John Gavin was miscast.
Why is his character meant to be British? He doesn't look British (especially in 1960) doens't dress like a British construction worker in 1960 and certainly does not sound British.
Yeah, you're right. Like Tyrone Power in Witness for the Prosecution--no attempt to try to make the American actor sound like he should for the role. Midnight Lace also has a London cabby with a very poor attempt at a British accent. They hadn't developed the taste for strong realism yet.
sharedukeff says > They hadn't developed the taste for strong realism yet.Thank God for that! Today, I think there's way too much emphasis on realism. I don't need to see explicit simulated sex scenes to know what's going on. I don't want to see someone sitting on a toilet with appropriate sound effects. I don’t want CGI to take over the world.
Instead of improving the movies those things, I feel, often come at a cost; especially when the realism does nothing to advance the plot. That said, I'm not suggesting we go too far in the opposite direction either. I don't particularly like play-like movies in which the sets are minimal or we have to imagine all or most of the scenery, costumes and other props. Accents aren't, in my opinion, that important.
I didn't have trouble believing Brian was who he was supposed to be. We don't know much about that character but he could have been a Brit raised in America. That would explain his lack of British accent and his American ways. However, I think in this movie we're presented with several characters that could be Kit's tormentor. We're supposed to doubt them in some way: Brian's accent and calls at the bar; the board member’s gambling problem and suspicious behavior; the maid's greedy and threatening son; etc. Each of these were possible suspects and all of them were meant to keep us from guessing who was really behind it all.
We also have to get out of the habit of seeing people in superficial and predictable ways. Would it have been better to exclude Gavin simply because he couldn't pull off the accent? I've seen actors brag about how much time they put into perfecting an accent. After seeing the movie I think that time might have been better spent developing the character or focusing on their acting.
Woman, man! That's the way it should be Tarzan. [Tarzan and his mate] share