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Downton Abbey: A New Era · 2022 — Chapter 4 of 18 · 1'57" · B2

The Family Dines with Myrna Dalgleish, Explained: frighten the horses

At dinner the family quizzes the visiting actress about her profession, and Myrna Dalgleish answers without a shred of glamour. She is blunt about talent scouts, talkies and the men around her, and the Crawleys' polite curiosity meets a very modern frankness: "I don't do nothing unless I feel like it."

What happens

During dinner at Downton, the Crawleys question the film actress Myrna Dalgleish about her career. She explains how a talent scout found her, insists she only works when she feels like it, and shrugs off the coming of talking pictures. A remark about the servants' hard work shows how little she cares for the household.

Family dinnersSmall talkAskingExplainingStrangersB2fastbritishClean
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Listen for

feel like itfrighten the horsessuch a thing asSays who?

00:00 / 01:57
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Phrase of the scene

frighten the horses

惊动（保守的）人；惹出大惊小怪

有人担心电影开始有对白会太出格，另一位用这个说法安慰说不至于。

Let's keep the announcement low-key so we don't frighten the horses.

Also in this scene

  • feel like it

    有兴致；乐意

  • such a thing as

    所谓……这种东西

  • Says who?

    谁说的？凭什么这么说？

Everything marked in this scene

24 notes across 35 lines

Phrase · B2a scavenger huntOh, it was a scavenger hunt, and we needed a chimney pot.
Soundgot up there

flap

But when we got up there, they were huge, so we smashed one and all took a piece.
Phrase · B2such a thing as somethingIs there such a thing as good publicity?
Grammar · B1Is there such a thing as

existential there

Is there such a thing as good publicity?
Phrase · B1for good luckWell, I suppose the Russians smash their glasses for good luck.
Phrase · B2for good publicityAnd now film people smash other people's property for good publicity.
Phrase · A2feel like itOh, I don't do nothing unless I feel like it.
Grammar · B2don't do nothing

double negative for emphasis

Oh, I don't do nothing unless I feel like it.
Soundfeel like it

liaison

Oh, I don't do nothing unless I feel like it.
Phrase · B2a talent scoutA talent scout spotted me.
Phrase · B1What a colorful life someone leadsWhat a colorful life you lead.
Phrase · A2do something for the moneyWell, I know you're only doing it for the money, but that's all right.
Phrase · B2proper actingIn fact, I'm not even sure it's proper acting.
Phrase · B1be about to do somethingOh, but isn't that about to change?
Grammar · B1isn't that about to change

be about to

Oh, but isn't that about to change?
Soundabout to change

liaison

Oh, but isn't that about to change?
Phrase · B1start to talkAren't films starting to talk?
Phrase · B2here or thereCouple of words here or there. Nothing to frighten the horses.
Phrase · C1frighten the horsesCouple of words here or there. Nothing to frighten the horses.
Phrase · B1Says who?Says who?
Slang · B1Says whoSays who?
Phrase · A2do one's bestWould it be possible to remind Miss Dalgleish that the servants work hard in this house and they are doing their best?
Grammar · B2Would it be possible to remind

polite request with would

Would it be possible to remind Miss Dalgleish that the servants work hard in this house and they are doing their best?
Phrase · B1not be used to somethingThey're not used to rudeness.

The Family Dines with Myrna Dalgleish, explained

What's really going on

The dinner sets up a clash of worlds, and the film people are the ones with the upper hand. Myrna Dalgleish treats her own career as a joke, "I don't do nothing unless I feel like it," and describes a business where every man in the room wants the same thing. Yet this casual power is exactly what unsettles the family, who cannot work out whether they are hosting artists or riff-raff. A request to remind her that the servants work hard, and are not used to rudeness, is answered with a shrug for her side: "she's not used to criticism." The scene's real subject is the talkies. When someone wonders whether films are starting to talk, the reply, "Couple of words here or there. Nothing to frighten the horses," says that the old order is changing faster than anyone at the table can admit.

Theme

ClassA visiting film actress treats the grand household as hired help, and old manners meet new money and new fame.
GenerationsThe family puzzles over talking pictures and a modern career woman, sensing that their world is already changing.

What you'll learn

  • 'about to' carries more than its dictionary gloss.
  • 'was the manager pleased' changes the pressure of the reply.
  • The surrounding lines set the social temperature.

Listen for

  • got up there — flap
  • feel like it — liaison
  • about to change — liaison
Couple of words here or there. Nothing to frighten the horses.

Myrna dismisses the coming of sound in films: a few lines of dialogue will not upset anyone, so the change is not worth worrying about.

Oh, I don't do nothing unless I feel like it.

Her blunt rule for a career: she works only when she wants to, and she says it with double negatives as if that settles the question.

Is there such a thing as good publicity?

A dry question about whether any publicity can be called good, aimed at the film people's claim that wrecking property earned them attention.

In fact, I'm not even sure it's proper acting.

She calls her own profession into doubt, saying screen work may not deserve to be called real acting.

Questions about this scene

Why does Myrna Dalgleish seem so unimpressed by her own fame?

She treats acting as a job she does when she feels like it, mocks the idea that it is glamorous, and refuses to pretend otherwise.

What does Myrna mean by "Nothing to frighten the horses"?

She is playing down talking pictures. A few spoken words here and there will not shock anyone, so she treats the new sound films as no big deal.

Why is the family annoyed with Miss Dalgleish?

She is rude to the servants who are working hard at dinner, and someone asks that she be reminded they are not used to rudeness.

What claim do the film people make about the scandal?

They say the destruction on the hotel roof was good publicity. A family member doubts that there is any such thing as good publicity.

Why are the Crawleys so interested in talking pictures?

The film crew is working at Downton just as sound arrives, so the dinner turns into a debate about whether films with dialogue will change the business.

Downton Abbey: A New Era · 18 chapters

All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 5eye someone upDinner at the Villa of the Doves
Chapter 1who are we to argueViolet Gives Sybbie a French VillaChapter 2take a dim viewJack Barber Pitches Filming at DowntonChapter 3wouldn't hear of itHollywood Comes to DowntonWatching · Chapter 4frighten the horsesThe Family Dines with Myrna DalgleishChapter 5eye someone upDinner at the Villa of the DovesChapter 6in a wayTom and Lucy Inherit the VillaChapter 7perform miraclesMary Saves the TalkieChapter 8On an impulseMolesley Pitches His Own EndingChapter 9trouble in paradiseMary Talks About Her MarriagesChapter 10more than capableRobert Learns Cora Is IllChapter 11in your handsMyrna Walks Off the SetChapter 12washed upThe Maids Talk Myrna DownChapter 13had in mindViolet Says Goodbye to TomChapter 14await developmentsGuy Offers Barrow a Hollywood JobChapter 15an object of desireBarber Asks to Kiss MaryChapter 16a fool for loveViolet Tells Mary the TruthChapter 17what the blazesMolesley Proposes to BaxterChapter 18last the courseViolet's Deathbed Goodbyes
Chapter 4 of 18 · about 30 min to go