Product Description

Inspired by mail from thousands of people, "Letters to Liesl" tells the story of the unending impact of the movie, "The Sound of Music". Full of touching stories and humorous insights from Charmian "Liesl" Carr and fans, as well as new reminiscences from Charmian about the making of the film and the recent reunion of all seven 'von Trapp film children' in Salzburg, this book is a beautiful testament to the fact that "The Sound of Music" will live forever in the hearts of millions.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #868936 in Books
• Published on: 2000-02-07
• Released on: 2000-02-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

Amazon.com 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 Publishers Weekly
Published to coincide with the 35th anniversary of The Sound of Music, this memoir by the actress who portrayed Liesl von Trapp offers a detailed account of the creation of the classic, which won five Academy Awards. Carr was 21 at the time she was chosen to play the 16-year-old daughter of Baron von Trapp (Christopher Plummer), a wealthy widow who falls in love with a nun-cum-governess (Julie Andrews). Diehard fans of the tuneful romance may savor these somewhat dated anecdotes, such as the one about the day five-year-old Kym (who played Gretl von Trapp) nearly drowned during a shoot on an Austrian lake or how the famous opening shot of Andrews twirling in a meadow was captured by a camera man strapped to a helicopter. However, those who share Plummer's reputed opinion that the film lacks depth (he referred to the song "Edelweiss" as "boring, schmaltzy and trite") will find wading through this archival minutia tough slogging. One of the more interesting facts imparted in this otherwise syrupy account is the anger Carr and other cast members felt toward the studio, which took advantage of them by convincing them to do free promotion and to sign releases that prevented them from receiving any money generated by sales of the highly profitable sound track. B&w photos. Agent, Lynn Franklin; 10-city author tour. (Feb.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
It's difficult to believe that even the upcoming 35th anniversary of The Sound of Music could justify this memoir by the girl who played Liesl Von Trapp. The title is apt: although Carr gave up acting to marry a dentist not long after her debut, she doesn't seem to have gotten very far beyond this period of her life. She spends a lot of the book drawing parallels between the film and "life itself," telling her own story alongside the stories of others--she lets us know what happened to her former castmates (curiously, Julie Andrews is absent from her acknowledgments) and reprints testimonials from Sound of Music fans about how important this film was to their lives. A perhaps too-detailed look inside the making of The Sound of Music (there is a whole chapter on why Carr only likes dark chocolate), this is a fairly breathy puff piece. A marginal purchase.
-Rosellen Brewer, Monterey Bay Area Cooperative Lib. Syst., Pacific Grove, CA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Forever Liesl: Forever wonderful!
I received this book a few weeks ago and devoured it in the space of a few hours. For anyone who is as big a loser about The Sound Of Music as I am, there is no better way to nerd out than this :) I loved reading about Chris Plummer's acerbic wit and sarcasm, Julie Andrews' incredible professionalism, and anecdotes about all the "Von Trapp" children. Charmian's life story is quite sad at times, and about as far from the sweet and saccharine world of TSOM as it gets, but her stories about meeting the real Von Trapps and her experiences filming the movie are fantastic. I also found it interesting that she worked for Michael Jackson - she's had an interesting life! The letter from Nick Hammond is very sweet and touching, and it's clear she's very close to her celluloid siblings and greatly valued the experience of filming The Sound Of Music. Interesting fact - at the time of writing, she'd seen the movie a total of only nine times!

Captivating Reminiscence - Personal and Professional
A personal book like this really depends on the appeal of the author herself - and here one hits the jackpot. Charmian Carr is so charming, sensitive, and modest that you can't help loving her through the book.

I had no idea the book would be this enjoyable.

This is a wonderful tale with five interwoven threads:

i) what it was like for a 21 year old working for a doctor in the San Fernando Valley - and who'd never done any professional acting, dancing or singing - to work on a movie that would gain the highest box office of all time and become a phenomenon around the world - wonderful details and anecdotes of the making of the movie, the comparison of the story with the history,

ii) the experiences of others working on the movie, as Ms. Carr truly put a lot of work into this book, reaching out to everyone to ask about their experiences, their anecdotes;

iii) AMAZING stories told by people around the world who've been affected by the movie over the years;

iv) the experiences of the cast since the making of the movie - those playing the von Trapp children stayed very much in each other's lives over the years; and

what I found most affecting:

v) the highly dramatic and in many ways quite tragic story of Charmian Carr's own growing up - particularly the story of her show business mother and father, as well as that of her sisters (you probably know beautiful younger sister Darleen from so many television series and mini-series) and their children.

What a great book - it's impossible to put down - and so acutely sensitive, so warm, so candid, so funny.

Forever Liesl Sound of Music book
I liked this book. Like many others I love the Sound of Music. This book is written with a positive spin on everything, so it seems a little contrived. She emphasizes the ongoing relationship between the actors that played the kids in the movie. I would have loved to have known more detail about the experiences in Austria and more of the background of the movie production. If you like the movie, you will like this book.