Karl (The Sound of Music)

"Karl.... fix Captain Von Trapp's car so that it will start."

- Zeller ordering Karl to start up the Von Trapps' car due to his suspicions of their attempt to flee.

Lieutenant Karl is the secondary antagonist of the 1965 film The Sound of Music, based on the 1959 play of the same name. He is a Nazi lieutenant who serves as the right-hand man of Hans Zeller following the Anschuluss (Austria's annexation into Nazi Germany in 1938).

He was portrayed by Alan Callow.

Role
When Austria was annexed into Nazi Germany (several days after Captain Georg Von Trapp and Maria were married), Zeller was appointed as the new Gauleiter of Austria by Adolf Hitler, and Karl is assigned to serve as his new right-hand man. As part of his job, Karl is assigned to help maintain Nazi order around Austria at all costs. During preparations of the Salzburg Music Festival, Karl escorted Zeller as the latter confronts Von Trapp's closest friend Max Detweiller, who is busy preparing Von Trapp's children for the festival. Zeller then assured to Max that the Nazi rule over Austria will remain despite the Von Trapp's opposition to it, just he and Karl depart from the stage.

Not soon after, the delivery boy Rolf Gruber gives the Captain a telegram detailing an offer for him to accept a commission in the Kriegsmarine (the Nazi Navy) at the German Naval base in Bremerhaven. Though Von Trapp has no intention in joining the Nazis, Zeller has Karl to gather in several Nazi officers to surround the Von Trapp estate, catching the family trying to flee in their car. Von Trapp tried to cover this by claiming that he couldn't get the car to start, but the suspicious Zeller asks Karl to start up the car, which he does instantly without incident. Suspecting that the Von Trapp family is trying to flee, Zeller praises Karl for a job well done before confronting Von Trapp with the intent of taking him to Bremehaven for the commission. However, the clever Von Trapp states that he's actually delivering his family for the Festival tonight, with Max presenting out the concert program list to prove the Captain's point. Realizing that it would be much of a little delay, Zeller reluctantly allows this by ordering Karl and the officers to give them an escort to the Festival, stating that he will force the Captain to go to Bremehaven for the commission afterwards.

During the festival, Karl watches as the entire audience is wooed by the family's singing voices, much to Zeller's annoyance. The Von Trapp family then concludes their performance with their famous song "So Long" before exiting the stage. During the awards ceremony, Max gave the Von Trapp family enough time to flee from the auditorium by presenting out awards to the runner-ups, just as a Nazi officer informs that the family has fled. Realizing this, an angry Zeller has Karl and his men to patrol the city and track down the Von Trapps. Eventually, their search reaches to an end in a church, where Rolf spots the Von Trapp family before alerting Karl and the others. Fortunately, several of the nuns took the opportunity to sabotage the Nazis' vehicles, allowing the Von Trapps to escape to Switzerland while Zeller, Karl and their men tried in vain to start up their cars.

It is unknown what happened to Karl following the Von Trapps' escape as he wasn't seen or heard from again.

Trivia

 * Karl is considered to be the only character created for the film, as none of the Nazi characters were named in the play (other than Zeller and Rolf).