MovieChat Forums > My Friend Flicka (1943) Discussion > Roddy's accent

Roddy's accent

posted 12 years ago by JackBluegrass
3 replies | jump to latest

There doesn't appear to be an explanation in the story for Roddy McDowall's noticeable accent.

Living on a western USA ranch, Roddy has a noticeable British accent, while being the young son of an American family. There is also a smart ranch hand with a Scandinavian accent, who doesn't appear out of place in the story. This was filmed during the Second World War, and Roddy was still a young boy at the time.

There was a trend among British families to send their young children away from London to relatives living in more remote areas of Britain to keep their children safe during German bombings of London.

[–] TheRavelliCollective 9 years ago

Yes, it is quite comical at times. I'm sure this would bother me if it was anyone else, but my love for Roddy means he can do no wrong in my eyes haha

"There was a trend among British families to send young children away..."

In fact, Roddy played such a child the year before Flicka in "On the Sunnyside" (1942)

[–] JackBluegrass 9 years ago

Roddy's acting talent quickly put his accent on a back burner as the story enfolded. He quickly became accepted as "one of the guys", despite his pants.

E pluribus unum

[–] liscarkat (16515) 4 years ago

I really like McDowall in all his roles, and this was no exception. I think he was perfectly cast and did a great job as Ken; however, his English accent was inexplicable and a bit distracting. As for Gus, he was described as Swedish in Mary O'Hara's original novel. He's the one who came up with the name "Flicka", which means "little girl" in Swedish.

The accent thing is what my wife and I refer to as the "Hayley Mills Phenomenon", based on the two characters she played in "The Parent Trap". One girl is raised on a Western ranch by Brian Keith, the other in an east-coast city by Maureen O'Hara (playing an American woman with a U.S. accent), yet both girls have English accents. A dose of suspension of disbelief is required.