Walter Pidgeon
I never admit to such things, but I will go out on a limb. I am a WALTER PIDGEON fan!!!
From Space Commando to Pierre Curie to Welsh Minister. HOW CAN YOU GO WRONG with this guy????
Classy always.
At the risk of besmirching your idol, I have to say he was all wrong for this picture. His flat American speech made him stick out in a cast that at least tried to get the accent right (South Welsh is a very difficult one to match) and his portrayal of a preacher had no actual reverence or humility in it, merely stentorian posturing. On the plus side, at least, he DID have the sort of voice that resonates from a pulpit.
This is the only film I've ever seen him in; I may have to check out some others. In the right vehicle he could probably have been really good.
I always think there's a band, kid.
I disagree. I thought he was brilliant! No, I don't think I've ever seen any of his other work, but I was pretty disappointed that it was the father who won the Oscar rather than him. I thought he was great in the role.
shareI doubt Walter Pidgeon would have been nominated for an Oscar for supporting actor, he was already considered a lead actor, and the role of the minister would have been considered a lead part. The lead nominees that year were
Gary Cooper (who won), Cart Grant, Walter Houston, Robert Montgomery and Orson Welles. Possibly Mr Pidgeon could have slid onto the list but I don't think he would have any chance on earth of beating out Gary Cooper for Sgt York.
It is not our abilities that show who we truly are...it is our choices
No, I didn't mean that he should be nominated in the supporting category. I meant more, if anyone in the movie should have been nominated, it should have been him and not the guy who played the dad. Yeah, I doubt he would have beaten Cooper, but I still think he deserved a nomination.
shareI understand what you are saying now, and yes he probably should have been nominated. I always thought Roddy McDowall should have received a juvenile award that year, there wasn't even one given that year...
shareForbidden Planet is a decent video from the '50s.
shareNot to be a nit picker, but Walter Pidgeon was a Canadian, so he actually had "flat" Canadian speech.
shareThought you'd like to know: Both Walter Pidgeon and his speech were CANADIAN. I, for one, would like to hear dialog well spoken, with no accent, than to hear people using accents badly. Everyone spoke with the accent that God Gave them, and did it well: be they Canadian, Scots, British, Irish or Native born Welsh.
I watched HGWMV for the STORY and the CHARACTERS, and STILL love it.
"I do hope he won't upset Henry.."
I stand corrected (well, actually kind of slouch over the keyboard corrected) on Pidgeon's origins. I should have looked at his bio before I posted. And it's true that badly done accents can detract a lot from the performance. But even among well-intentioned attempts like Donald Crisp's and Maureen O'Hara's, his speech stuck out as foreign. He certainly had the voice for the role, but that was it. I still think he was miscast.
I always think there's a band, kid.