La famille Trapp en Amérique

This sequel to "Die Trapp Familie" tells the story of the Von Trapps after their immigration to the USA; this could have been a nice follow-up, but it seems as Wolfgang Liebeneiner did it without much interest and at least with little inspiration, but he had also to deal with a weaker script than with "Die Trapp Familie"; the producer should have used Georg Hurdalek again. The film proceeds awkwardly from one situation to the other and has little dramatic atmosphere; scene in Vermont: a walk, they find a house, "yes, we buy the house", end of scene, next scene. Again there is good music by Franz Grothe, including some music in the Gershwin idiom. Ruth Leuwerik is fine again as Maria; in the last shot she addresses (as in "Die Trapp Familie") directly the viewer this time saying "Auf Wiedersehen", probably hinting at a second sequel which luckily was never made.

The saga continues with the troubled lives of the sweet family - seems the folksongs are out of step with the new rock and roll era. Sniff ! They should have stopped at the first film - the second is just too much to swallow.

It came as no surprise to anyone that all involved should choose to follow 'Die Trapp Familie', one of the most successful German films of the 50's, with a sequel. The result was 'Die Trapp Familie in Amerika' and it literally began where the earlier film left off.

With Ruth Leuwerik reprising her formidable performance as Baronin von Trapp, the producers clearly hoped their subject's on-going story would help swell the studio's coffers once more - it did! Lavishly produced, director W. Liebeneiner turned every single one of the film's galloping clichés into gold. However, the red meat of the Trapp-saga had already been devoured by audiences in Part One - and all that was left second time around were scraps of plot. Spicing it up and helping to make the most of the least were the gorgeous gowns worn by Miss Leuwerik, who looked a treat!

I've seen this film on German TV. The German TV guide gives it a "thumbs down". But it's fun to compare this story with what one sees in "Sound of Music", and the shots of 1950s New York City are great. The musical leader of the Trapp Family Singers is a priest. He tries to get the group gigs singing nothing but church music, but of course it doesn't work. If I recall correctly, an agent hears the family singing folk music by chance, and hires them. In both this film and the film that preceded it, the actors sing the same music that the Von Trapp Family sang, not Rodgers and Hammerstein. I don't know if this is available with English subtitles.

Saw this film online in German, a language I don't know extremely well, yet I could understand enough to know the context of the dialogue. I found it to be a delightful, if fancifully abbreviated, account of the Trapp family's initial hardships and subsequent success, in America. The female lead playing Maria was charming and more or less believable. The sequence in which she seeks the meaning of "sex appeal" is hilarious (and 100 percent clean). The young actors portraying the children are charming as well. Sure, you could nit-pick it factually, but just sit back and enjoy the show! You won't be sorry.