Ah, the turmoil of Breaking Up with someone.
Depending where you fit in the scenario, a Breakup can either be painful or a relief. At other times, it might be the sting of a Bruised Ego.
It’s the latter Breakup we’re examining today, such as the one in The Sound of Music (1965). This legendary musical is about a young novitiate named Maria who becomes governess to a family of seven children, and (spoiler!) marries their widowed father.
This film has never been favourite of ours, but there are many things to admire, including the wardrobe, scenery, and – of course – music.
It’s not without interesting characters, such as Maria (Julie Andrews), the sartorially-challenged Force of Nature, and all those lively Von Trapp children.
Our favourite character is the glam Viennese Baroness, Elsa Schraeder (Eleanor Parker), the woman destined to be shunted aside by Captain Von Trapp (Christopher Plummer).
Baroness Schraeder is In It to Win It. Image: WaffleGif
Parker’s Baroness, we think, is an underrated performance. She’s a sleek, amusing figure in a stunning wardrobe.
She’s also calculating. There’s rarely a moment in the film when Parker-as-Baroness is not studying. Watch her as she analyzes the chemistry developing between Maria and the Captain. She knows Something’s Up, even before they do.
Her scenes with Richard Haydn (Uncle Max, the freeloading impresario) are delightful. You can tell these two love gossiping with – and about – each other, but alas! Uncle Max falls under Maria’s Spell, leaving the Baroness without an ally.
But our gal ain’t Leaving without a Fight, even though the match is rigged from the start.
Who was to know, for example, that when she arrived from Vienna to meet the Von Trapp brood, their hearts had already been stolen by Another?
Maria (that homewrecker) has also captured the Captain’s heart. Our Baroness desperately tries to regain lost territory, but Maria the Conqueror is not easily vanquished.
But she must try. During a party, the Baroness has a private little chat with Maria regarding the Captain, as in: Back Off. “Come, my dear,” she says lightly, “we are women. Let us not pretend we don’t know when a man notices us.”
Maria is aghast to learn of the Captain’s attraction towards her. But the Baroness, shrewdly aiming at Maria’s sense of honour and duty, devalues his affections. “He’ll get over it soon enough, I should think,” she shrugs. “Men do, you know.”
However, not even she can alter the Maria-and-Captain-Von-Trapp Collision Course.
The End is coming, and there’s no way around it.
It happens on a moonlit balcony. The Captain tells the Baroness, “It’s no use,” but our gal cuts him off. She’ll not be humiliated by a badly-dressed Convent Dropout.
She gives him the speech she’ll likely tell her friends back in Vienna. “As fond as I am of you,” she says brightly, “I really don’t think you’re the right man for me. You’re much too independent, and I need someone who needs me desperately. Or, at least, needs my money desperately.”
She’s lovely and radiant, but there’s no missing the subtext: I’m the one making this Decision. Watch as she kisses the Captain’s cheek and thanks him for “every moment we’ve had together”, and means it. She makes it seem like she’s handing him a gift.
Which she is.
I’m too fabulous for tears, darling. Image: Pinterest
Baroness Schraeder may be Eleanor Parker’s best-remembered performance, although many have called this role “boring” and “colourless”.
We disagree. Parker was one of those actresses who immersed herself in her characters; each one was unique. This is why, some say, she never became a big Movie Star. Audiences didn’t know who the Eleanor Parker Character was.
She once said, “When I’m spotted somewhere, it means that my characterizations haven’t covered up Eleanor Parker the person. I prefer it the other way around.”¹
Her turn as Baroness Schraeder in The Sound of Music is one of her many stellar performances. If Julie Andrews weren’t so funny and charming, Parker would certainly steal the film.
But we’ll content ourselves with admiring her as Baroness Schraeder and relishing her face-saving Breakup Technique.
Notes
The Sound of Music: starring Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Eleanor Parker. Directed by Robert Wise. Written by Ernest Lehman. Robert Wise Productions, 1965, Technicolor, 172 mins.
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I do love her in this role, and your review summed her up beautifully. Thanks for this wonderfully true character study!
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Thanks, Gill! I adore Eleanor Parker here. I’ve often thought a film about thr Baroness and Uncle Max in pre-war Vienna could be a lot of fun.
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That sounds a fantastic idea. I would love to have seen it..
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Great article! She’s my favorite character also! Parker’s performance is absolutely amazing.
