The Sound of Music is widely regarded as one of the best movies ever made, however one star doesn’t love it. Christopher Plummer, who was one of the leads in the drama movie, has been emphatic in his dislike over the years, calling it “The Sound of Mucus” in his autobiography.
In an interview with Boston.com, Plummer described his distaste for the musical. “I was a bit bored with the character,’’ he stated. “Although we worked hard enough to make him interesting, it was a bit like flogging a dead horse. And the subject matter is not mine. I mean it can’t appeal to every person in the world. It’s not my cup of tea.”
Talking to The Hollywood Reporter, he revealed that it was a lack of laughs that rubbed him the wrong way. “It was so awful and sentimental and gooey. You had to work terribly hard to try and infuse some miniscule bit of humour into it,” he explained. “It’s a very good picture [for] what it is. But somebody had to be Peck’s bad boy and I chose myself.”
Directed by Robert Wise, The Sound of Music follows the von Trapp family during the late ’30s into WWII, and their struggle to survive the Nazi conquest of Austria. Plummer plays Captain von Trapp, the patriarch, opposite Julie Andrews as Maria, a religious nanny who encourages optimism in his children through musical performance.
The adventure movie is based on Maria von Trapp’s own memoir, and on first release in 1965 reception skewed towards Plummer’s perspective that it was a bit too saccharine. However, it gradually became a classic for many who appreciated the staunchly upbeat storytelling.
Whatever we may think, Plummer knew exactly what he thought of the thriller movie, and he was never afraid to say it.