MovieChat Forums > Jacqueline (1956) Discussion > What about the accent?

What about the accent?

posted 21 years ago by jcurrie58
2 replies | jump to latest

I saw this film on British TV the other day. Although it was enjoyable, I found the complete disregard of the Belfast accent very offputting. I know that it can be a little difficult to understand, but the same could be said of the Oirish accent which was used by the non Irish cast. I counted only two genuine Belfast actors in the film (Sam Kydd and JG Devlin, both in small roles). Also, the film scouted around the very sensitive topic of religion, which was understandable, given the era the film was made (the 50s). But it was unusual at that time to see films about other parts of the UK, so at least it was different.

[–] emncaity 16 years ago

Yeah, I noticed that too--but it may be that the Belfast accent was just entirely too difficult for a broad audience in the mid-'50s. (Check out the accents in Daniel Day Lewis' The Boxer, for instance; I have friends who are accustomed to ROI-style accents who lose entire phrases in that dialogue, and have to play the film with captions in some scenes. Or some of the early scenes in Cal will do.)

I think the religion angle was a little ticklish, perhaps, because the cast allegedly was mostly Catholic playing Protestants. The director said at one time that he thought this might have detracted somewhat from the "real" feel of the parishioners, at least by comparison with the actual Belfast location shooting.

[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

Yes it was interesting that they made the characters Church of Ireland (Anglican communion). And the accents make the whole thing a little fake for anyone familiar with Belfast.