30 Jul 2013

'Sound of Music' movie costumes sold

5:37 am on 30 July 2013

Costumes from The Sound Of Music movie were sold for $1.3 million at a Hollywood memorabilia auction in California.

The outfits included the main costume worn by lead character Maria, played by Dame Julie Andrews.

It was described by auction house Profiles in History as "a heavy brown homespun Austrian-style dress with a wheat-coloured homespun blouse."

Floral lederhosen worn by the Von Trapp children also went under the hammer.

The story of a singing Austrian family trying to escape the Nazis prior to World War II won five Oscars in 1966.

Dame Julie told Oprah Winfrey in a 2010 interview that the cast had no idea the film would be so successful when it was first released.

"It made my career. It was that big of a movie," she said.

The BBC reports other items auctioned included a painting of Tara from Gone With The Wind, used in the film's opening sequence. It fetched $US270,000.

A diving helmet from 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea sold for $US75,000.