MovieChat Forums > The Brass Bottle (1964) Discussion > Language problem

Language problem

posted 14 years ago by scotbpens
2 replies | jump to latest

When Fakrash (Burl Ives) first emerges from the bottle, he hears Tony Randall speaking modern English -- a language unfamiliar to him. He presses his hand against Randall's forehead for a moment, then says (quoting from memory): “Thy tongue is as strange to me as thy appearance. I took the moment to learn to speak it.”

So if the genie learned English from reading Tony Randall's mind, how come he uses archaic pronouns like “thee” and “thy”? Did Randall have Quaker ancestors, maybe?

All the universe . . . or nothingness. Which shall it be, Passworthy? Which shall it be?

[–] Carycomic 11 years ago

That's nothing. For years, I thought "efreet" was an aristocratic title, similar to "vizier" or "caliph." Turns out it's really sort of a synonym for genie!

[–] scotpens 8 years ago

All the universe or nothingness. Which shall it be, Passworthy? Which shall it be?

I've just been re-watching the movie on YouTube, and my memory was slightly wrong. Fakrash actually touches his finger to his own forehead, then announces that he took the moment to learn the "strange" language.

Still doesn't explain why he's using "thee,"thou" and "thy."