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Post by OldAussie on Nov 3, 2017 6:58:37 GMT
These days if an Australian character is needed in a film there's a multitude of the real thing to choose from. But back in the classic days an Aussie was often played by a Hollywood star. Add to the list if you wish.
THE SUNDOWNERS - Mitchum and Kerr are 100% believable as Aussies. Excellent accents.
THE GUNS OF NAVARONE - Richard Harris only has the one scene but he's not bad as an Aussie.
THE GREAT ESCAPE - James Coburn's accent comes and goes but not too bad.
AGE OF CONSENT - It's almost a crime to disguise James Mason's voice behind an Aussie accent but he does it well.
Not real Aussies, so the accent can sound a bit off -
THE RUNNING MAN - Laurence Harvey is an Englishman who masquerades as an Aussie for much of the movie.
THE MCKINTOSH MAN - Paul Newman pretends to be an Aussie criminal in order to infiltrate a spy organization.
DEAD HEAT ON A MERRY-GO-ROUND - James Coburn briefly impersonates an Aussie as part of his plan.
Real Aussies -
MONTANA - Errol Flynn always sounded the same but here he actually played an Aussie.
THE V.I.P.S - Rod Taylor had an excellent American and English accent, but here he used his real accent for once.
REBECCA - Judith Anderson's Aussie accent occasionally exposed itself - or was Mrs Danvers an Aussie?
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Post by Richard Kimble on Nov 3, 2017 12:07:54 GMT
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Post by kijii on Nov 3, 2017 14:36:58 GMT
How did you like Meryl Streep in A Cry in the Dark (1988).
It sounded pretty authentic to me.
I just saw Walkabout (1971) for the firs time and was very impressed with the movie.
Did John Sherman play the AUSSIE in The Hasty Heart (1949)?
Kate Winslet in Holy Smoke! ?
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Post by kijii on Nov 3, 2017 15:16:49 GMT
Did you hear any authentic AUSSIE accents in:
Interrupted Melody (1955)
or Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)
or Sister Kenny (1946)
or Under Capricorn (1949)
in Breaker Morant (1980) real AUSSIES were used for Australian parts, right?
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Post by bravomailer on Nov 3, 2017 15:49:04 GMT
Chips Rafferty played the rugged outbacker in a lot of movies and TV shows.
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Post by teleadm on Nov 3, 2017 17:38:53 GMT
How about these accents:
Peter Finch and cast in The Shiralee 1957?
Peter Lawford, Maureen O'Hara and cast in Kangaroo 1952? Did Hollywood even know how Australians spoke back then?
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Post by manfromplanetx on Nov 3, 2017 19:59:15 GMT
The classic Australian Western Rangle River (1936) is a very good film, it is an interesting curio . Written by Zane Grey a year earlier, when he was on a fishing tour in Australia, the film was partly financed by Columbia Studios, The only Grey to be filmed outside of America it was adapted to the screen by pioneering Australian filmmakers Charles and Elsa Chauvel
Canadian born Victor Jory is a convincing bushman he plays the lead man Dick Drake, the farm foreman The director was American Clarence G. Badger who decided to settle in OZ after the film., John McCallum had a distinctive voice which was well suited to English films, in which he mostly appeared . Both him and Chips Rafferty appear in The Loves Of Joanna Godden (1947) playing Kent farmers , Chips Rafferty had such a distinctive voice and mannerisms which narrowed his opportunities . McCallum became very successful and married co-star Googie Withers, a loving partnership of 62 years, retiring in Sydney. Australian actor Michael Pate had a deep distinctive voice but was well suited for international film , he travelled to America in the early 50's and throughout the decade appeared in over 300 films and TV shows. Many of the films were bit parts however there were some substantial characterizations. His villain role Mace in Westbound (1959) is excellent. Frank Thring had a successful Hollywood career as a character actor, his distinctive theatrical voice easily blended well most famous for his Pontius Pilate in Ben-Hur (1959). Mace  |
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Post by OldAussie on Nov 3, 2017 20:19:09 GMT
How did you like Meryl Streep in A Cry in the Dark (1988). It sounded pretty authentic to me. I recall Streep was criticised at the time but she was authentic. The real Lindy Chamberlain had an odd accent - a cross of Kiwi and Aussie. Streep captured it perfectly. |
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Post by OldAussie on Nov 3, 2017 20:20:49 GMT
Chips Rafferty played the rugged outbacker in a lot of movies and TV shows. Chips also played one of the "Bounty" mutineers in 1962 without disguising his strong Aussie accent. |
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Post by OldAussie on Nov 3, 2017 20:25:16 GMT
How could I forget Michael Pate and Frank Thring?
