Deaths of 2016

While there were many deaths in the year 2016, as of the beginning of December there were no major classic movie stars on the list (I define classic as pre-1970) - however, there were a great many television stars. But as is usually the case, December brought with it the death of not one but two beloved stars: Carrie Fisher, best known for her role as Princess Leia in the Star Wars films, and one day later, her mother Debbie Reynolds.

Below are the other stars we lost this year from both film and television:

Jan. 13 - Brian Bedford: Known mostly as the voice of Disney's Robin Hood (1973). Also appeared in Grand Prix (1966).

Feb. 28 - George Kennedy: Started out with lots of guest rolls on television programs as the "bad guy." Notable films include Charade (1963), Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964), In Harm's Way (1965), The Sons of Katie Elder (1965), The Dirty Dozen (1967), Cool Hand Luke (1967), and Cahill U.S. Marshall (1973).

Mar. 6 - Nancy Reagan (Nancy Davis): Starred in Hellcats of the Navy (1957) alongside Ronald Reagan - and married him.

Mar. 10 - Ken Adam: Production designer who worked on films Around the World in 80 Days (1956), Dr. Strangelove (1964), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), and several James Bond films.

Mar. 24 - Earl Hamner Jr: Writer for The Twilight Zone (1959-64).

Mar. 29 - Patty Duke: Famous for playing twin cousins on The Patty Duke Show (1963-66) and won an Oscar for her portrayal of Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker (1962). Mother of Sean Astin (The Goonies, Rudy, Lord of the Rings).

Apr. 23 - Madeleine Sherwood: Best remembered for playing Jack Carson's wife in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958). Also played Mother Superior on The Flying Nun (1967-70).

May 1 - Madeleine LeBeau: French actress and last surviving cast member of Casablanca (1942) - Yvonne.

May 19 - Alan Young: Remembered most as Wilbur from Mr. Ed (1961-66) and the voice of Disney's Scrooge McDuck. Also appeared alongside Rod Taylor in The Time Machine (1960).

June 12 - Janet Waldo: Voice of Judy Jetson. Also had a role in Waterloo Bridge (1940) and appeared in several episodes of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1953-66).

June 14 - Ann Morgan Guilbert: Boloved as Millie Helper from The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961-66).

July 24 - Marni Nixon:  Vocals dubber for Deborah Kerr in The King and I (1956) and An Affair to Remember (1957), for Natalie Wood in West Side Story (1961), and Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady (1964). Also had a small part as Sister Sophia in The Sound of Music (1965).

July 30 - Gloria DeHaven: Known for The Thin Man Goes Home (1945) and Summer Holiday (1948). Also, FALSELY listed as a young Frances Bavier (Aunt Bee from The Andy Griffith Show) all over the internet with this photo.

Aug. - Jack Riley: Regular on The Bob Newhart Show (1972-78).

Aug. 28 - Gene Wilder: Beloved character in many Mel Brooks films and as Willie Wonka (1971).

Sept. 5 - Hugh O'Brian: Known for The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (1955-61). Also appeared in Come Fly with Me (1963), Ten Little Indians (1965) and The Shootist (1976).

Sept. 17 - Charmian Carr: Beloved as Liesl in The Sound of Music (1965). Look for my review of her book, Forever Liesl: A Memoir of "The Sound of Music" in the upcoming month.

Oct. 11 - Patricia Barry: Guest star on many television programs. Appeared in Send Me No Flowers (1964).

Nov. 11 - Robert Vaughn: Best remembered as the suave Napoleon Solo in The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (1964-68) and his roles in The Magnificent Seven (1960) and Bullitt (1968).

Nov. 16 - Joan Carroll: Child actress best remembered as Judy Garland's sister Agnes in Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) and as Patsy in The Bells of St. Marys (1945).

Dec. 18 - Zsa Zsa Gabor: Sister of Eva Gabor (Green Acres) Appeared in Moulin Rouge (1952) and had many television appearances.

