Lord Brett

This used to turn up quite a lot on both Sky Cinema and Channel 4. I'm sure someone out there has a version available for you.

Bell Bottom George

The Girl On A Motorcycle (1968)
US Title - Naked Under Leather

Oooer ! ! !

"What larks we had Mr Pip...........what larks !"

maturin

Eyewitness became Sudden Terror, but which way round were SWALK and Melody? Neither sounds like a US title?
R

TimR

Well, yes - arrogance was, and is, certainly a major part of it.

I can say, though, that horror films were generally considered to be Friday night and Saturday afternoon entertainment for teenagers, and were given lurid, ridiculous titles because they were not taken seriously.

When I was growing up in the stone age (late 60s through the late 70s), Vincent Price made two or more films every year. They were always shown in a double-bill. The lower half of the double bill was very often a British horror film with a title as lurid as the Price feature. I know that the Price films were sometimes made in Britain as well.

It seems to me that horror films (or thrillers, as they were called here) are taken much more seriously as film in Britain. That is - they may be trash or they may be outstanding; but they are not automatically judged by the genre. They are here - or rather, they were then.

"Night of the Eagle" would not bring in the 14 year old tocket buyers. The "Dracula" title change would have been necessary here because the old film (1933) is so much a part of every American movie buff's life.

That is not a defense of the silly titles, but I do think it explains part of it as far as that genre is concerned. I do remember being surprised by the high quality of some of the films, such as "Theatre of Blood", with its Grade A cast. That would only happen in the US if the actor was desperate for money.

TimR

Yes, that is certainly true.

TimR

Yes....

TimR

Some of these are simply the result of different cultural references.

"The Story of Esther Costello" would not be used because the title sounds like a biography. From the 30s to the 50s, Hollywood produced films with the title "The Story of...", which became a cliche.

"Northwest Frontier" would never have referred to India for Americans. It would sound like a movie about the border with Canada!

"Horror Hotel" is a nice, grisly title for teenagers.

"The Beauty Jungle" would not work here because the term "jungle" is always associated with either adventure or action films.

As for "Sky West and Crooked" - I had to look that one up. The American title is a very poor choice, but I must admit I don't understand what the original means.

I am certainly not defending the title change. I think there is a certain amount of condescension in any change. But it is not always a case of "dumbing down" the title.

TimR

I was just reading about that second reference: apparently whiskey could not be used in an American film title! How times change....."Tight Little Island" is not a bad title, though...

For the Jolson film - it sounds like the American title was changed for the British market.

TimR

Indeed - now that was a rotten movie, under any title...

Aaryk Noctivagus

Nice food-for-thought replies, Tim R

TimR

Thank you! Enjoyable dicsussion.

Steve Crook

It's a car isn't it?

Steve

Steve Crook

A few more to throw into the pot are some of Michael Powell's films (with and without Pressburger)

(British title -> American (initial release) title)
Red Ensign -> Strike!
The Night of the Party -> The Murder Party
The Man Behind the Mask -> Behind the Mask
Contraband -> Blackout (actually a good alternative title)
49th Parallel -> The Invaders
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp -> Colonel Blimp
A Matter of Life and Death -> Stairway to Heaven
* The US distributors said they didn't want a film with the word "Death" in the title, especially so soon after the end of the war.
The Small Back Room -> Hour of Glory
The Elusive Pimpernel -> The Fighting Pimpernel
The Battle of the River Plate -> The Pursuit of the Graf Spee
* Apparently because they thought that Americans might mis-read the British title as being about the River Platte - and so think that it was a Western!
Ill Met by Moonlight -> Night Ambush

Steve

silverwhistle

Others:
UK to US
Dangerous Moonlight -> Suicide Squadron
Lady Hamilton -> That Hamilton Woman
Fanny by Gaslight -> Man of Evil
The Forsyte Saga -> That Forsyte Woman
Gone to Earth -> The Wild Heart (a re-edit)
The Honest Courtesan -> Dangerous Beauty

US to UK
Intermezzo -> Escape to Happiness
The Soldier and the Lady -> Michael Strogoff

There are many others.

"Trust me, I'm a doctor...!"

Moor Larkin

Someone's recently told me he's definitely in it but because the video is 'pan and scan'..... as they put it so cleverly,
"Anyone not actually fighting with Errol Flynn tends to fall off the edge of the picture" ..........


I knew he'd filmed it because he talks about it in interviews but I wondered if he'd made the final cut. He doesn't get an onscreen credit apparently.

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