Characters in ANTR

[Robert T. Paige]

In defense of Kate Winslet (Someone has to come to the poor girl's defense ! )
I thought she did the "American Accent" rather well, especially when compared to her "normal voice" on the commentary on the "Titanic (1997) DVD.

 

[Robert T. Paige]

>>I'd like to know what you thought of Ismay in both as well.<<

Same goes as on my comments on the Smith portrayals for the Ismay portrayals.....Frank Lawton (ANTR) comes off a bit short on the hairline when compared to Johnathan Hyde (Titanic-1997).

 

[Stanley C Jenkins]

I did not say that Kate Winslet could not "do" an American accent - the problem was, her accent seemed to fluctuate between "English" and "American". A more serious criticism of films which purport to be historically accurate is that the upper class, east coast accents of the early 20th century were very different to modern accents. It seems to me that few film makers get these accents right — although they seem to have more success with rural accents.

 

[Robert T. Paige]

Stanley-

>>I did not say that Kate Winslet could not "do" an American accent - the problem was, her accent seemed to fluctuate between "English" and "American". <<

My apologies if you took my comment as criticism of yours. Merely intended that she did it rather well...any lapses between the two also considered.

There was a comment somewhere that regional accents in the USA have been somewhat blurred by radio and television. However, the differences seem to be more distinct in the small towns rather than in the large cities.

One of the interesting things about watching the BBC "Britcoms" on PBS is the seemingly vast number of British accents as heard in the speech of the actors in them. No doubt if you had been an American...or even a British... passenger aboard RMS Titanic in 1912 and had access to all classes you would have noticed the same thing.

 

[Ben Lemmon]

You know, this is probably because I'm American, but if I had to, I don't think that I could do an American accent. A British one doesn't seem as hard as it would be to do an American one. But then again, as I said before, I am American, so it just comes naturally. Is there any British, Irish, or Scottish people who feel conversely?

 

[Martin Williams]

I can't speak American for toffee. Although I do sometimes lapse into the idiom of 'Laguna Beach', a programme which holds a sick fascination for me.

 

[Ben Lemmon]

How do you think you would make an American accent, being from the UK? And no crude remarks please.

 

[Bob Godfrey]

Now that the Media offer a much greater exposure to different forms of spoken English, it's notable that many British and American actors can convincingly play roles 'on either side of the Pond'. This wasn't so 50 years ago, when the average Hollywood Cockney and Pinewood Yank were equally risible. In British films of the the '50s Canadians (there were more of them available in the UK) were often cast as Americans, which explains why some of the accents weren't quite right. Conversely, when well-known American actors were included in the cast of British war films to ensure a theatrical release in the US, they were often given the role of Canadians, to explain why they were in British uniform. So they didn't sound quite right either! There were actually 'British' actors who specialised in playing Americans back then, but many of them started life with native accents which were not English. One was Sid James, best known later for the 'Carry On' comedy films. He was South African by birth. Redmond Philips, who played the gambler Hoyle in ANTR with a vaguely American accent, was a New Zealander.
.

 

[Mark Robert Hopkins]

Speaking of that, Bob, I am curious as to what you think of Johnny Depp's accent(s). I pluralize that word only because he has appeared as the lead in several movies set in different parts of England or the British Commonwealth where accents would vary. His London accent in From Hell, for example, sounds distinctly different than in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. The same goes for his speech in The Libertine. The respective characters here are all British, but they are from different areas.

 

[Bob Godfrey]

I have to be very careful what I say about Johnny Depp in case Kyrila Scully reads it and takes out a contract on me. I will say that his command of English regional accents in From Hell was well demonstrated because he used several, often in the same sentence. From the clips I've seen of Sweeney Todd I'd say he's made good progress. I thought his refined accent in The Libertine was very convincing, and there's a rumour that after the Pirates films he and Keith Richards entered a Keith Richards sound-alike contest and Keith Richards came second.

For me. the most impressive performances ever by American actors as Englishmen are in This is Spinal Tap. It's very hard to do a flat, neutral southern English accent if you're not born to it, but those guys had it right (nearly all of the time!)
.

 

[Bob Godfrey]

My prize for the worst British accent can only go to Dick Van Dyke. A lifetime achievement award, in fact. I'm not well qualified to name contenders for the worst American accent by a British actor, but Michael Caine in Hurry Sundown must be a contender. Along with Bob Hoskins for numerous roles.

 

[Ryan McKeefery]

I thought Bubbleskins was quite good in Roger Rabbit...

 

[Stanley C Jenkins]

I think that Merill Streep and Johnny Depp can both “do” good British accents, while Renee Zellweger’s performance in Bridget Jones is remarkably good. She does not speak in a posh accent (that would have been too easy) — it is more of an educated accent, albeit with residual traces of a working class childhood.

The worst American accent by a British actor must surely have been Sid James in Carry on Cowboy. I also find it amusing that Errol Flynn could play a supposed US sheriff (in Santa Fe Trail) with an unadulterated British accent — and get away with it! Come to think of it, few of the main characters in Gone with the Wind had Southern accents, though Vivien Leigh had a good try.

 

[Bob Godfrey]

Western sheriffs have been played by British actors as diverse as Kenneth More and John Cleese, who both wisely played their roles as Englishhmen. But yes, Errol Flynn seems to have had special dispensation to play characters of any nationality without the inconvenience of attempting any accent other than his own. Rather like Sean Connery. Or Arnie Schwarzeneggar. Then there was Cary Grant, who invented his own accent. As Jack Lemon famously quipped in Some Like it Hot: "Nobody talks like that!"

 

[Roy Kristiansen]

Keep in mind that Americans didn't always speak like "Americans." During the Revolutionary War, I doubt of you could have told the Yanks from the Brits by their accents.