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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Check out ‘The Sound of Music’ on April 19, 22

Dan Webster

It's coming more than a month late, but Turner Classic Movies and Fathom Events will be presenting a 50th-anniversary special in-theater screening of "The Sound of Music" on April 19 and 22. According to the website, the two Spokane-area venues will be Regal's Northtown and Coeur d'Alene's Riverstone Stadium theaters.

It was on March 2, 1965, that Robert Wise's production of the Broadway show-turned movie "The Sound of Music" premiered in New York. That opening was followed, quickly enough, by a March 10 screening in Los Angeles. The movie then moved to theaters across the country and gradually became the year's highest-grossing film.

I was one of those who saw the film at a special screening held in downtown Norfolk, Va. I was a freshman at Old Dominion College (now University), and I attended with my then-girlfriend, Terry. I had to buy special reserved-seat tickets, and I remember the whole event was treated like a night at the opera. People were dressed up, the line in front of the theater ran down the block and even at age 18 I felt all grown up.

Which is probably why, even given the film's saccharine qualities and looseness with the facts, I retain a sense of goodwill toward the whole thing. Julie Andrews was perfectly cast as Maria, Christopher Plummer did his best to bring a sense of gravity to his role as Georg, and the songs … well, unlike other musicals ("Camelor" comes to mind), the show's songs — by the songwriting team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II — are virtually all hummable to a fault.

Then again, I was in love, the story was about young love and … well, love will cause you to forgive a lot of faults. Go and see for yourself.

On the big screen.