Dec. 27 - Carrie Fisher: Princess Leia from the Star Wars films.

Dec. 28 - Debbie Reynolds: Got her start at the age of 19 in Singing in the Rain (1952) and never stopped.

Dec. 31 - William Christopher: Beloved as Father Mulcahy from the groundbreaking M*A*S*H (1972-83).

May they rest in peace.

Ten Movies on an Island: Musicals

As promised, here is my first list of my top ten in each movie genre: musicals, westerns, dramas, comedies (screwball/romantic & regular comedies), comedy-drama, horror/ghost/sci-fi, suspense/mystery, biographical, and Disney.

This list will focus on musicals. First of all, what is a musical? According to the definition on Wikipedia, a musical is:

... a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing.

Throughout Hollywood History, the musical has evolved. A musical from the 1930s is not going to be the same as a musical from the 1950s. Over the decades, there have been Operetta's, Horse Operas (that's a Western that's also a musical), the Busby Berkley musicals, biopics about musicians and showmen, Historical costume epics, fantasies, musicals adapted from Broadway productions, rock & roll musicals, beach party musicals... the list goes on.

Now I'm not a huge musicals person (surprising since I love music, sing, and play both the piano and the ukulele).  But I've never been a huge fan of the musicals that typically come to mind when someone says the word "musicals,"  so you will not be finding such classics as Singing in the Rain and Oklahoma! on here.

In picking my films, I did decide on a certain criteria, aside from merely liking it. It had to be a movie that I enjoyed the songs as much as the storyline (aka I actually know most if not all of the songs by heart) and if I looked for it at the library I would find it in the musicals section. So with those two things in mind, here is my list:

1. The Great Ziegfeld (1936) - William Powell

2. The Wizard of Oz (1939) - Judy Garland

3. Ziegfeld Girl (1941) - Lana Turner, Judy Garland, Hedy Lamarr

4. Girl Crazy (1943) - Judy Garland & Mickey Rooney

5. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) - Marilyn Monroe, Jane Russell, Charles Coburn

6. White Christmas (1954) - Bing Crosby & Rosemary Clooney, Danny Kaye & Vera-Ellen

7. Daddy Long Legs (1955) - Fred Astaire & Leslie Caron

8. My Fair Lady (1964) - Audrey Hepburn & Rex Harrison

9. The Sound of Music (1965) - Julie Andrews & Christopher Plummer

10. Funny Girl (1968) - Barbra Streisand & Omar Shariff

Here is the list I consulted when choosing my Top Ten Musicals. What are your favorites?

Tomorrow, my top ten Westerns!

The Sound of Music: Filming Locations

The Sound of Music was filmed on Soundstage 15 at 20th Century Fox and on location in Austria and Germany. The principal cast and crew were in Austria for a total of 11 weeks - it was supposed to be 6 but the rainy weather delayed the film. Luckily it more than made up for the extra costs.

 

Here's the best tour site I can find with additional information for those who are actually traveling to Salzburg, Austria. Here's a map of all the locations. This site has a step-by-step walk-through if you want to get really technical. Also, on the Blu-ray special features disc of the 45th and 50th anniversary sets is a fantastic interactive map of all of the locations used with film clips, additional facts, and photos. I highly recommend looking at it.

 

Anif Castle, Salzburg - seen in the opening aerial shots

Schloss Fuschl, seen in opening aerial shots. Located about 40 minutes outside of Salzburg.

 

The field, which is private property, is located in Mehlweg, Germany, about 6 miles from Salzburg.

 

Journey to the Meadow - video

The stream and birch trees were brought in for the scene. An angry farmer, on whose property it was built on, punctured holes in the stream with his pitchfork, halting production while it was fixed.

 

 

The abbey gate seen in the film is from the Nonnberg Abbey where the real Maria Von Trap was a postulant. The nuns there allowed it to be used for the film.

