About The Sound Of Music...It is 1938. In Nonnberg Abbey, Austria, young Maria Rainer seems to prefer singing in the hills outside the abbey to being cloistered inside in pious prayer. Concluding that the girl is not suited to religious life, the Mother Abbess sends her out to be temporary governess to the children of Captain Georg von Trapp, a widower who is a retired officer of the Austrian Navy.
The Captain runs his home like a battleship, treating his children like military recruits. But when Maria and the children get to spend a few days alone together, Maria shows them a different kind of life, teaching them to sing and dance and winning them over in the process.
Converting The CaptainReturning from Vienna with his fiancée, Elsa Schraeder, and a family friend, Max Detweiler, the Captain is at first angry at the chaos that has resulted at home from Maria's disregard for the strict rules that have always been in place in his household.
But his cold reserve melts when he hears the sound of music in his home for the first time in many years, and he finally understands the importance of knowing and loving his children.
The Nazi ShadowAt a party given to introduce Elsa to the CaptainÂ’s neighbours, rumors rumble of the imminent annexing of Austria to Germany. The Captain is firmly opposed to the Nazi regime.
Maria tries to teach one of the von Trapp boys an Austrian folk dance, and the Captain takes over, dancing for the first time with Maria. During the dance Maria suddenly realizes her love for him.
The Captain, in disagreement with Elsa over the Nazi invasion of Austria, dissolves his engagement with her. With Elsa gone, he and Maria have to face their unacknowledged love for each other. Two weeks later they are married at the Abbey.
Returning from their honeymoon, they find that Austria has become part of Nazi Germany. The Captain is pressed into immediate military service to the Third Reich, but Maria gains some time for him by convincing the authorities that he and his family are scheduled to sing at a music festival in Salzburg, a performance arranged by Max.
So Long, FarewellNazi officials allow the von Trapps to perform, but arrange for a military escort to stand by to take the Captain to his new post. At the end of the performance, Maria leads the family, including the Captain, into their exit song and one by one, they disappear as Max stalls the escort. Fleeing to the Abbey, they seek refuge in the garden as soldiers search for them unsuccessfully. Finally, as the nuns wish them Godspeed, the von Trapps leave Austria for a new life and new hope.
