The film stars Julie Andrews as Maria von Trapp. Andrews plays a rebel nun who leaves the convent to work as a governess for widowed Navy Captain Georg Von Trapp, (Christopher Plummer), and takes care of his seven children. Released in March 1965, The Sound of Music had already become the highest-grossing film of all-time by 1966, a record it held for many years. The Sound of Music won five Oscars in 1965, including Best Picture. The final musical from dynamic songwriting duo Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, the screenplay was written by Ernest Lehman. The film is filled with clever and witty dialogue and luscious song lyrics. Here are some of our favorite quotes from The Sound of Music:

  1. “The hills are alive with the sound of music, with songs they have sung for a thousand years. The hills fill my heart with the sound of music. My heart wants to sing every song it hears.”—“The Sound of Music,” sung by Maria in the famous opening scene (Julie Andrews)
  2. “I’m Brigitta, she’s Louisa. She’s 13 years old, and you’re smart! I’m 10, and I think your dress is the ugliest one I ever saw!”—Brigitta (Angela Cartwright) to Maria (Julie Andrews)
  3. “You know how Sister Berthe always makes me kiss the floor after we’ve had a disagreement? Well, lately I’ve taken to kissing the floor whenever I see her coming, just to save time.”—Maria (Julie Andrews)
  4. “After all, the wool from the black sheep is just as warm.
”—Sister Margaretta (Anna Lee)
  5. “Fraulein, is it to be at every meal, or merely at dinnertime, that you intend on leading us all through this rare and wonderful new world of… indigestion?”—Captain Von Trapp (Christopher Plummer)
  6. “Maria, these walls were not meant to shut out problems. You have to face them. You have to live the life you were born to live.”—Mother Abbess (Peggy Wood)
  7. “You are the twelfth in a long line of governesses who have come here to look after my children since their mother died. I trust you will be an improvement on the last one. She stayed only two hours.”—Captain von Trapp (Christopher Plummer) to Maria (Julie Andrews)
  8. Maria: I can’t seem to stop singing wherever I am. And what’s worse, I can’t seem to stop saying things, anything and everything I think and feel. Mother Abbess: Some people would call that honesty. Maria: Oh, but it’s terrible, Reverend Mother.”—Maria (Julie Andrews)—Mother Abbess (Peggy Wood)
  9. Maria: Gretl, what happened to your finger? Gretl: It got caught. Maria: Caught in what? Gretl: Friedrich’s teeth.—Gretl (Kym Karath)—Maria (Julie Andrews)
  10. Captain von Trapp: Now, when I want you, this is what you will hear. [He blows whistle.] Maria: Oh, no, sir. I’m sorry, sir. I could never answer to a whistle. Whistles are for dogs and cats and other animals, but not for children and definitely not for me. It would be too… humiliating. Captain von Trapp: Fraulein, were you this much trouble at the Abbey? Maria: Oh, much more, sir. Captain von Trapp: Hmm. [He starts walking away. Maria blows her whistle and he turns around.] Maria: Excuse me, sir. I don’t know your signal.—Captain Von Trapp (Christopher Plummer)—Maria (Julie Andrews)
  11. Max Detweiler: The Von Trapp Family Singers. Here are your names: Liesl, Friedrich, Louisa, Brigitta, Kurt, Marta and Gretl. Gretl: Why am I always last? Max Detweiler: Because you are the most important.—Max Detweiler (Richard Haydn)—Gretyl (Kym Karath)
  12. Friedrich: I’m Friedrich. I’m fourteen. I’m impossible!Maria: [laughing] Really? Who told you that, Friedrich? Friedrich: Fraulein Josephine, four governesses ago.”—Friedrich (Nicholas Hammond) —Maria (Julie Andrews)
  13. “Fond as I am of you, I really don’t think you’re the right man for me. You’re, um… you’re much too independent. And I… I need someone who needs me desperately, or at least needs my money desperately.”—The Baroness (Eleanor Parker)
  14. Captain von Trapp: Fraulein Maria, did I or did I not say that bedtime is to be strictly observed in this household? Maria: Yes, well the children were scared of the thunderstorm and… You did, sir. Captain von Trapp: And do you or do you not have trouble following these simple instructions? Maria: Only during thunderstorms, sir.—Captain Von Trapp (Christopher Plummer)—Maria (Julie Andrews)
  15. “The Von Trapp children don’t play. They march.”—Frau Schmidt (Norma Varden) to Maria (Julie Andrews)
  16. Max: 
The Von Trapp Family Singers. Here your names: Leisl, Friedrich, Louisa, Brigitta, Kurt, Marta and Gretl. Gretl:
 Why am I always last? Max:
 Because you are the most important.—Max Detweiler (Richard Haydn)—Gretl (Kym Karath)
  17. Friedrich von Trapp: I’m Friedrich. I’m14. I’m impossible! Maria: [Laughing] Really? Who told you that, Friedrich? Friedrich von Trapp: Fraulein Josephine, four governesses ago.—Friedrich von Trapp (Nicholas Hammond)—Maria (Julie Andrews)
  18. Captain von Trapp: Is it possible, or could I have just imagined it—have my children by any chance been climbing trees today? Maria: Yes, Captain. Captain von Trapp: I see. And where, may I ask, did they get these… ummm… Maria: Play clothes. Captain von Trapp: Oh, is that what you call them? Maria: I made them. From the drapes that used to hang in my bedroom. Captain von Trapp: Drapes? Maria: They still have plenty of wear left. The children have been everywhere in them. Captain von Trapp: Do you mean to tell me that my children have been roaming about Salzburg dressed up in nothing but some old drapes? Maria: Mmm-hmmm. And having a marvelous time!—Captain Von Trapp (Christopher Plummer)—Maria (Julie Andrews)
  19. “I like rich people. I like the way they live. I like the way I live when I’m with them.”—Max Detweiler (Richard Haydn)
  20. “Only grown-up men are scared of women.”—Kurt (Duane Chase) Next, Julie Andrews Explains How She Chooses Her Roles
The Sound of Music Quotes 20 Best Quotes from The Sound of Music - 37