''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 th ...

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 Josef Meinrad (21 April 1913 – 18 February 1996) was an Austrian actor. From 1959 until his death in 1996, Meinrad held the Republic of Austria's Iffland-Ring, which passes from actor to actor — each bequeathing the ring to the next holder, ju ...

. It is a sequel to the 1956 film ''

The Trapp Family ''The Trapp Family'' (german: Die Trapp-Familie, links=no) is a 1956 West German comedy drama film about the real-life Austrian musical family of that name directed by Wolfgang Liebeneiner and starring Ruth Leuwerik, Hans Holt, and Maria Holst. ...

''.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 Fir ...

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 Robert Herlth (2 May 1893 – 6 January 1962) was a German art director. He was one of the leading designers of German film sets during the 1920s and 1930s.Reimer & Reimer p.146 Filmography * ''Masks'' (1920) * '' Island of the Dead'' (1921) * ...

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 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. 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 songs 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 Church music is Christian music written for performance in church, or any musical setting of ecclesiastical liturgy, or music set to words expressing propositions of a sacred nature, such as a hymn. History Early Christian music The on ...

... 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 ...

and decide to remain in America.

Cast

* Ruth Leuwerik as Baroness von Trapp *

as Baron von Trapp *

as Dr. Wasner *

Adrienne Gessner Adrienne Gessner (23 July 1896 – 23 June 1987) was an Austrian actress. Gessner appeared in over fifty film and television shows during her career, including the 1955 costume film '. Gessner appeared in a mixture of German and Austrian films dur ...

as Mrs. Hammerfield *

Michael Ande Michael Ande (born 5 October 1944, Bad Wiessee) is a German actor, best-known for his role as Gerd Heymann in the West German crime-drama television series ''The Old Fox'' which he played between 1977 and 2016. He was a well-known German film c ...

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 Wolfgang Wahl (3 December 1925 – 15 September 2006) was a German actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films from 1953 to 1996. Filmography References External links * 1925 births 2006 deaths German male film actors German ...

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