Anybody else bugged by Harvey's terrible American accent?
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Agent-69 — 14 years ago(August 31, 2011 03:22 AM)
It most certainly did bother me. And I agree with you, it's the most irritating and obvious flaw of the film. The whole film I just kept thinking why does he speak in a fake British accent?
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marktayloruk — 14 years ago(September 29, 2011 08:17 AM)
I suppose it's possible that his mother was English originally. Uppercrust East Coast,as someone else said. What I wondered was-how much did Iselin know about his wifge's activities?He knew about the plot to shoot Arthur -but did he know about his wife's being a Communist agent? And what if they'd got away with it?Mrs.Iselin said that she would take revenge on the Reds so
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pastorwillie-1 — 14 years ago(October 13, 2011 01:55 PM)
I've seen this movie 3 or 4 times and still wonder why they used a British actor to play the part of Raymond Shaw. Surely there were enough American actors to choose from. I spent 20 years in the military and can't remember a single British G.I. A few Germans but none British. Another example was Max von Sydow playing the part of an American M/Sgt in "The Brass Target."
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gevansmd — 14 years ago(October 17, 2011 08:36 PM)
There is a faux British accent that is or was common among the upper crust of society. Actually, you can still here it in some places. There's an Episcopal church in Gergetown DC led by a female pastor who has the same accent although she has always lived in the DC area.
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EvasiveApollo03 — 14 years ago(November 09, 2011 10:10 PM)
His accent was just bad. It was to the point where I wonder if he was even trying to pass as an American. It's as bad as when I saw Frankie Avalon playing a British teen in a 1971 Horror film where he doesn't seem to even attempt to come off as a british teenager but rather a middle aged Frankie Avalon.
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deadzombie — 14 years ago(January 27, 2012 03:57 PM)
I agree 100% Awarded Medal of Honor for leading his troops in battle in Korea speaking Proper drawing room English. He gets captured by North Korea,they get "brainwashed" by Russian or Red Chinese or North Korean secret agents.They get released.Major Bennett Marco is the only captured solider not brainwashed and he was in charge.It gets better.Major marco meets Janet Leigh on a train,and she decides to leave her "fiance" for Major Marco even though he is arrested for beating Henry Silva the same day.
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ContinentalOp — 14 years ago(December 01, 2011 04:31 AM)
To cut him some slack:
Laruschka Mischa Skikne, Laurence Harvey, was born and lived in Lithuania until he was five. He then moved to South Africa and then moved to England after the warso he had to master two foreign accents since the age of five.
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movie_nazi — 14 years ago(December 02, 2011 07:33 AM)
Laruschka Mischa Skikne, Laurence Harvey, was born and lived in Lithuania until he was five. He then moved to South Africa and then moved to England after the warso he had to master two foreign accents since the age of five.
Uh, yeah, that's nice he's an ACTOR. It's his job to pretend he is from the United States. On the other hand many "actors" of the time never even tried to pull off accents.
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ContinentalOp — 14 years ago(December 12, 2011 04:30 PM)
''Uh, yeah, that's nice he's an ACTOR. It's his job to pretend he is from the United States. On the other hand many "actors" of the time never even tried to pull off accents.''
I am not sure how this is a relevant reply to my comment. I am not criticizing him and I am in fact pointing out that he is technically doing an accent anyway, whether he just sounds English or not, because he grew up in Lithuania and South Africa.
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franzkabuki — 13 years ago(June 19, 2012 05:40 PM)
"On the other hand many "actors" of the time never even tried to pull off accents".
So youre saying that if an actor doesnt try to "pull off accents", or does so poorly, he or she ceases to be an actor and instead becomes an "actor" ie an amateur failure?
And why would such a relatively minor flaw in authenticity bother anyone so much, anyway? Its not like hes speaking like an Australian or a Scot; it more or less passes for an East Coast upper crust American accent.
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movie_nazi — 13 years ago(June 20, 2012 10:56 AM)
So youre saying that if an actor doesnt try to "pull off accents", or does so poorly, he or she ceases to be an actor and instead becomes an "actor" ie an amateur failure?
It actually seems to be a sign of the times rather than a measuring of the actor's caliber. He most likely was instructed by the director to not speak with an American accent.
I never said that the actor would be an "amateur failure" if he could not pull off an accent (did I? Been so long since started this post). However I firmly believe that no actor can be considered great if they are not able to pull off a convincing accent. They can be considered good but never great IMHO.
And why would such a relatively minor flaw in authenticity bother anyone so much, anyway?
It's a quirk of mine. It's hard for me to immense myself in a movie where the character is supposed to be an American soldier and he sounds like Jeeves bringing the tea and crumpets.
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lewisherschell — 13 years ago(August 08, 2012 03:28 AM)
I like Harvey, but his accents were often a little off: for example, see his wonky Lancashire accent in Jack Clayton's "Room at the Top".
'What does it matter what you say about people?'
Touch of Evil (Orson Welles, 1958). -
movie_nazi — 13 years ago(August 08, 2012 08:35 PM)
I like Harvey, but his accents were often a little off: for example, see his wonky Lancashire accent in Jack Clayton's "Room at the Top".
I can't even pretend to know how exactly a Lancashire accent is supposed to sound like. I would have imagined that it would have been easier for him to pull one of those off than an American accent. I've noticed more and more that they really didn't concern themselves too much with authenticity back in the days. -
lewisherschell — 13 years ago(August 09, 2012 07:03 PM)
"I can't even pretend to know how exactly a Lancashire accent is supposed to sound like. I would have imagined that it would have been easier for him to pull one of those off than an American accent. I've noticed more and more that they really didn't concern themselves too much with authenticity back in the days."
ROOM AT THE TOP was groundbreaking in the sense that it was the first British fictional film in which the character spoke with a working class accent not from the South East of England (ie, not from London), which was a big deal at the time. Thus it's such a shame that Harvey's accent in the film was all over the shop. Luckily, only a year or so later Karel Reisz's SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY MORNING showed a little more 'authenticity' in its use of Northern working class accents.
For a 'real' Lancashire accent, check out Jane Horrocks in LITTLE VOICE
'What does it matter what you say about people?'
Touch of Evil (Orson Welles, 1958). -
lewisherschell — 13 years ago(August 12, 2012 03:39 PM)
Not quite. Osbourne's got a Birmingham accent
Other Lancashire-accented public figures include the comedians Victoria Wood and Peter Kay. George Formby had a Lancashire accent too.
'What does it matter what you say about people?'
Touch of Evil (Orson Welles, 1958). -
nightprism — 13 years ago(September 03, 2012 06:23 PM)
He's not trying to do a standard American English accent like we have them today. He's supposed to have a Mid-Atlantic Accent that was cultivated among rich Eastern Americans until the mid-20th century. Cary Grant, for instance, has a wonderful Mid-Atlantic Accent, although he came by it naturally, as his accent naturally became more Americanized when he emigrated to the USA when he was a teen.