''The Trapp Family in America'' (german: Die Trapp-Familie in Amerika) is a 1958 West German

comedy drama film Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

about the real-life Austrian musical Trapp Family directed by

Wolfgang Liebeneiner Wolfgang Georg Louis Liebeneiner (6 October 1905 – 28 November 1987) was a German actor, film director and theatre director. Beginnings He was born in Liebau in Prussian Silesia. In 1928, he was taught by Otto Falckenberg, the director of the ...

and starring Ruth Leuwerik,

Hans Holt Hans Holt (22 November 1909 – 3 August 2001) was an Austrian film actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1935 and 1990. Selected filmography * '' Hannerl and Her Lovers'' (1936) * ''Catherine the Last'' (1936) * '' Florentine' ...

, and Josef Meinrad. It is a sequel to the 1956 film '' The Trapp Family''.Reimer and Reimer 2010, p. 188. It was shot at the

Bavaria Studios Bavaria Studios are film production studios located in Munich, the capital of the region of Bavaria in Germany, and a subsidiary of Bavaria Film. History The studios were constructed in the suburb of Geiselgasteig in 1919 shortly after the Fi ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

. The film's sets were designed by the art director Robert Herlth.

Plot

The von Trapps have left

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

and are now in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. But the Land of Unlimited Possibilities turns out to be anything but for our hapless heroes. Though the American public has demonstrated countless times, that they'll pay anything to hear German

folk song Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ...

s and other pop songs, the von Trapps on the verge of being penniless and suicidal, thanks to Father Wasner, who's determined to teach Americans to appreciate great church music ... no matter how much his "cultural mission" pushes the von Trapps to starvation. Only the insistence of paying patrons that they drop the holy roller music and the guffaws of the audience abandoning their shows finally convinces Maria, that it's time to start entertaining the paying public and give Palestrina a rest. Eventually they receive critical acclaim and a large following for their music. Later, they purchase a farm in Stowe

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the ...

and decide to remain in America.

Cast

* Ruth Leuwerik as Baroness von Trapp *

as Baron von Trapp * Josef Meinrad as Dr. Wasner * Adrienne Gessner as Mrs. Hammerfield * Michael Ande as Werner von Trapp * Knut Mahlke as Rupert von Trapp * Ursula Wolff as Agathe von Trapp * Angelika Werth as Hedwig von Trapp * Monika Wolf as Maria F. von Trapp * Ursula Ettrich as Rosemarie von Trapp * Monika Ettrich as Martina von Trapp * Wolfgang Wahl as Patrick * Daniela and Annette Edel as Baby Johannes * Peter Esser as Mr. Hammerfield * Till Klockow as Bronx-Lilly * Holger Hagen as Mr, Harris

References

Citations

Sources

* *

External links

* 1958 films 1950s biographical films Films about music and musicians Films directed by Wolfgang Liebeneiner Films set in 1939 Films set in 1940 Films set in the United States German biographical films 1950s German-language films German sequel films Trapp family West German films Gloria Film films Films shot at Bavaria Studios 1950s German films Foreign films set in the United States {{1950s-Germany-film-stub