And On The Beach? Anthony Perkins, Fred Astaire and Ava Gardner all played Aussies without really attempting the accent.
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Post by Richard Kimble on Nov 4, 2017 0:18:00 GMT
1934 drama about an opera singer who falls for a highwayman during the 1870s. A vehicle for RKO's two biggest stars, neither of whom attempts the local accent. Note the billing is reversed from Cimarron three years earlier -- her career was on the rise while his was on the wane.  Per Wiki: "It screened in Australia in every state except New South Wales where there was a ban on bushranger films." |
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Post by Richard Kimble on Nov 4, 2017 0:36:48 GMT
Australian actor Michael Pate had a deep distinctive voice but was well suited for international film , he travelled to America in the early 50's and throughout the decade appeared in over 300 films and TV shows. Many of the films were bit parts however there were some substantial characterizations. His villain role Mace in Westbound (1959) is excellent. Pate not only acted in many westerns but got a co-story credit on Escape From Fort Bravo (1953), directed by John Sturges. For most of its running time time EFFB is a fairly routine cavalry oater that gives the impression of having its budget hiked when William Holden signed on to star -- that is until the brilliant last act, in which our heroes are trapped in the desert by Indians who use their arrows as "artillery spotters". A unique plot device?   |
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Post by politicidal on Nov 4, 2017 0:56:46 GMT
As often as I watched Grease as a kid, I didn't pay attention to Olivia Newton-John's accent.
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Post by manfromplanetx on Nov 4, 2017 2:58:17 GMT
Young Australian Annette Kellerman made a splash in early Hollywood and will be forever remembered in the history of early cinema. A champion diver and swimmer she was much sort after especially for films having themes of aquatic adventures. Kellerman performed all of her stunts some were apparently quite remarkable including a 90 foot dive into the sea. Sadly most of her early films are considered lost .including the infamous A Daughter of the Gods (1916).in which Kellerman became the first major actress to do a nude scene, she appeared fully nude. Made by Fox Film Corporation it was the first million-dollar film production. Kellerman was also the first actress to wear a swimmable mermaid costume on film, paving the way for all future screen mermaids. 
Million Dollar Mermaid AKA The One Piece Bathing Suit is a 1952 MGM biographical musical film of the life of Australian swimming star Annette Kellerman starring Esther Williams, Victor Mature, and Walter Pidgeon. It was a project the Williams had wanted to do, she met with Kellerman who was a unsure how the studio would portray her life, but after meeting together Kellerman was thrilled that Williams she was so passionate, However she did have this to say on the choice of the American actress ... "I think, really, she's too beautiful. I'd rather have seen Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cast either a new actress, perhaps an Australian girl, in the part. Don't think I'm complaining, though. She's a lovely girl, and I'm very fond of her. I just feel that she's such a 'name' that people will be a little inclined to associate the picture with her rather than me " Kellerman does not get a mention on the film poster!  . |
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Post by koskiewicz on Nov 4, 2017 13:43:11 GMT
...though not a classic, The Proposition features Danny Huston as an Aussie...
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Post by teleadm on Nov 4, 2017 16:19:01 GMT
I came to think of Long John Silver 1955 since it was made in Australia, if it took place in Australia, but NO, Australia stood in for Caribeen islands. With location shots from Botany Bay, Jenolan Caves and Garie Beach, and sea battle scenes were made at Port Hacking.
Since this was an American co-production, I guess it was a way to keep production costs down, and use local actors around the stars.
Maybe this is a far-fetched question, but was this the first time Australia "played" another location in a production that was not 100% Australian?
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Post by petrolino on Nov 4, 2017 19:42:17 GMT
Linnea Quigley plays Aussie bartender Sweet Willie in the horror movie 'Girls Gone Dead' (2012).
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