In old movies, why did actresses and actors talk in that weird voice?

Question:they talk in this weird voice, and I don't understand why!

like here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11BQQvVy8...
go to 34 seconds.
they talk in that weird voice!
how do you imitate it? everytime i try to it sounds like im talking in a british accent >.<

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: they talk in this weird voice, and I don't understand why!

like here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11BQQvVy8...
go to 34 seconds.
they talk in that weird voice!
how do you imitate it? everytime i try to it sounds like im talking in a british accent >.<

The correct terminology is "Transatlantic English";

Actors back then were all stage actors, there was no "Film School" or anything like that; so they were getting their training for the stage, and what with learning projection, breath, etc.

IPA, the international phonetic alphabet, [which is also a stage actor thing] encourages that faux-british pronunciation. (Liquid U's: Teue-ss-dae (Tuesday), etc) , they all lend themselves to that.

Plus, back in the day, it was a class thing. Upper class would have cottilion and other ettiquite classes- while lower classes would say lots of slang "Go'ahn" , etc.

My Man Godfrey vs Our Gang

Imitation is not difficult. Just act snotty.

It was just entertaining I guess.

I think it depends more on the particular actor/actress than it does on the period the movie was made. There's nothing weird about the voices in that. You can find people who speak like that even today.

There are certain ways of speaking that are thought of as the most current modern way of speaking. Back then, it was some kind of European voice, but you had to try hard not to over-do it, otherwise everyone would see right through it.

The clip you link to (Wizard of Oz) features Billy Burke. She had a very weird voice, period. She was an exception and even in her day was considered to have an odd voice.

Remember that Billie Burke, who plays Glinda, got her start in vaudeville. She my be overacting and overdoing the voice a bit because she was accustomed to stage work. You have to get your voice into a higher register, enunciate very clearly and aim for full tones.

As for Dorothy, Judy Garland was playing a character younger than herself and may have been trying to imbue her character with a sense of innocence and youth.

The good with sounds like she did have a slight british accent. But I know what you mean.
Like the way Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, etc spoke?

I think it may be an accent as well- Bogart always sounded like he had a Boston accent. It could be that a lot of actors just imitated the voices of a few big actors.

If your impression sounds british, maybe try breathing out more as you talk. The old-movie-voice sounds a lot more breezy than a british voice (also less whiny than british). And women in movies of that time always had that cheesy "Oh what ever will I do without him?" tone. I guess that was the lure of choice to attract guys back then -make them think they are saving you?