 

Another exterior shot of Nonnberg Abbey (you can see the changing heights of the children here as they grew).

 

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Schloss Frohnburg Palace, used for the front and  back of the Von Trapp Home

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It is located just off of Hellbrunner Allee, an alleyway that connects the Hellbrun Palace with Salzburg.

 

Hellbrun Palace is also where the original gazebo from "16 Going on 17" is located. It was built at Leopoldskron specifically for the film. It was moved to Hellbrunn so that tourists could visit it. The interior shots of the gazebo were filmed on a sound stage, as the real gazebo was too small for the dance scene. No one is now allowed to go inside because some old lady tried to do the dance and hurt herself... yeah.

 

The front of the movie house, Schloss Frohnburg Palace (belonged to actress Hedy Lamarr at the time).

 

The real Von Trapp home. It was taken over by the Nazi's and used as offices during WWII. It is now a hotel.

 

The Mirror Room inside Schloss Leopoldskron in Salzburg, which was copied and used as the ballroom.

 

Schloss Leopoldskron, Salzburg, Austria. Used as the back yard of the von Trapp house (actually they built a replica of this on the lot next door for filming).

 

The terrace at Scloss Leopoldskron where Uncle Max has pink lemonade. 

 

The "Do-Re-Mi" sequence was shot in nine different locations:

 

The Mozart Footbridge (Mozartsteg crossing the Salzach River)

 

The hills of Werfen (Untersberg Peak can be seen from their terrace). Also the meadow beneath the Untersberg.

 

Winkler Terrece

 

Mirabell Gardens

The Pegasus Fountain in Mirabell Gardens

 

Mirabell Gardens Tunnel

 

Mirabell Garden steps, from a different angle.

 

Statues in Mirabell Gardens

 

St. Wolfgang Schafbergbahn Mountain Railway (the final scene filmed with the children on location).

 

Pferdschwemme (Horse Pond), Karajan Square - a scene that was cut from the movie was shot here, more about that in the post on Charmian Carr's book, Forever Liesl.

 

I think this is where the children climbed the trees but I can't find where I found the photo.

 

Bertelsmann on Leopoldskron Lake, where the children were filmed boating.

 

Bertelsmann from the air - I think it's also in the aerial shots at the beginning.

 

Mondsee Church (mond-say), where the movie couple were married. It is located  in the village of Mondsee, which is situated in the middle of a lake at the base of sheer cliffs. It is about 20 minutes from Salzburg. The real Maria was married at Nonnberg Abbey.

 

The exterior of the church.

 

The Residenz Platz (Residence Square), where the Nazi soldiers are seen marching. When that scene was filmed, the town did not allow the public to watch. Also where Maria sings "I Have Confidence" near the beginning of the film.

 

 

Felsenreitschule (Rock Riding School), Salzburg - film location for the final performance of the von Trapps. This is the stage that the real Salzburg Festival takes place on every year.

 

St. Peter's Cemetery

Though not actually filmed here, the St. Peter's Cemetery was recreated on the sound stage at Fox so it's still a cool place to visit. It's located in the St. Peter's District of Salzburg.

 

The final scene of the movie shows the von Trapps hiking over the mountains into Switzerland (which is geographically and historically inaccurate - they really just drove a few minutes to the border). This scene was filmed at Mount Obersalzburg in Rossfeld, just a little ways from where Hitler's "Eagle's Nest" at Berchteschgaden, was located, giving the cast and crew a chilling reminder of how near the danger really was. It is a mere 12 miles from Salzburg.

 

View the rest of my Sound of Music posts here!

 

 

Sources:
The Sound of Music Companion by Lauence Maslon, 2006.
Forever Liesl: A Memoir of 'The Sound of Music' by Charmian Carr, 2000.
Sound-of-Music.com
Images found via Pinterest

More Travel Links:
Panorama Tours
BigBoyTravel - SoM Movie Locations - Map
Salzburg Official Site
Map of Locations