John Gilbert's Voice:


what was wrong with it? Every time I have watched QC, his voice has sounded perfectly OK to me.
God is subtle, but He is not malicious. (Albert Einstein)

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I'm not sure what was wrong with his voice either. Supposedly, it was his scene as Romeo (Norma Shearer as Juliette) that was the sign of his voice being unsuited for talkies. It might have been when both Gilbert and Shearer were trying to say the dialogue in a more modern way, including some pig latin.

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His voice is fine. And it really wasn't the Romeo and Juliet balcony scene he did with Norma Shearer in the Hollywood Revue of 1929 that sunk his career, it was the bad dialogue in his first starring talking movie, His Glorious Night. He had to say "I love you, I Love You, I Love You" and other over the top trite lines that might have worked as silent film title cards, but not as spoken dialogue. Also, Gilbert did not get along with Louis B. Mayer, to put it mildly and one bad movie was all it took for Mayer to relegate Gilbert to B movies and out the door at MGM. Garbo fought hard to get Gilbert to be her leading man in Queen Christina. I'm glad she did and it gave them a chance to work one last time.

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"He had to say "I love you, I Love You, I Love You" and other over the top trite lines..."
Thank you for the insight - I didn't realize that John Gilbert was the basis for the scenes in 'Singin' in the Rain'.
It's a shame really, from what I saw he wasn't a bad actor, was very good looking & had lots of charisma. I'm glad that Garbo fought to get him in the picture - I'm glad that it gave me a chance to see him act.

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Gilbert's voice seemed okay to me. Not a great voice, but adequate if everything else was all right. I have seen several of Gilbert's silents, including The Big Parade and The Flesh and the Devil, whereas this is the only one of his ten talkies I have seen. Based on that limited exposure, I think that he had a problem adjusting to the talkie form of acting which is entirely different from silent. He was great in the silents where exaggerated facial expressions are desirable, but he seemed to be doing the same thing in this sound picture, almost mugging at times. It didn't help that he had eyes like an owl, some of the biggest I have ever seen! Also, he seemed not to be ageing very well, perhaps because of heavy drinking. He was only 38 when QC was made, but was doing a good job of passing for 48.

He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good... St. Matthew 5:45

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I'm watching Queen Chrisitna now and - no - I have no problem with his voice at all. So sad to think he would die not long aftyer making this movie. He still looks wonderful, despite his personal problems.

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I don't know if this is an urban legend or not, but I read somewhere that it was the poor quality of the recordings in John Gilbert's early sound pictures that misled people into thinking he had a bad voice.

Very few of the great silent stars except for Charlie Chaplin survived the transition to sound anyway. I have no problem with Gilbert's voice, but in "Queen Christina" I did see him making pop eyes a couple of times--a pantomime trick that works in silent film but looks silly in sound pictures.

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I also read where Louis B. Mayer messed with the way his voice was recorded...and being the vindictive S.O.B. that Mayer was, I would not be a bit surprised if that is really what happened.

"A man's kiss is his signature" -- Mae West

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All of that sounds like myth to me. If his voice did not record well, he wouldn't have been cast in ten talkies. It seems unlikely to me Mayer would have sabatoged one of his pictures just to get Gilbert. What I have read in the most sober sources is that Gilbert got harder and harder to get along with because of his drinking. And that the type of romantic picture he did best in went out of style and he was too rigid to change his style.

Contrary to popular belief, most of the better actors made the transition to sound with no problem -- Wallace Beery, Lewis Stone, Ronald Coleman, John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore, Greta Garbo, Bessie Love, Victor McLaglan, Joan Crawford, Douglas Fairbanks, Norma Shearer, just to name a few who were big stars in both the silents and the talkies.

He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good... St. Matthew 5:45

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Actually, from everything I have read about Mayer, I think we was more than capable of doing so...and sabotaged many a career. He was a controlling and abusive man. However, the fact is that Gilbert was just as guilty of sabotaging his own career with all the drinking...and with what appears to have been a very intractable view of his style. He could have made quite a name for himself in the mid to latter 30's style screwball comedies if he had just adapted a bit better.

Something tells me that, while I am sure he was heartbroken being left at the altar, if Garbo had married him they would have been divorced in two years.

"A man's kiss is his signature" -- Mae West

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msytn:

Six months.

He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good... St. Matthew 5:45

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Younger actors and actresses (many of whom weren't even big stars yet) were often able to make the transition to sound pictures, but most of the older stars couldn't, if only because the public associated them with the now out-of-fashion silent era.

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pong100:

Hate to disagree, but if anything the opposite was true. Most of the older actors made the transition easier, not the least because most of them had been stage actors before they got into the silent movies. Those like Gilbert who had never done any acting except in silents may have had the worst time of it.

Being somewhat repetitious of my next to last post: Wallace Berry, Lewis Stone, John and Lionel Barrymore, Douglas Fairbanks, were all middle aged in the late silent era, but became as popular or more so in the talkies as in silents. Hobart Bosworth was elderly when talkies started, had been making silents since before WWI, and had no problem making the transition. Many others the same.

Actually we old folks are more flexible than younger people. Some of us don't like changes, but me can adjust when we have to.

He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good... St. Matthew 5:45

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from everything I have read about Mayer, I think we was more than capable of doing so...and sabotaged many a career. He was a controlling and abusive man. However, the fact is that Gilbert was just as guilty of sabotaging his own career with all the drinking...and with what appears to have been a very intractable view of his style.
I didn't notice any problem with Gilbert's voice or his acting. If this movie is any indication, he seemed to do just fine in talkies. I have to assume then that his problem making the transition came from elsewhere.

I have heard many actors complain of the various studio heads. They had a lot of power and wielded it as they saw fit. If an actor fell out of favor or simply refused a request, even if it had nothing to do with their work, they could suddenly face terrible career-ending repercussions.

Actors also ruined their own careers as a result of booze and hard living too so anything is possible. I think it's unfortunate because people sometimes don't know how good they have it until it's too late.

Like you said, rigidity may also have played a role. It applies even today. The people who fail to grow and continue learning in their jobs and careers inevitably get left behind when the world changes around them.


Woman, man! That's the way it should be Tarzan. [Tarzan and his mate]

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John Gilbert's Voice: what was wrong with it?


Nothing. Absolutely nothing. :)

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His career sunk because of his relationship with Louis B. Mayer. It was studio politics, nothing more.

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