How Did ‘The Sound of Music’ Become a Christmas Movie? – Opinion

“The Sound of Music” first hit the silver screen in 1965, and it’s been a family favorite ever since. Not only is it a favorite with its fans but also with those responsible for distributing major pieces of hardware in the entertainment sector. While it might not surprise people to hear that “The Sound of Music” won the Academy Award for Best Music in 1966, it also won two other major statuettes (Best Director and Best Picture).

You may have read my colleague Brandon Morse’s recent piece on why the ‘re-imagined’ version of another beloved movie musical, “West Side Story,” was such a wokeified disaster. Well, here’s a fun fact: Robert Wise, the director who made “The Sound of Music,” also did so for the classic retelling of William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” in mid-century New York City — and managed to walk home with those two (among other) big Oscars for the 1961 movie, also.

Anyway, how come “The Sound of Music” has a Christmastime connection? Family and community are what most people think of. The movie is family-friendly and ABC executives have been able to program it since 2001.

But there’s another reason. This connection with the holiday season can be traced back further than 1965. Actually, the holiday season is connected to it. predatesThe movie. Of course, “The Sound of Music” is not just a Christmas movie (yes, just like “Die Hard”) — because before the movie came the hit Broadway musical based on the von Trapp family’s story.

And it all happened because of the growing, cultural influence of television — especially performers who played pop music on the big variety shows of the day.

“The Garry Moore Show,” a primetime variety show, which aired from 1958 to 1964, helped spawn the careers of many major comedy stars, including Dick Van Dyke and Carol Burnett, who either guest-hosted or appeared as a regular cast member.

Their Christmas performances were extravagant affairs on an enormous scale. A Billboard article revealed that on the 1961 episode, special guest Julie Andrews appeared on Moore’s program to sing the jewel of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, “My Favorite Things.”

Billboard also shared that the song was further tied to Christmas with its appearance on a Christmas album — which the film’s marketing people cooked up to help promote the movie. It was planned to release a single from the soundtrack as a hit before the movie’s debut. They did. But the version wasn’t sung by Andrews. It was called Jack Jones’ Christmas Album.

Here’s the very Frank Sinatra-esque Jones performing the song on the biggest variety show of all time, “The Ed Sullivan Show,” on December 20, 1964:

“The Sound of Music” airs tonight on ABC at 7 pm Eastern/6 pm Central. And while it’s broadcast here in Phoenix at 6 pm. The show airs at 6 pm Mountain Time, but the late-night Los Angelenos can catch it at 7 PM Pacific Time. (And since some readers don’t have TVs, here are some other ways to catch the show.)

Here’s the film’s original theatrical trailer from 1965: