Chaitra’s Comments (group member since Apr 29, 2012)

Chaitra’s comments from the Crazy Challenge Connection group.

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♦♦♦♦

Amanda K
Angel
August
Catsalive
Chaitra
Frankie
Helen
Jimena
Jonquil
Lali & Michelle
Meg
Olivermagnus
Ruth

Contd.

17. The young actors who played the von Trapp kids grew up a lot over the six months of filming. Nicholas Hammond, who played Friedrich, grew six inches over the six months while Charmian Carr, who played Liesl stayed the same. Nicholas was taller than Charmian for a portion of filming and they had to put Charmian on boxes so they would look like they were the same height. Debbie Turner, who played Marta, lost two front teeth during filming and had to use fake teeth.
🏔️Read two books for this task:
- Read a book marked Middle Grade or a book with something on the cover that could belong to a child (a toy, a doll etc.)
- Read a book marked Young Adult or an adult book with an important character who is a teen (tell us who if choosing the second option).

18. The puppets used in the song "The Lonely Goatherd" were specially designed for the film. The puppeteers Bill and Cora Baird worked with the choreographers Breaux and Wood to make sure the puppets could perform the dance number choreographed for them. And it took three weeks of rehearsal for Andrews and the kids to make it look like they were operating the puppets.
🏔️Read a book in which the main character is a performing artist of some sort (tell us what they are) -or- read a book with a story within a story.

19. Charmian Carr accidentally danced through one of the plate glass windows in the gazebo when filming the song "Sixteen Going on Seventeen" and hurt her ankle quite badly. This was one of the final scenes filmed for the movie, so they bandaged her, disguised the bandage with makeup and tried to get rid of it in post production. The original gazebo in Salzburg was too small to film a dance sequence in, the gazebo was recreated in Los Angeles on the studio lot.
🏔️Read a book with a glass window prominently shown on the cover (post the cover) -or- read a book in which the main character is injured in some way.

20. The real Maria von Trapp makes an appearance in the movie, walking with her daughter and granddaughter while movie Maria leaves the abbey singing "I Have Confidence". Reportedly, the real Maria was initially enthusiastic to be in the movie but ended up exhausted with the retakes.
🏔️Read a fictional book in which a real person makes an appearance -or- read a book that left you exhausted after reading for whatever reason.


CHALLENGE RULES - PLEASE READ!
See this thread for more detailed rules for CCC challenges.

❖ If you want to participate in a challenge, sign up by posting at least a partial list of the challenge requirements. This gives us a post to link you to, which you can use to update your books as the challenge progresses.

❖ Books must be at least 150 pages long (unless they are graphic novels, see below) and may only be used for one task in this challenge, but cross-challenge posting is encouraged.

❖ Graphic novels must be at least 300 pages long, but two books can be combined to make up the page count as long as they both meet the same criteria.

❖ For each book you read, please post a link to the title and mention the author and the date you finished reading it. If a challenge task gives several options, make it clear which option you’ve chosen. If the task calls for an item/color on the cover, include a link to the book cover.* If it’s not obvious from the book title or cover, be sure to explain how your book fits the task. If you don’t, you won’t get credit for completing that task.

❖ If you want the challenge moderator to verify those books as you post them, please copy/paste your update into a new message. If you do this while you still have the Edit window open, it will copy all of your formatting, etc. too. It will make it easier on the moderators if we won't have to scroll back through the entire thread looking for "message #15," or to follow links back to an original post.

❖ When you complete the challenge, please post your entire list as a new message to make it easier for everyone to see what you’ve read :) If you don’t repost your list, your name will not be added to the list of those who have completed the challenge.

❖ Rereads are allowed, as long as you read the entire book and not just skim the best portions! :)

* If you don’t know how to post a link to the book title, cover or author, see the instructions HERE.

The Sound of Music
Duration: Sep 01, 2025 – Feb 28, 2026

The Sound of Music has two of my favorite songs to sing – My Favorite Things and Edelweiss. So, when Barb suggested that one of us do a challenge in honor of the movie’s 60th anniversary this year, I volunteered. To finish this challenge, read a book that fits every task (one asks for two books). You will read 21 books in total.

1. The Sound of Music is a 1965 American musical drama film produced and directed by Robert Wise from a screenplay written by Ernest Lehman, and starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, with Richard Haydn, Peggy Wood, Charmian Carr, and Eleanor Parker. The film is an adaptation of the 1959 stage musical, itself an adaptation based on the 1949 memoir The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria von Trapp.
🏔️Read a book that has been made into a movie, a tv show, or a musical stage show (tell us which) -or- read a memoir.

