MovieChat Forums > Billy Budd (1962) Discussion > Claggart American accent on British ship

Claggart American accent on British ship

posted 12 years ago by usfnaa
13 replies | jump to latest

How do you square Claggart having an American accent when he was on a British ship? Was he suppose to be an American?

[–] !!!deleted!!! (1523833) 12 years ago

Well, the British Navy had a nasty habit of impressing Americans at that time.

[–] denham 12 years ago

Sometimes a different accent can jar, but in this case Claggart was apart from other men, an alien if you will, and so I don't think the different accent does the film any harm.

Well, the British Navy had a nasty habit of impressing Americans at that time.

Many Americans are easily impressed

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[–] Writ_in_Water 11 years ago

You're exactly right.

From Melville's novel: "Nothing was known of his former life. It might be that he was an Englishman; and yet there lurked a bit of accent in his speech suggesting that possibly he was not such by birth, but through naturalization in early childhood."

[–] joeparkson 11 years ago

Why wouldnt he be American? There were Americans who moved to Britain.

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[–] mikekrit62 11 years ago

I couldn't think of anything more absurd than Robert Ryan affecting a British accent.

[–] jglapin 11 years ago

The accent is immaterial. One of Ryan's greatest roles.

[–] willjohn 10 years ago

Could he have been Canadian? Canada was still a British colony at that time.

[–] NewtonFigg 10 years ago

Ryan was an obvious choice for the role. If you wanted to cast a sadistic authority figure, who would be your first choice?

[–] irvberg2002 9 years ago

Bogart

[–] dannieboy20906 9 years ago

He might have played the role well in 1952. Unfortunately, by 1962 he was overwhelmed and unable to perform any roles. He passed away in 195(6?).

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[–] jmillerdp 9 years ago

I think it's better that Ryan didn't affect an accent, rather than try and have it sound bad. I think all actors should follow suit. I've seen so many performances messed up with bad accents.

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[–] Maya55555 9 years ago

True. Ryan was excellent!

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[–] Maquiavelito 9 years ago

His background is unknown. I always felt he could have been an empire loyalist who had repatriated to England from the American colonies prior to the revolution (assuming that an American accent at that time might be similar to what it is today).