30's 40's & 50's Voices...They Sounded Different

[Ash]

Ever notice how men & women's voices sounded in films from the 30's 40's and 50's?
They seem to talk quicker with a slight Boston/New York accent.  This is in pretty much every film, documentary and newsreel I've ever seen from those times.
Now, when it comes to anything filmed starting in the 60's, you don't hear it...everyone talks in the more neutral tone that you hear in today's films etc....

For those of you who know what I'm talking about, you have to agree that men & women did sound different back then than they do today.  
I find it hard to believe that almost all American English just seemed to change.  One can notice the faster speaking & slight accents from actors & actresses no matter where they came from in the U.S.

Is it due to the sound recording technology from that earlier era that made them all seem to sound that way and at a quicker pace while speaking?



Post Edited (11-17-03 22:11)

[Scott]

Good observation ASHTHECAT. Watching TCM alot lately I've said the exact same thing to my wife. The accent is without a doubt different.

We know that historical films are not authentic accents, but who really will ever know how different people spoke in those days. I don't even think Shakespeare's writings could help.

I watched a documentary on people in the MiddleEast that still speak Aramaic. It was a mix of Greek and Hebrew, but you know that even those of today who speak the language don't have the same accent. Accent and tone can even change the meaning of words to some degree. In the TAO TE CHING there is a passage that say's something like "the truth that can be spoken with words isn't the eternal Tao."

ASHTHECAT maybe you'll become one of the worlds great linguist. It's an interesting subject as it can take you to the very throne of God if you have the right insight.

[Deej]

Good call, ASH. I have noticed the difference. Maybe the style of speaking in movies can be explained away as being from a more theatrical time, changing in the 50's when acting became a little more natural. But what about old newsreel footage featuring interviews or political speeches? They still sound vaguely English or Bostonian. That's a hell of a good question,ASH, hope someone comes up with a good explanation.

[petrol lunatic]

If you watch the Hudsucker Proxy, Jennifer Jason Leigh talks like that, it's weird. I associate it with detectives or newspaper reporters in old movies, but I think it could just be like that because of one person who talked like that(real or an actor) because some actor, I can't remember who played a gangster and everyone else who played one for a while afterwards imitated him. I can't imagine a real person talking like that because everyone's grandparents would have talked like that.

[Deej]

petrol lunatic wrote:

> If you watch the Hudsucker Proxy, Jennifer Jason Leigh talks
> like that, it's weird.

She did the same voice in Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle. Distracting as hell she sounded like Katherine Hepburn with a pituitary problem

[dean]

personally i think it probably has to do with the studios or the actors: the studios probably thought that audiences wanted a more refined accent, instead of realism.  i remember theres this one australian film, which i forget the name of, which was set in the bush, they were all meant to be ocker aussies, or i guess, the aussie equivalent of whitetrash, and when the dad spoke about 'eating a galah for dinner' he said it in the most posh, british accent possible, quite amusing.

quite possibly that scenario came about because studios thought that our audiences wanted british actors in our films instead of aussies, or that the supply of credible actors was limited and only the theater experienced bunch were hired.

but yes, the voices are very different, its a good thing to bring up if one were to study english language, linguistics and phonology.  i'll bring it up to a friend of mine who does linguistics and see what she makes of it.

[Scott]

What I find strange is when a British Rock group sings they sound like Americans singing. No accent ! (well, not all the time, but often)

[The Burgomaster]

I agree, ASH.  Plus, it's interesting to see how expressions and slang have changed over the years.  In older movies, characters often say the following things that you just don't hear anymore:

*  "Don't get sore."

*  "Why, I oughta . . . "

*  "You and your mugs oughta scram."

*  "Look at those dames!"

*  "Listen to me, sister."

*  "Say . . . what's the big idea?"

*  "Hey, gang . . . let's put on a show!"

Mix those together with fast, Boston/New York accents, and you've got yourself a black & white movie from 1939.

[Cricket21a]

Sounds kindof like the Three Stooges to me

[Conrad]

Good call!
If I may don the hat of the Pompous Film Bore for a moment, I can explain everything*.
Examining a f1930's ilm like "Brief Encounter", which I presume even you trans-Atlantic philistines will have seen, you do indeed hear a different accent: what is known as "Received English".  In other words, the English language spoken with the accent of the Establishment at the time.
Example: "Euw, Henry, Aye dew think yew are a simpleh topping chep."
Translated into 1960's English, i.e. what people on the streets actually spoke like: "Oh, Henry, I do think you are a simply topping chap."
Translated into American: "Gee, Henry, you're an okay kinda dude."
It's a phenomenon tied up with how the film-makers saw their audience and what they thought that audience related to.  Of course, that's English films - quite how this applies to American ones is another question.

This has been a broadcast from the PFB Illumination Service.

* NB "everything" may mean "anything", "something" or even "nothing"

[Jim H]

I thought this had to do with how actors from plays were used to performing?

[AndyC]

Probably does have something to do with the more theatrical approach to acting in the early movies - enunciate clearly, project the voice. I imagine the accents became a bit more realistic as filmmakers started to master their medium, getting away from essentially putting stage plays on film.

The accent could also have to do with sophisticated urban folks making movies for an audience they saw as being very much like themselves. People in Manhattan or Beverly Hills who didn't know quite as much about people outside their circles as they thought they did.

There is also the way the public perceived actors in the old days - sophisticated rich people living glamorous lives. Remember the old stereotype of the movie star with sunglasses, cigarette holder, etc? All of them had a carefully maintained public image, and the studio execs took a dim view of them doing anything to tarnish it. I think the people in those days expected larger than life stars they could idolize, or at least people in the industry thought they did. Today, the film industry has changed considerably, as have people's perceptions of actors, and our taste in movies. Even the term "movie star" seems kind of old fashioned these days.



Post Edited (11-20-03 04:54)

[JohnL]

>What I find strange is when a British Rock group sings they sound like
>Americans singing.

I guess others do too, as I once saw a comedian mention this very thing. He asked "When American groups perform in England, do they sing with a British accent?" and then of course, he did just that.

[Scott]

That's very interesting JohnL. Wish I had seen that. Ever hear ABBA? Then hear their accents in interviews?

[dean]

i remember for graduation out of primary school and making the big shift to high school, we all had to sing a bunch of songs to our parents, and we sang some celine dion song, and because we had practiced to her voice, we were all pronouncing our 'R's in an american way instead of the aussie way, and it was very frustrating to listen to, because we all knew it wasn't right but still did it anyway

:P