TimR

I know these two actresses have very little in common, but I link them because they are both English actresses who were very popular here in the US - at the very top - and always remained English in their roles. They made a strong impression on me as a boy.

My first film in a movie theatre was in 1966 - and it was Mary Poppins, as it was for so many very small American children of my generation. My second was The Sound of Music. At that time, Julie Andrews was the most popular actress in the US. Also, my parents knew and liked her from her New York theatre appearances.

For me, she was my idea of a famous movie actress, and that remained true for years - because early childhood leaves a strong impression, I suppose! John Wayne was my idea of a famous movie actor.

Hayley Mills was the most popular child actress in the US after Shirley Temple. She was no longer a major "name" here when I was a small boy, but some of her films were reissued for years, until the 70s. The Parent Trap is a staple for children even now. In Search of the Castaways was also shown in theatres for years.

She is an outstanding actress in Whistle Down the Wind.

I am curious as to whether they were as enormously popular in their home nation as they were in the US?

Julie Andrews almost always played an English woman - or an Austrian! - in her 60s films. The exception might be Hawaii, where she played a New Englander from the early 1800s. She adapted a very slight modification of her voice - not really an accent - and it worked very well. I later read that this was deliberate: that the speech patterns in Massachusetts at the time were still very close to Britain. Interesting.

Hayley Mills almost always played Americans in the films she made here. She was never remotely convincing as an American - not even for a moment. But it didn't matter at all. She is so talented and likeable that her character was made more interesting. Her Engish voice and manner were intriguing and different.

Hereafter, in a better world than this,
I shall desire more love and knowledge of you

Steve Crook

Definitely

Steve

GRAEME

I've always liked her - and she's pretty hot in The Americanization of Emily! But JA has sometimes been a figure of fun for UK comedians.

It's the prim miss eternal virgin thing, I guess.


See Pete 'n' Dud in Bedazzled "Ju-lee And-rooooos!" And the Bonzos, various: "I hate each Julie Andrews film they've made..."

All men leak.

Steve Crook

That's why she did S.O.B. (1981) and Victor Victoria (1982) where she even exposed a boob - all in a failed attempt to get rid of the prim and proper image.

But all of the people who make fun of her, none of them make fun of her singing voice. A 4-octave soprano voice like hers (until the operation in 1998) is a rare thing, especially with the clarity of her enunciation

Steve