Marian Helper • Fall 2022 • Marian.org 25 by a cameraman who understands technology, which I do not. On this journey, however, I am on my own. My cameraman has not been invited. So I borrow a tape recorder and buy a camera, neither of which I know how to operate. My fellow sojourners are sophisticated scribes, keenly attuned to the world of entertainment. I am a reporter educated in politics and government, reared by a mother who strictly follows the Catholic Church’s Legion of Decency film ratings. She deems Hollywood “Hell’s Toolshed,” which has had the effect of denying my presence at most box office hits. In short, my first trip to Europe is a fabulous adventure that I am illequipped to cover. Our initial stop on the itinerary is Salzburg, Austria, and the set of “The Sound of Music.” We are unprepared to fall in love with Mozart’s hometown in the land of stringed music and lederhosen, as well as with star Julie Andrews. The word most often used to describe her incandescent quality is “glowing.” There is nothing of the diva about this unassuming, somewhat shy young actress. Quite the opposite. There is an aura of genuine humility. With her cropped almond-colored hair, she is naturally lovely. She is also open and candid. At 28, Julie Andrews is just three years older than me. She is not well known to moviegoers, as she usually performs in the theater. On stage in London and Broadway, she starred as Eliza Doolittle in “My Fair Lady” opposite Rex Harrison. When, however, it is decided to make a film of the play, Julie loses her role to the more established movie star Audrey Hepburn, a great disappointment. She is, however, very earnest in her efforts to perfect her performance in “The Sound of Music,” a quality especially evident as we watch her rehearse a difficult moment. Multitasking Our first morning on the set, we stand on the side of a dirt road to observe the careful preparation for filming Maria the postulant exiting the convent to enter the household of Captain von Trapp, where she will become governess to his seven children. Maria is frightened, and to bolster her morale, she dances and sings her way to the von Trapp mansion. It is an exercise in multitasking. The actress must dance down the road, carrying a suitcase in one hand and a guitar in the other, while synchronizing her lips perfectly to the words of the song “I Have Confidence,” which she has prerecorded. In order to visualize how she will appear on screen performing this feat, Julie sits astride a camera dolly with film director Robert Wise, observing her choreographer, Mark Breaux, executing the dance exactly as she must. So precise is his rehearsal that he, too, lip-syncs the song. Then it is Julie’s turn to attempt the dance. For a number of trial runs, she is dressed in casual attire, black slacks and white blouse. As the morning fades into afternoon, Julie dons her Austrian costume, dancing and lip-syncing her way down the dirt road again and again. Director Wise tells me there may be as many as 20 rehearsals out of costume and just as many in costume. Julie later confides that her day begins at 6:30 a.m. and ends at 7 p.m. Discovering howmuch effort and tedium goes into what I had thought a glamorous profession is an eye-opening revelation. The tedium does not end with film takes. Julie must endure endless interviews with us junketeers. She graciously submits. I, being the neophyte of the troop, am last to the question box. Julie has been queried about every conceivable aspect of her profession, from costume to cosmetics. What, I wonder, is there left to probe? Young Mom “Is there anything you haven’t been asked, that you would like to be asked?” I whisper. “We could talk about my baby,” Julie responds wistfully. I later learned that, while many in the cast enjoyed latenight sing-a-longs at the hotel with Christopher Plummer playing the piano, Julie was upstairs in her room, being a mom to her 18-month-old daughter, Emma. Had Julie Andrews succeeded in playing Eliza Doolittle on screen, she would not have been available to accept the role of Maria von Trapp. “The Sound of Music” became the number one box office hit of all time and held that title for five years. The film grossed $286 million. “My Fair Lady” took in only $72 million at twice the production budget. In later years, Julie admitted that “The Sound of Music” made her movie career. Peggy Stanton was ABC’s first female TV correspondent in Washington, D.C., in the 1960s. Excerpted from her memoir, From the White House to the White Cross, published by Marian Press. To order, visit ShopMercy.org/b55 (Product code: B55-WHWC) or call 1-800-462-7426. While many in the cast enjoyed latenight sing-a-longs at the hotel with Christopher Plummer playing the piano, Julie was upstairs , being a mom to her 18-month-old daughter, Emma.
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