestic trips to: Chicago. Atlanta. Kansas City. Miami. Indianapolis. Milwaukee. Cleveland. Buffalo. Dallas. Seattle. And then they sent me across oceans. To the capitals of Europe. Asia. Central America. The Far East. And, ultimately, Australia. I’ve promoted the film on every continent except Antarctica.

The Sound of Music broke box-office records around the world. It was one of the first musicals dubbed in other languages, with the entire sound track translated. Saul Chaplin deserves the lion’s share of the credit for the film’s success in other parts of the world. He meticulously oversaw the musical translations in every country, and the overwhelming response of foreign audiences is a testament to the efforts he made to have the film—and the music—speak to people in their own language. I would love to know how some of the lyrics translated. The various titles by which the film is known around the globe certainly aren’t verbatim. For example, in Germany, The Sound of Music is called My Song, My Dream. In Egypt, it’s Love and Tenderness. In Thailand, Charms of the Heaven Sound. And in Hong Kong, it is called Fairy Music Blow Fragrant Place, Place Here.

In Mexico, the film is La Novicia Rebelde—The Rebellious Novice. The studio sent me to Mexico City to attend the premiere, and I was taken to a bullfight. I was sitting in a VIP box at the edge of the ring, and before the fight began the matador came over. Swirling his cape and staring at me, he bowed deeply and said something in Spanish.

“He has dedicated the bull to you,” my escort whispered in my ear.

“Oh,” I said, trying to appear grateful. I love animals, and the last thing I wanted was to have this man kill a bull on my behalf. I could barely watch the fight. When the bull was being prodded with long poles to anger and provoke him, I had to turn away.

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