Forever Liesl: A Memoir of The Sound of Music - Softcover

Charmian Carr; Jean A. S. Strauss

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140298401 ISBN 13: 9780140298406

Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group, 2001

Synopsis

The magic of The Sound of Music lives on in the minds and hearts of everyone it has touched. Now, Charmian Carr, who in 1965 captivated moviegoers as Liesl "Sixteen Going on Seventeen" von Trapp, tells what it was like to be a part of the film that has become a cultural phenomenon. It's all here: from how she got the role (and why she almost didn't) to romances on the set and wild nights in Salzburg; from the near-disaster during the gazebo dance to her relationships--then and now--with her six celluloid siblings. Charmian offers stories from fans and friends and a treasury of photographs. And she reveals why she left acting, what she learned when she met the real von Trapp children; and how The Sound of Music has helped her get through stormy times in her own life.

Forever Liesl celebrates the spirit of the movie and what it stands for: family love, romance, inspiration, nostalgia, and the joy and power of music.

About this title

Review:

Charmian Carr played eldest von Trapp daughter Liesl in the mega-successful film version of The Sound of Music, and judging from her earnest memoir, the story's sentimental wholesomeness rubbed off on her permanently. It's a "great movie," she avers, acknowledging that the critics thought otherwise; she was "honored" to be part of it, and her onscreen siblings became her lifelong friends. Carr's reasonably interesting chronicle of shooting the film is interspersed with personal narratives by people who love it: a nine-year-old boy who found comforting parallels between the distant but ultimately loving Captain von Trapp and his own recently deceased father; a girl who got the video for Christmas just after her brother had surgery; and so on. The author tempers all that sweetness and light with frank accounts of her parents' divorce, her mother's alcoholism, and later conflicts with the studio over financial remuneration for promoting the movie. Adult costars Christopher Plummer and Julie Andrews come across as consummate professionals less enthralled by the experience than their youthful supporting cast. But in general the book is determinedly upbeat and definitely not for the cynical. Those who share Carr's rapturous regard for The Sound of Music and even those who don't but are willing to be touched by sincere emotion will enjoy her stroll down memory lane. --Wendy Smith

From the Publisher:

"The Sound of Music" was voted by People's Choice Awards as one of the three most popular films of the Twentieth Century. For over three decades it has enchanted untold millions worldwide. Here, finally, is the story of how this film changed the lives of those who made it, and those who fell in love with it. "Letters to Liesl" is sure to become a 'favorite thing' for any lover of the film.

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0140298401
• ISBN 13: 9780140298406
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256