Yesterday, I could watch “Desperate Journey” for the first time in the English original version – until then, I had only seen the dubbed German version. It was so great for me to hear Errol say some lines in German – after all, he's the only one of the gang who knows some German. His accent is so cute! (I sometimes needed the English subtitles to understand the German lines, but mostly of the other actors). At the same time, it was interesting for me to observe how other English-speaking actors tried to pretend to be Germans – they had to struggle with their German lines and, at the same time, pretend to have a German accent when speaking English, mostly Nancy Coleman as Kaethe and Raymond Massey as the “Iron Fist”. They try hard in German, but you can hear their accent, too – vice versa, it would be interesting for me to know if their English sounds “German” for you?
Also, I think that some of the cast were German immigrants. I think that the doctor who operates on Hollis and the elderly lady who pretended to be Kaethe's mother must have been of German descent because I could not distinguish any accent with them. Maybe a little with the lady, but I might be mistaken there.
There is another interesting scene right after the five surviving soldiers have changed their clothes: Major Baumeister converses with one of the German soldiers, but he does this in English so that nobody can overhear what he's saying. This scene has been cut in the German version where he speaks German all the time. I suppose they did this because it was really hard for Massey to speak so many lines in German.
Now I was wondering how good Errol was at speaking different languages. He must have known some Spanish, French and German, apart from the different native languages he needed in New Guinea. Is anything known about how well he spoke these languages? I know that he once said his German was “lousy”, but I haven't found any accounts of how fluent he was. What about his Spanish at Majorca? French? Would be great if somebody could tell a little about this. Also, I would like to hear your opinion about the “language chaos” in “Desperate Journey”.
Thanks!
— Inga
Anonymous
December 2, 2010 at 1:15 pm
Hi Inga!
Very interesting blog entry.
I think Errol could speak some French (though he probably understood more than he could speak), and same with Spanish.
Anonymous
December 2, 2010 at 1:33 pm
Yep, that's what I think, too – but how good was he at these languages?
Anonymous
February 18, 2011 at 1:53 am
Rachel! I think you are correct. I just asked Rory Flynn about this and she said that Errol spoke and wrote in French in her memory… she says nothing about Spanish or German – although in an outtake of the film Dawn Patrol, I heard him return a comment in German to someone in the crew. It is on one of those Bloopers Tapes that used to be popular. He is heard to swear in outtakes from Robin Hood and Green Light, as well. This was pretty common on film sets in those day from all the stars – and ended up on the screen at a private party for industry members themselves each year. Quite interesting, including one from Olivia deHavilland, too!
Anonymous
February 18, 2011 at 8:27 am
Thanks, David – I think I can confirm what Rory said about French, I read that Errol translated the marriage articles for Patrice during the wedding ceremony and that, while Patrice said “yes”, he said “oui”. Any chance to get those bloopers tapes? The one you spoke of is not on youtube, I think?
Anonymous
February 18, 2011 at 1:06 pm
Hi David!
Good to hear confirmation from Rory on it…I figured Errol could speak and write in French.
And yeah, I'm aware of those Blooper reels — the WB “Breakdowns” have been posted on YouTube, and I've watched some of Errol's outtakes (and the one from Olivia too).
Anonymous
February 19, 2011 at 8:06 pm
Dear Inga;
I think if Errol wanted to communicate he could do that in just about any language! He most certainly had the talent to pick up the most important communication factors rapidly! French was definitely a language he spoke well, plus some Spanish and broken German.
Take care!
Anonymous
February 19, 2011 at 8:33 pm
Thanks Tina! It was just that I loved his German in “Desperate Journey” so much. Plus there is one sentence in “Northern Pursuit” which I do not understand at all… You know, when he is in the hut with Helmut Dantine (who has got a beautiful Austrian accent) and the last sentence Errol says before it's fade out… no idea what this is meant to mean.
Anonymous
February 19, 2011 at 10:19 pm
Hi Inga;
I would need a little more information of the scene, like where about in the movie? At the beginning in the movie – in the hut? Or? What is the scene all about? I'll watch it, but to get the right place your description would be of great help.