10 fun facts about your senior loved one’s favorite flicks

Watching movies is one of America’s pastimes that transcends the generations. Many grandkids and adults enjoy viewing their family member’s favorite flicks – especially when they’re movies their grandparents love. It’s fun to learn some trivia about these films to talk about together, too. Here are ten facts about three movies you may watch as a family:

Julie Andrews had recently filmed “Mary Poppins” when she took the job as Maria in this 1965 movie. She sang “Supercalifragalisticexpialidocious” to the actors playing the Von Trapp children off-screen and they hadn’t heard it yet since the movie hadn’t come out.

Julie Andrews fell over and over while filming the mountain scene. As the jet helicopter circled above her, she continually fell over because the jets were so strong. The draft flattened her to the ground every time it came around.

Remember the “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” song where Liesl Von Trapp dances around the gazebo? In one shot, the actress slipped while leaping across the bench. She fell through a glass pane and hurt her ankle. The scenes that made the movie include ones where her leg is bandaged and covered in makeup to hide the injury.

This 1940 flick features Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell. Director Howard Hawks was a fan of ad-libbing and spontaneity, so he allowed the duo to talk over one another, a practice that was not common at the time due to sound difficulties for the audience.

Katharine Hepburn was offered the role of Hildy Johnson but she turned it down.

The original copyright holder did not renew the film’s copyright. This means it is technically under public domain. Depending on where you got your copy of the film, the quality may be diminished because it’s been reproduced multiple times.

This 1962 film is three hours and 36 minutes long. It is well-loved as an action film about World War l, and many people were fascinated with the Arab population at this time.

Most of the soldiers representing the Arab Legion were real soldiers. King Hussein of Jordan lent the film an entire brigade. He fell in love with a British secretary who worked on the set and she became his second wife. Their son Abdullah ll King Of Jordan became the King in 1999.

Actor Peter O’Toole bled through his jeans the first time he rode a camel for the film. He ended up using spongy rubber as a seat under his saddle to relieve his pain. He borrowed the technique from the Bedouin tribesmen who played extras in the film.

During the first take of the Battle of Aqaba scene, O’Toole was almost killed when the rocket or gun that signaled “action” went off. The actor’s camel freaked out and threw him off but was trained to stay put. The beast stood over the actor, preventing him from being trampled by charging horses who were also spooked by the unexpected noise.