[78-L] The Wrong Gramophone.

[Julian Vein]

Spats wrote:
> Hi!
> 
> I've always been a little smug about the UK's superiority over 
> Hollywood when it comes to scene-setting accuracy. For instance, in 
> Hollywood's version of Pride & Prejudice (Olivier & Greer), everyone 
> wears clothes from the 1850s, although the novel is set pre-1820. The 
> BBC series of Pride & Prejudice was, by contrast, perfectly accurate 
> as to Regency costume. Often, when the Hollywood film is about 
> London, you see film stars talking through French telephones, etc.
> 
> However, today, I watched a BBC feature called The Lost Prince, set 
> in 1914. As usual, the costumes were meticulously put together. 
> HOWEVER, a horn gramophone is given as a present in one scene and it 
> only takes the merest glance and any of us would recognize a modern 
> cheap reproduction of the type that is made in India these days. To 
> compound this oversight, when the prince takes out a record to play 
> on it, it is clearly a double sided electric-era Odeon! This is a 
> common oversight. Many is the time on TV that they take a red-label 
> HMV record, put it on the turntable and out of the TV speaker 
> emanates some dance band recording! A miracle, indeed!
> 
> Why would they take so much care over costume and then let everything 
> down with something so easily seen to as gramophones and records!?
> 
> Earl.
> _______________________________________________
Probably because no one points it out to them, so they can get it right 
for the next time. I've seen a red label HMV used for an Armstrong Hot 
Five! Scenes involving gramophones tend to be transitory and may go 
unnoticed. What music emanated from the speaker?

      Julian Vein