Is there such a thing as a 1950's accent?!
Question: Was watching some older black and white films and The Twilight Zone and noticed a peculiarity in the way they speak compared to the 70's, 80's, 90's, and today. Is it just my imagination or are they all from Boston or New York or something?
Answers: Was watching some older black and white films and The Twilight Zone and noticed a peculiarity in the way they speak compared to the 70's, 80's, 90's, and today. Is it just my imagination or are they all from Boston or New York or something?
There is no period accent. It depends on where actors are from. I'm sure if you listen carefully, you'll hear all sorts of accents. I'm positive of this because I know where many of the actors from that period originate.
Boston and New York are only a couple of places. James Stewart doesn't sound as if he's from those places, does he? Compare Stewart to James Dean, who doesn't sound like Troy Donahue. After all, Marilyn Monroe doesn't sound like Myrna Loy, who doesn't sound like Dorothy Maguire.
If there was such a thing, wouldn't you still hear such accents? After all, films and TV are full of people from many decades. Every day, you likely encounter people who lived in the Forties, Fifties, Sixties, etc. I was born in the Fifties, so I can assure you that time period isn't an influence on accents.
One of the main changes is that people in more-recent times often aren't as careful about speaking, word choices, enunciation and pronunciation. Just as many people have gotten sloppy when speaking, they also have done the same with writing skills. Anyone can learn to take care when he or she speaks. Sidney Poitier developed his speaking skills by listening to the radio. James Earl Jones, who admits to being very shy and to having a stutter, also worked toward developing a superior speaking voice. Another example is John Mahoney, who played Martin Crane, Frasier's father; he's actually from the same place Jane Leeves (Daphne Moon) is from. So, speech patterns are very adjustable, but time periods don't really have a "sound".
It's not their accent so much as their diction. It was just the popular way to act back then.
ya most of them are from the east coast just like 2day. plus the times changed and so did the way we talk and pronounce them.
I've always noticed how people back then spoke differently. Not sure if it is an accent or not. I especially notice it with the woman..they talk fast and with a little bit of a twang (especially in movies from the 40's) Have you ever seen the Hudsucker Proxy? Jennifer Jason Leigh does a great "40's accent". If people back then heard how we talked now..they would probably say we had an accent too.
Just your imagination. The actors may have been from a certain locale but there is no such thing as an accent only from a certain era.