The Rocking Horse Winner

[darrenburnfan]

I recall reading an American review of the Region 1 DVD of the 1949 version of The Rocking Horse Winner where the reviewer bemoaned the fact that there are no subtitles on the disc and that they are needed because the accents are a bit thick at times. What a very odd thing to say. All the actors and actresses in the the film speak a very clear and concise English. Even John Mills, with his fake West Country accent*, can be clearly understood. So, if we on this side of the pond can understand Clark Gable; Spencer Tracy or mumbling Marlon Brando, why do the Americans apparently have difficulty understanding Hugh Sinclair; Valerie Hobson or John Howard Davies? Next thing they'll be saying is that they can't make out the dialogue spoken by Basil Rathbone or Sir Laurence Olivier or Sir Roger Moore. After all, since the coming of sound films, we on this side of the pond have had to listen to American accents as diverse as those in the Bronx or the Deep South without any difficulty and I can certainly make out what Tony Curtis or Elvis Presley are saying in their films.

*Interesting thing, this and indicative of the British class system in England still prevalent in 1949 when The Rocking Horse Winner was filmed. Bassett (John Mills) had been the wartime batman (personal servant to an army officer) of Uncle Oscar (Ronald Squire) during the war. Now, Uncle Oscar was upper class with a posh accent. In 1949 terms, this meant that he was superior to Bassett, who was lowly working class with a regional (I.E. non-posh) accent. If John Mills hadn't have employed a regional accent and had spoken as he was usually heard (in films like We Dive At Dawn or Tunes of Glory, for instance) he would have sounded equal to Uncle Oscar and that would never have done for a mere batman. This goes to show how class ridden England was at that time and how your position in life was determined a great deal by how you spoke.

[CaptainWaggett]

If anyone wants proof that the middle classes really did sound different in the olden days, just listen to the retro episodes of The Archers currently being broadcast on Radio 7. Even Phil sounds like a product of 165 Eaton Place

[dpgmel]

Having watched a copy of this excellent film last night I am more than pleased to report that on October 3rd the film is get a legit Region 2 release . It only appears to be on the Moviemail website so may well be an exclusive to them ?

The Rocking Horse Winner DVD | Classic Movies | Films by Movie Mail UK

[MrT]

Just got the dvd of "The Rocking Horse Winner" and overall the quality is only fair. The print used is poorly contrasted and it doesn't look as if much or any restoration work has been done for the dvd release.

To really see what this film should look like, have a look at this upload of the whole film to You Tube. It is superb quality and when downloaded and burnt to disc is much, much better than the official release:

eh44's Channel - YouTube

MrT

[Elaine]

I have this film on video. It reminds me of Sunday afternoons on tv. What a group of great films were shown then. That is one for my wish list.

[JamesM]

The Spirit Entertainment releases are disappointing all round it seems.