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Parker truly is amazing here, isn’t she? She’s not just The Other Woman.
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For real! She commands the screen every time she appears.
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Thanks for the smile and the laugh. I always have a soft spot for these scorned gals (Lina Lamont and Norma Desmond, anyone?). Super swell post – and by the way, I’ve been a naughty blogger these last few months, so I haven’t been around too much – but, I love the look of your site.
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I have a soft spot for those gals as well. They’re fascinating characters.
And thanks for your kind words about the refreshed blog look. I decided to buy a template, and am so glad I did.
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What a fresh perspective! I loved your interpretation of the story: Maria, that homewrecker (hee hee). I certainly had never thought about the Baroness that way before, as a dignified victim. It’s inspiring how she handled the rejection.
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Thanks! The Baroness is a smart, witty character who could easily star in her own film, would you agree?
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Wholeheartedly 😊
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This isn’t one of my favorite films either. Or so I’ve thought. Maybe I’d like it if I saw it again. The last time I saw it was eons ago.
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I hope you do see it again. It’ll be interesting to hear how your opinions might have changed.
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I know that Maria was young, enchanting, and a hit with the kids…but, come on, with Elsa played Eleanor Parker, the Captain should have married her! Actually, I always thought it was a shame that the movie jettisoned the duet “How Will Love Survive” which was performed by Elsa and Max. It’s a good song!
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Haha! I like to think the Baroness goes on to find an even more fabulous man, and then joins the Resistance.
Thanks for the heads up re: “How will Love Survive”. Just looked it up on YouTube, and it looks like it would’ve been a great addition to the film.
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Great article! I do love the Captain and Maria together… but it was very insightful of the Baroness to see what was happening and step back. Eleanor plays her so well and she comes off as a sympathetic character.
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Agreed! Do you think Eleanor Parker made the Baroness more sympathetic, perhaps, than the filmmakers intended?
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You know…I think so because it’s not only her lines, it’s her delivery, especially when she essentially breaks up with him. She is so strong, but sympathetic and kind of heartbreaking at the same time.
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I see you and I think alike about Elsa Schrader. She is so misunderstood. I love the Captain and Maria so much, but I also love Elsa and the Captain as a couple too. I hope she eventually got herself a nice guy who loved her and looked after her for the rest of her days. You made me have a good chuckle when you called Maria a homewrecker.🤣 Great piece, Ruth. Thanks for joining me to celebrate Eleanor.
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Thanks, Maddy! I always like to think the Baroness finds a wonderful new man who helps her in the Resistance.
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Another great article. Even as a child, I never thought of the Baroness as a “colourless” character. (Who are these people?!) As an adult, I don’t understand why they omitted the song No Way to Stop It (Baroness, Max and Georg). It said a lot about the characters and it is not as if an extra three or so minutes was going to put a 3 hr movie out of whack.
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Haha! True – an extra 3 minutes wouldn’t really push the movie off its rails. It would’ve been interesting if just a few more minutes were spent on the friendship between the Baroness and Max.
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Sound of Music is not a favorite?! Oh goodness LOL 🙂 It’s one of my allllll tiiiime favorites. And I totally agree about the baroness! Colorless and boring are the last words I would use to describe that character. It is a fascinating role, one played so brilliantly by Parker that she’s mesmerizing to watch. Fabulous sum up, I really enjoyed reading it.
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You said it – Eleanor Parker definitely is mesmerizing to watch. Even when I saw this film as a kid, I was fascinated by her. (We saw this film every year when I was a kid. My parents loved it.)
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It’s definitely a long-time favorite of mine 🙂 🙂 Obsession actually might be a better word haha. Visiting Salzburg was one of the highlights of my life!
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Me too, actually. Such a beautiful city – and the food! Did you go on a “Sound of Music” tour?
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We didn’t go on an official tour, but we found our way to most of the filming sites on our own 🙂 🙂
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Ah, the poor baroness. A schemer, to a certain extent, but also a character to be pitied — even admired, depending on how you look at (as in the breakup scene, yes). Parker did a fantastic job in this thankless role. What a wonderful movie.
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Yup, like you said, this is a thankless role. In anyone else’s hands, the character might have become a parody of the wicked witch. But Parker makes her human – and memorable.
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Well, when ya put it like this (!)…I know I have to watch this again with a closer eye on her. What a great post in this very cool blogathon.
