MovieChat Forums > The Two Mrs. Carrolls (1947) Discussion > The daughter's dialog // Deranged Bogie ...

The daughter's dialog // Deranged Bogie SPOILERS

posted 18 years ago by IFeedPigeons
20 replies | jump to latest

After reading the user comments, I had to agree that the dialog they gave this 9 year old kid to spew forth was totally unrealistic. I think if she said 'tremendous' one more time, I was gonna punch a hole in my TV set.

This is really a shame, because she was a competant actress whose character was nevertheless bogged down by her ultra-sophisticated dialog. A pity.

However, I still do like the film, which I gave 8/10. From the time he discovered the milk in the window ledge and the floor, and then subsequently crashing through the upstairs (!!!) window to kill Babs was a hoot!His 'deranged' facial expressions and hand-movements for the remainder of the film must be seen to be believed.

[–] ksf-2 18 years ago

comment by "eastiefan" on Jul 16 needs a spoiler alert...

[–] IFeedPigeons 18 years ago

Thank you -- I added it to the 'subject.'

[–] eden_echo 18 years ago

I was thinking this child is too well mannered, one of the most lady like little girls on-screen, and that does make it a bit unrealistic.
Unless the girl is a genius, what child her age has such amazing capacity for words and etiquette like that? So well behaved!

"I promise you, before I die I'll surely come to your doorstep"

[–] viaggio1 16 years ago

Well, both Bogie and the daughter describe Bogie as a genius, so there is a good chance his daughter is one too.

However, since Bogie's character is insane, and insanity is hereditary.....

Scary thought ! Wonder if there is a sequel ??

"A bride without a head !"
"A wolf without a foot !"

[–] waldenpond88 9 years ago

As the saying goes, there is a very thin line between geniuity and insanity...

[–] pathfinder616 15 years ago

"unrealistic" as compared to whom? i do not understand why viewers approach movies with expectations about how people are supposed to be and then find fault and ignorantly criticize actor's performances.

Ann Carter's performance as Beatrice Carroll is nothing short of brilliant.

Carter plays a child genius who is surrounded by rich sophisticated adults especially an imposing genius father. she has no contact with children her own age so her personality would naturally be quite mature and sophisticated in every respect including the way she convers with adults. her dialog and performance is riveting and compelling.

there is one scene where she is sitting quietly reading about the final years of Vincent Van Gogh's troubled life which triggers a wild reaction by her father. its a great movie and only a great little actress could have pulled off this performance.

it amazes me that this is not obvious. i'd like to suggest leaving your expectations at the door before watching movies. you might enjoy movies more.

"only one food for the rest of my life? That's easy, cherry-flavored Pez. No question about it."

[–] mmitsos-1 15 years ago

I completely agree with Pathfinder616....I loved this little girl, and was charmed by how well she spoke (and I didn't think it was unrealistic...people are just so used to the extremely short attention spans of today's youth, their obsession with video games and their usual lack of command of the English language that the dumbing down of America is usually not even noticed by the majority of this country). Most lonely children are more mature, due to their typically greater interaction with their own parents and their adult friends than might be found in a household with two or more children. I actually came to these boards to look up this girl (Ann Carter), and was sad to find that she contracted polio in her early teens, which derailed her acting career. The bio says that she resumed it later, but I don't see anything that she's done beyond 15 or 16 years of age.

[–] Popcorngal (4937) 6 months ago

That is sad.

[–] tas-10 15 years ago

To help one to understand the way she spoke -- very adult-like -- keep in mind that Bea had to grow up fast, taking care of her mother; she didn't have time for play. I myself have known several children in that situation, & they all spoke in a 'grown-up' way, but still with a naive openness, like Miss Carter portrayed.
(Plus, I'm sure she was following the Director's lead.)

[–] gbennett5 15 years ago

Apparently, the OP doesn't get that the little girl was WRITTEN in such a
way. I thought she was a great actress - very rare for children to give
performances this good. I thought the actress and the character added
a lot. As for wanting to punch the TV every time she said "Tremendous",
I'd rather hear that than hear "Awesome!", which is seemingly shouted
every other word by every person in America. It's particularly cring-
inducing when heard from college-educated people over 40. Ridiculous
and juvenile.

[–] duesouth1420 14 years ago

She totally reminded me of Patty McCormick in "The Bad Seed".....a very strange little girl....or "strange character" I should say. Just my opinion......

Then again seeing Bogey playing a FATHER seemed strange...

[–] toshguy 14 years ago

The Betty character kind of reminded me of the girl from Shadow of a Doubt which was also very bright for her age, but I found Betty to be way more appealing because the Shdow girl was so whiny and cliched (maybe not so much back in the forties, but still). Ann Carter's performance really was very refreshing in comparison to the typical child performances of the time.

EDIT: Check out what character Barbara Stanwyck plays in this early talkie!
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0020103/

I'm here, Mr. Man, I can not tell no lie and I'll be right here 'till the day I die

[–] Sylvie17 13 years ago

She seemed like some sort of Stepford child. I didn't understand why she could go to school regularly, instead of just being sent off right before a murder.

[–] WarpedRecord 11 years ago

I also gave this 8/10, and I also found the daughter's performances a serious drawback in an otherwise outstanding film. How many children spoke with that level of sophistication then, and how many adults do now? Otherwise, I found this movie highly credible.

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] CanadianBill 11 years ago

I also found the daughter's performances a serious drawback in an otherwise outstanding film.

Drawback? Quite the opposite, I found her to be a veritable unexpected gem hidden inside a rather campish and somewhat predictable murder mystery.

It has been explained perfectly in this thread by Pathfinder and others as to how such a child might come to communicate like that. Nothing at all to add.

Milk, anyone?

______________________
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[–] kenny-164 11 years ago

I thought the daughter's character, both as written and performed, was a great part of this film.

[–] gbennett5 10 years ago

Agree. Ann Carter is NOT a "drawback" in the film. She is one of the
few highlights in an otherwise highly flawed film.

[–] Deidra 9 years ago

It seems that sophisticated language or at least conversation with advanced vocabulary is not entirely uncommon for that time and especially in Britain. Other films and literature with young people frequently do have such characters. Altho she is bit older than Ann Carter is in this film, think of the (funny and charming) young girl in "The Philadelphia Story." Great dialogue. Even Pip and David Copperfield showed a highly developed sense of language. It was something that was encouraged then and articulate expression is even evident when reading letters and diaries of real young people from those times.

Current conversational skill, and sadly, particularly in America, is often quite simplified compared to former times. There is a documentary series from Britain called the Up Series and they interview 7-year olds in the early 1960's and the level of expression from those children is frequently more advanced than from many kids today.

[–] franzkabuki 9 years ago

"The dialogue they gave this 9 year old kid to spew forth was totally unrealistic".

As was the manner she pronounced it. The phoney brat's a major annoyance.

"His 'deranged' facial expressions and hand movements for the remainder of the film must be seen to be believed".

Yeah he was a bit of a spectacle there (what's with those strange hand movements he did when standing in front of the chimney), but by and large I found Bogart in a compulsive psycho mode pretty effective; he played a sick f-ck pretty believably - too bad he had to keep things ambiguous for most of the film, mostly being his usual cynical wisecracking self with no hint of dementia. A flaw of the script there, I think. What I did find intolerable though was that Stanwyck had to play this goody-good weakling damsel in panicky distress. She was always so great playing strong, resourceful dames that this job here felt almost degrading.

"facts are stupid things" Ronald Reagan

The daughter's dialog // Deranged Bogie *SPOILERS*

The daughter's dialog // Deranged Bogie SPOILERS