Just asking, because the actor seems miscast.
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ToastedCheese — 5 months ago(October 13, 2025 03:19 AM)
It was unusual horror as Kubrick saw it. It wasn’t exactly raw and gritty terror.
Apparently Kubrick liked Tobe Hooper’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre - ‘74, which is a raw as they get.
Norman! What did you put in my tea? -
Joc Spader — 5 months ago(October 13, 2025 02:52 PM)
Couldn’t stand CCM.
You mean TCM? Watching it has never been easy. I feel the same way during The Shining's opening then it gets a little better. Compared to the Texas heat and cannibals vs being snowed in during the winter with an axe wielding Jack Nicolson?
Tell you what…When I send my ex-wife her money…you can lick the stamps. -
HollyJollyHanukka — 5 months ago(October 13, 2025 02:56 PM)
Yes, autocorrect did that.
Shining does start slow, but it’s a gradual entry into the horror. I liked how it got in your head.
If you can’t say something nice, say something clever but devastating. -
-- wot -- — 5 months ago(October 11, 2025 03:56 AM)
I aint seen the film but after googlin " Delbert Grady " I see a guy in a butler outfit, Shinning takes place in a hotel right? so there ya go.
British accent = classy and therefore good for butler/service characters. In fact it often happens in Yank TV shows and Movies.
Tim Currie in Home alone 2, Jeffrey in Fresh Prince of Bellend, Alfred Pennyworth in Batman ect….
You should know this already, knob cheese, or at least be able to figure it out. You disgust me. -
ToastedCheese — 5 months ago(October 11, 2025 05:02 AM)
Grady was a caretaker at The Overlook, that killed his wife and daughters.
He was dressed as a butler in the film as a ghostly image as Jack was at the bar. He spilled liquor on Jack and they went into the bathroom so Grady could clean it up.
Norman! What did you put in my tea? -
Madotsuki_the_Dreamer — 5 months ago(October 12, 2025 04:58 AM)
Why did Grady have an English accent?
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/EvilBrit -
Paul P. Powell — 5 months ago(October 15, 2025 06:44 AM)
Not sure it's worth contributing any information to a thread like this which exhibits two separate and complete instances of rank, utter, stupidity.
One n00b slurring a film this successful would be bad enough.
Two people doing so, reveals the caliber of this website as nothing else does.
But oh well. Responding to the OP's question:- There's nothing 'wrong' with the casting of a British actor in this role. In your opinion, what type of character would better suit the assignment? The story already trotted out all the usual American archetypes.
If the British casting seems 'odd' to you the fault is probably in yourself, rather than the casting choice.
Reason for that? Perhaps you're just not familiar with history or culture.
Perhaps you were raised on too much contemporary American TV. What you maybe don't realize is how provincial it is. And why is that?
Because Americans are more provincial than ever these days. - There's nothing mysterious or puzzling about British waitstaff working in a luxury hotel even in the American west. It was common practice. Why?
Because for hundreds of years, Britain was renowned for the superior quality of its hospitality. It still is, though not so much as the world dumbs down.
Ask yourself: have you ever visited an authentic high-end restaurant in England? Ever shopped in an English store? Ever had a suit made by an English tailor? Ever even been in an English lavatory? Ever ridden in a first-class English train compartment?
Lavatories are the easiest evidence of what I'm sating. Nevermind even spectacular English dining, there's nothing finer or more luxurious than an English bathroom.
But it's more than just furnishings or facilities.
The servant class who traditionally staffed English hotels, restaurants, clubs, estates, and even baths –the English service class —was a pillar of British society.
In the heyday of the Overlook Hotel, this history would have been well-known to the Overlook management. It would have been known to all the guests in-residence.
British servants were highly-sought after by everyone. Especially British maids or butlers.
It was a mark of class for any American to employ an English manservant.
They were legendary for their poise, their polish, their gentility.
American hotels joined in this widespread trend.
They supplied "Englishness" anytime they could. American hoteliers knew in advance the pleasurable effect this has on business. - I really don't think any of us can second-guess Stanley Kubrick. Do you think he would have whiffed on a detail like this? The guy was a consummate perfectionist. He didn't neglect anything when it came to casting. He didn't make obvious or patent mistakes.
Grady was a perfectly reasonable choice for a hotel sharply facing backwards into America's Gilded Age, the age of westward expansion; the heyday of America's Great Fortunes.
Perfectly natural; innocuous; and logical.
In the context of the story, this is precisely the impression the Overlook would have wanted to impress upon Jack Torrance.
Reassuring, in-charge, knowledgeable. Inviting of his trust; worthy of his confidence.
I hope these remarks satisfy your odd, unusual curiosity in this area.
Paul P. Powell, Pool Player
- There's nothing 'wrong' with the casting of a British actor in this role. In your opinion, what type of character would better suit the assignment? The story already trotted out all the usual American archetypes.
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ToastedCheese — 5 months ago(October 15, 2025 11:54 AM)
No, your pompous git response isn't worth a contribution and Kubrick was a perfectionist to such a fault, that flaws only become more transparent. This, I have already mentioned.
Would this film be as talked about if it wasn't a Kubrick film?
Norman! What did you put in my tea?