2. The Sound of Music was released in the United States on March 2, 1965, initially as a limited roadshow theatrical release. Initial critical response to the film was mixed, but it was a major commercial success, becoming the number-one box office film after four weeks, and the highest-grossing film of 1965. By November 1966, The Sound of Music had become the highest-grossing film of all time, surpassing Gone with the Wind, and it held that distinction for five years.
🏔️Read a book that was first published in the month of March of any year (tell us the publication date) -or- read a book that hasn't received great reviews but is a bestseller (think Twilight).

3. The Sound of Music received five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. The film also received Golden Globe Awards for Best Motion Picture and Best Actress, the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement, and the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written American Musical. Since its original release, the film is widely regarded as one of the greatest films of all time.
🏔️Read a book which has received an award (tell us which) -or- read a book that is considered a classic.

4. The top choice to play Maria von Trapp, the young Austrian nun-to-be who becomes the governess to the seven Von Trapp children, was Julie Andrews. At the time, Julie had filmed only two movies, and they had not been released yet. There was also a rumor that she wasn't photogenic enough for Hollywood after Warner Bros. passed on her for My Fair Lady. But director Robert Wise saw early footage of Mary Poppins and zeroed in on Andrews for Maria.
🏔️Read a book main character is a Maria (reasonable variations like Mary or Marie are fine) -or- read a book in which a speaking character is a governess or a nun (tell the character and their profession).

5. Christopher Plummer, who plays the retired Naval Captain George Von Trapp, repeatedly turned down the role because of the way the character was initially written. The creative team then auditioned numerous other actors, including Sean Connery, Richard Burton and Yul Brynner. Director Robert Wise and writer Ernest Lehman also made several changes to improve the character and incorporated Plummer's request to give Captain von Trapp a wry sense of humor, after which Plummer agreed to play the part.
🏔️Read a book whose main character is either currently serving in a branch of the military or has retired (tell us which branch) -or- read a book marked "humor" on the main page.

6. Plummer almost quit the production after he found out that his singing voice was not quite good enough to pass off as George von Trapp's and would have to be mixed with a professional singer's voice. He took singing lessons but ultimately, it still wasn't good enough and the Captain's final singing voice is a mix. Plummer felt that knowing that his voice would be dubbed would destroy his ability to play the role.
🏔️Read a book in which a speaking character takes lessons to improve something (outside of school, tell us the character and what they learn) -or- read a book with at least two credited authors (all their names must appear on the cover).

7. Julie Andrews' singing voice, on the other hand, was so strong that she added an extra octave at the end of "Do-Re-Mi", just because she could. All the music used in the movie was the same as it was in the original Broadway musical, except for this one change.
🏔️Generate a random number between 1 and 7 and read a book for the number you rolled:
1. Read a book with a deer on the cover or mentioned in the plot (post the cover if choosing that option).
2. Read a book with the sun on the cover (post the cover).
3. Read a book with a first person POV.
4. Read a book >450 pages (tell us the number of pages).
5. Read a book in which a speaking character works with clothes in some fashion (tell us who).
6. Read a series book that's not the first book (tell us the series and the place of your book).
7. Read a book with tea things on the cover (post the cover).

8. Julie Andrews' natural hair color is brown, but for the movie they wanted to add in blonde highlights. The initial dye job turned her hair orange to everyone's horror. Ultimately, they dyed her hair completely blonde. They had to dye her hair repeatedly throughout production to keep her hair as blonde as possible. The actor Daniel Truhitte, who played Rolfe, Liesl's paramour, also had to dye his hair blonde. He complained that he lost half his hair after that.
🏔️Read a book in which the main character is a blonde -or- read a book in which someone loses their hair for whatever reason (tell us who and why).

9. It rained for the majority of the film's shoot in Salzburg and Bavaria. When the filmed the songs Do-Re-Mi and The Sound of Music, it was pouring so hard that the cast and crew had to spend hours in tents and under tarps waiting out the rain. The road up the mountain had washed away with all the rain and the crew had to transport equipment using carts pulled by oxen.
🏔️Read a book with rain shown on the cover (post the cover) -or- read a book that's on this list: Books to Read on a Rainy Day (tell us your book's place on the list).

10. Interestingly, the one time it was supposed to look like it was raining, natural rainwater was not used. One of the first scenes filmed for the movie was Charmian Carr, playing the eldest von Trapp daughter Liesl, climbing into Maria's bedroom window soaking wet. She's just met Rolf, and she's supposedly caught in a torrential downpour. It took 15 takes to get this scene right, and between takes poor Carr was doused with cold water so she could look sufficiently rained on. The sprayer they used for this was affectionately called "Mr. Rainstorm".
🏔️Read a book with a honorific in the title (like Mr., Mrs., St., Dr., and so on) -or- read a book whose author has an alliterative name (same first and last initials. Middle initials count if used!)