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Thanks! I an a complete Baroness Schraeder fangirl, because what’s not to adore?
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Great article and so true.
Let me first out myself as a “hater” of this movie, the music and Maria (and the children), so you have to take everything I say about it with a grain of salt. I know I’m pretty much alone in my unfavorable opinion.
Maria’s cloying and gloopy wholesomeness sends my blood sugar levels through the roof. I need at least a triple martini to wash that down.
What guy in his right mind would ever ditch the glamorous and sophisticated Baroness for an unattractive nun with support stockings?
If anything makes this film at all watchable, it’s Eleanor Parker.
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Bahaha! A triple martini – awesome!
Frankly, I think the Baroness dodged a bullet when it comes to Captain Von Trapp.
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True. The Captain and Maria will do very nicely for each other. Hand me the sleeping pills.
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Great post! I too have always felt badly for the Baroness. When she, clever as she is, realizes that the children (and then the Captain also) will always love Maria more than they could ever love her, I always feel sad, even if she reacts so elegantly to her being put aside. You choose the right image to show this feeling, when the Captain orders his children to kiss their new mother and they obediently do so but in such a cold way you can feel the ice too. And yet no shame, no rage and no revenge at all. An admirable character indeed.
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Excellent point. The Baroness doesn’t seek revenge, nor does she have a screaming fit. She exits with dignity intact – which is truly admirable.
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She was actually my favourite character in the film–glad to see her getting some love. at least here!
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Mine too. She & Uncle Max always made the film for me.
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Hi Ruth! LOL I love how you refer to Maria as a “badly dressed Convent Dropout”. Cheekily said! I never felt that the Captain truly appreciated the Baroness as a person although I think he would have no problem at all going to bed with her. The Baroness would have treated him very well, there is little doubt about that, so it is really his loss in the end. She needed a different class of man! 😀
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Thanks, Erica! I agree with you re: Captain Von Trapp. The Baroness did need a different sort of man – one who was smart and truly witty. (I guess I’ve never been a huge fan of the Captain…)
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“This film has never been favourite of ours” I’m so with you on this one…this is on my list for my “Classic Movies Everybody Loves That I hate” series!
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As talented as the Rodgers & Hammerstein team was, I just can’t connect with them somehow. I’ve seen 3 of their musicals on the big screen, including this one, and that experience still hasn’t changed my mind. However, each musical has many admirable qualities.
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I had never thought about the Baroness through these lenses, and they actually make a lot of sense. A role that might have been ungrateful – as the rival of the adorable Maria – became something else in Eleanor Parker’s performance, and her dignified breakup is a whole different level of classy.
Kisses!
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(Oops – premature send.)
Anyhoo, the breakup scene was all class, like you said. The Baroness took the upper hand, but did so graciously. She’s a character I admire.
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I had forgotten about the scene between the baroness and uncle Max and you are right, they are quite delightful. I’m one of those people who indeed tends to overlook Eleanor Parker’s performance in this film but you’re article really made me want to pay more attention next time I watch it.
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Thanks! I’d love to see a movie about the friendship between the Baroness and Uncle Max, with the Von Trapp escapade a minor foonote. These two characters are too interesting to not explore further.
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Love the music the best in The Sound of Music but I have always enjoyed the show too….many times!
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The music is wonderful, isn’t it? So many memorable songs.
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Seems I’m one of the few here: I love this movie. I wouldn’t say it’s a great cinematic marvel (I kind of agree with the comments above regarding the too-sweet, puke-worthiness of it) but it’s a comfort food movie and I’ve watched it A LOT. 😉 The Baroness is a fantastic, tension-building, trouble-making character. The break-up scene is good but the I’m-so-innocent, oh-dear-you’re-leaving-let-me-help-you-pack scene is fab. Great post!
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Oh yeah, the let-me-help-pack-your-bag scene is one of the best in the movie. I LOVE her in that scene.
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This was another terrific post. “The Sound of Music” is not one of my favorite films due to its length & the other reasons that so many here have eloquently said. That being stated, I am willing to view it again to specifically watch the great Eleanor Parker make the role three dimensional. Thanks for highlighting her portrayal!
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The last time I watched it, I studied Eleanor Parker’s performance, and it was almost like watching a different movie, I kid you not.
Thanks so much for your nice comments.
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