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January 18, 2024

Authenticity: Christopher Plummer, The Sound of Music, and Donald Trump

By Andrea Widburg

A friend from Australia sent me a link to a newly released video with the original “Edelweiss” vocals by Christopher Plummer, who played Captain von Trapp in The Sound of Music. He noted that the laudatory comments all spoke of Plummer’s authenticity versus the polished singing of Bill Lee, who was dubbed in his place, and said that this might go a long way to explaining Donald Trump’s appeal. I thought his insight was interesting and accurate enough to share with you at greater length.

My friend’s note arrived at the right time. I’d been looking for an image for another post, which—as regular readers know—often means getting a screen grab from YouTube. It seemed as if every video I checked out tossed up a new commercial in which Obama and Biden stand side by side, touting Biden’s virtues:

As you can see, the ad is incredibly staged. We know that Obama doesn’t respect Biden (“Don’t underestimate Joe’s ability to f*** things up”), so Obama’s presence there is a Hail Mary for the Democrat party, not genuine support for Biden himself. As for Joe himself, he’s barely sentient. His eyes are vacant, and you get the feeling that they’re on take twenty-five to get that snippet of coherence.

The sad thing about American politics is that this passes for normal. One of the reasons the “debates” are so boring on either side of the aisles is because the candidates are just waiting to spit out their focused-group-tested soundbites. It doesn’t matter that there might be truth behind those pithy little phrases because they’re dead inside.

The politicians, who would never survive as actors in Hollywood, spit them out with wooden passion. This isn’t Churchillian wittiness; this is Disney Kids’ laugh lines—say the pre-written line, smirk, and wait for the canned laughter from the sound technician.

For a perfect example of the bad acting that characterizes American politics, just revisit Kamala Harris’s cringe-worthy performance with a bunch of child actors as she gives voice to the wonders of space travel:

And I bet you remember with a shudder of revulsion Elizabeth Warren drinking beer:

But then there’s Donald Trump, who, like him or not, is completely authentic. When Trump speaks, probably to his handlers’ horror, what he says and how he says it is unscripted. We are always seeing the real, raw Donald Trump.

That gets me to Christopher Plummer. You’re all familiar with the final movie version of Captain von Trapp singing “Edelweiss” with his family, the first sign that his rigid shell is finally crumbling.

It's a very nice, polished performance, with vocals by Bill Lee, a frequent dubber for movies in the 1960s. It’s also completely without personality. It’s generic.

However, the new Deluxe edition of The Sound of Music includes Plummer’s own voice. It’s a nice voice—a little rough, a little hesitant, and much more consistent with a tightly wound man who hasn’t sung in decades and is finally breaking free of the constraints he imposed on himself:

Aside from the pleasure of the video itself, what’s fascinating is reading the comments, all of which are thrilled by Plummer’s authenticity instead of the usual smooth studio fakery. Here’s a sampling of the most popular comments:

@Randystudio217: Something about Plummer’s version truly delivers. he plays it as written; a man unsure of himself who hasn’t sang or performed since losing his wife. A man reluctant to show the slightest vulnerability to anyone in that room who, swept up in emotions of love both old and new, plays his favorite piece. Christine’s Plummer’s rendition is superior. A true actor and performer RIP.

@faith2461: Gosh, as much as I love Bill Lee’s rendition that’s used in the film, there’s just something so lovely and sincere about Christopher’s somewhat shaky, imperfect cadence. Really makes me weep. This album is what we’ve all been waiting for, truly ЁЯШн. And Irwin Kostal was a gift.

@lauraopper2571: His rendition may not have been perfect, but it was authentic. He made the viewers feel as if he was just singing a folk song to entertain his family in an evening spent with friends.  I love it...

@eleonoramaciel6273: This rendition makes his bashful shrug at the end so much more meaningful. It would be lovely to get a version of the film with his voice in streaming platforms.

@ritawetterhan5232:

His singing is so real and slightly vulnerable— a fitting juxtaposition of his rigid military demeanor and his love for his children, Maria, and his country тЭдя╕П

In a time of Deep Fakes, Artificial Intelligence, endless hoaxes, and the plasticine version of people who swarm politics, media, and entertainment (it’s not a coincidence that a movie about a plastic doll was one of 2023’s most popular films), people crave someone who is obviously unstaged, unscripted, unscrubbed, and un anything else the political world does to give us a simulacrum of reality.

Looking at the dubbed and real Plummer videos, on the one hand, and American politicians versus Trump, on the other hand, I keep thinking of Alan Sherman’s classic line in the song “Jump Down, Spin Around,” about shopping at a discount retailer. In the song, he trills out, “Here’s what I’ve been praying for: A genuine copy of a fake Dior.”

We Americans have gotten used to but still hate genuine copies of fake politicians. When a real one comes along, we resonate with that authenticity and believe him when he promises to take America back to a more normal time of fiscal, racial, sexual, and national security sanity.

Image is a true AI fake.

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