11. To film the scene when Maria spins on the mountain singing "the Sound of Music", a cameraman was strapped to the side of a helicopter and flown towards Julie Andrews, who met it in the middle of the field. The helicopter was loud, so choreographer Marc Breaux was hidden in a bush and used a megaphone to tell Julie when to start running and singing. But, once the helicopter had finished filming, it went around Andrews, and the downdraft from the engines flung her into the grass. They had to do repeated takes of the scene, leaving her hitting the grass every take.
🏔️Read a book with a man-made flying machine on the cover (post the cover, bonus for a helicopter) -or- read a book that shows a meadow or similar large expanse of grass on the cover (post the cover).

12. The field where the song "the Sound of Music" was filmed was owned by a local farmer. Despite being asked not to mow the high hay and grass that location scouts had been impressed with, the farmer went ahead and trimmed everything anyway. The crew also created a brook by digging a ditch in the middle of the farm and planted some fake trees for Maria to dance around, annoying the farmer.
🏔️Read a book set predominantly on a farm -or- read a book in which trees are prominently seen on the cover (post the cover).

13. The city of Salzburg objected to the Anschluss scene, where Nazis took over Austria. The scene required hanging banners from the buildings and a cheering crowd greeting the Nazis. The city initially refused, loathe to be seen as sympathizers, but when second unit director Maurice Zuberano said they would use real life footage which showed Hitler marching into Austria with cheering crowds instead, they allowed filming with the banners (but not the cheering crowds).
🏔️Read a book set during and is directly about World War II -or- read a book in which something that is believed to be true is proven false (tell us how your book fits).

14. It took 12 takes to film the kiss between Captain and Maria because Plummer and Andrews would not stop laughing. The fault was with the arc lights used to create a shaft of moonlight to light the scene - each time they were used, they emitted a groan or raspberry sound. Each time the noise happened, the actors would start giggling. This went on so long and the laughter was so bad that director Wise ended up filming the scene mostly in the dark.
🏔️Read a book that you consider a romantic comedy (or a comedy with romance, whatever makes you laugh) -or- read a book with a moonlit night scene on the cover (post the cover).

15. They also did multiple takes of the scene when Maria and the children fall out of the boat and into the water when Maria first spots the Captain. Kym Karath, the actress who played Gretl, the youngest of the von Trapp children, could not swim. So a crew member instructed Julie Andrews to fall forwards so she could catch the little girl and fish her out of the water as quickly as possible. Andrews managed this during the first take, but in every subsequent take she ended up falling backwards, so crew members rushed in to try and get Kym quickly. In the final scene, the actress Heather Menzies, who plays Louisa, carries Kym out of the water.
🏔️Read a book with a boat or ship ride as part of the plot -or- read a book in which a character rescues another from drowning.

16. It took two months of rehearsals to get the scene in "Do-Re-Mi" when Maria and the Von Trapp children ride their bicycles in time with their singing just right. Before they even traveled to Salzburg to film it, Andrews and the kids would practice riding their bikes down a street on the studio lot so they could time the riding with the music. The whole dance was meticulously planned - the choreographers Marc Breaux and Dee Dee Wood would judge the distances from Maurice Zuberano's storyboards and plan the dance accordingly.
🏔️Read a book whose cover shows a bicycle (post the cover) -or- read a book in which timing something is an important part of the plot (a heist, a misdirection or a daring rescue for example; tell us how your book fits; use spoilers if needed).

Congrats, Barb and Frankie!

☼♎ Carmen the Bootyshaker Temptress ☼♎ wrote: "Next guess: B-4

Blood Moon by Sandra Brown
Pgs: 440
Read -6/8/25"

B4 is a miss.

Christina (AKA Babbling) wrote: "Guess #14

J0 - The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes 16 August 2025 ★★★★★(audiobook) Hardcover, 308 pages

"

J0 is a miss.

Congrats, Patrizia, Frankie and OM!

Welcome to the challenge, Lori!

Welcome to the challenge, Lori!

Welcome to the challenge, Lori!

Welcome, Lori!

Congrats, Frankie!

Congrats, Frankie and Barb!

Congrats, Barb, Frankie and OM!

Congrats, Bonita!

Congrats, Connie!

Great job, Moondance!

Congrats, Jonquil and Barb!

Congrats, Jonquil!

Christina (AKA Babbling) wrote: "8. Professional athlete
An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good by Helene Tursten ★★★★ 7 August 2025

10. Arson (fire/candle)
[book:Can't Spell Treason Without Tea|21184524..."

The murder was not by arson.