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Downton Abbey: A New Era · 2022 — Chapter 11 of 18 · 2'23" · B2

Myrna Walks Off the Set, Explained: in your hands

The shoot turns into a disaster when Myrna Dalgleish is asked to mouth her lines while Mary dubs the voice. After a microphone ruins take after take, Myrna swears, snaps "I've had enough," and storms off, leaving everyone to wonder how to get her back: "Why don't you two have a go?"

What happens

On the set at Downton, the crew is shooting the film's sound scenes. Myrna Dalgleish is told to mime her part while Mary's voice is recorded over her, and the arrangement infuriates her. After several failed takes she swears, says she has had enough, and walks off the set, leaving the family to figure out how to bring her back.

ArgumentsOffice chatComplainingSuggestingCoworkersB2mediumbritishClean
IMDb ↗

Listen for

in your handshave a goright from the startreason with

00:00 / 02:23
Space play · ← → lines · R repeat
Now
Tap a line to replay it

Phrase of the scene

in your hands

由某人掌控

面对口音难题，导演把剧组的命运交到录音师手上，用这句话表明全指望他了。

The final decision is in your hands.

Also in this scene

  • have a go

    试一试

  • right from the start

    从一开始

  • reason with

    与……讲道理；试图说服

Everything marked in this scene

27 notes across 55 lines

Phrase · B2a padded cellWhy is the camera in a padded cell?
Phrase · B2anyone would think somethingAnyone would think it was a lunatic.
Grammar · B2Anyone would think

hypothetical would

Anyone would think it was a lunatic.
Phrase · B1pick up somethingThe microphone must not pick up any noise unless I have approved it.Mm.
Grammar · B2unless I have approved it

conditional clause with unless

The microphone must not pick up any noise unless I have approved it.Mm.
Phrase · B2be in someone's handsSo we're really in your hands now, Mr. Stubbins.
Soundin your hands

liaison

So we're really in your hands now, Mr. Stubbins.
Phrase · B2your words, not mineYour words, not mine.
Phrase · B2go for a takeLet's go for a take. And...
Phrase · B1not a word- Not a word. Do you understand? - I'm not stupid.
Phrase · B2roll the cameraRoll the camera.
Phrase · B2back to onesUh, everyone, back to ones, please.
Slang · B2Bloody hellI always come back. - Bloody hell!
Phrase · B1there's no need to do something- There's no need to swear! - Myrna, I'm sorry.
Phrase · B1have had enoughRight, that's it. I've had enough.Myrna.
Phrase · B1get out of someone's way- You take your hands off me. Get out of my way! - Myrna, darling!
SoundGet out of my way

flap

- You take your hands off me. Get out of my way! - Myrna, darling!
Phrase · B1Now what?Now what?
Phrase · B1right from the startI knew she'd be trouble right from the start.
Phrase · B2be troubleI knew she'd be trouble right from the start.
Phrase · B1come out of somethingMoving her mouth while Lady Mary's voice comes out of it.
Grammar · B2while Lady Mary's voice comes out of it

time clause with while

Moving her mouth while Lady Mary's voice comes out of it.
Phrase · B2get someone back to workThe point is they've got to get her back to work.
Grammar · B1what if she won't come

what if clause

But what if she won't come? They can't force her.
Phrase · B1have a goWhy don't you two have a go?
Soundhave a go

liaison

Why don't you two have a go?
Phrase · B2reason with someoneYou know how to reason with her. They don't.

Myrna Walks Off the Set, explained

What's really going on

The comedy and the cruelty are in the same joke. Myrna is a silent star being pushed into sound, and the solution on set makes her a puppet: she moves her mouth while Mary's voice comes out of it. What humiliates her is not the technical problem but the loss of her own voice, and the family says it plainly, "Moving her mouth while Lady Mary's voice comes out of it." The scene keeps cutting between the mechanics of filming, microphones, clappers and resets, and the human cost, and it ends with Myrna walking out. The family's response is practical rather than kind: her career may be finished, but the film is not, so someone has to bring her back. "Why don't you two have a go?" one of them suggests, because the Crawleys, unlike the studio, know how to reason with her.

Theme

IdentityMyrna loses her own voice to the new technology, made to mouth words another woman speaks for her.
PrideA silent star is humiliated by the new sound era and walks off rather than accept it.

What you'll learn

  • 'in your hands' carries more than its dictionary gloss.
  • 'pick up' changes the pressure of the reply.
  • The surrounding lines set the social temperature.

Listen for

  • in your hands — liaison
  • Get out of my way — flap
  • have a go — liaison
Anyone would think it was a lunatic.

A joke about the electric camera locked in its padded box: it looks as if it is being kept in a cell for a madman.

Moving her mouth while Lady Mary's voice comes out of it.

The blunt description of what dubbing does to Myrna: her body performs while another woman's voice is heard.

I knew she'd be trouble right from the start.

A verdict on Myrna after she walks out, casting her as a problem that was obvious from the beginning.

True, but now she also feels humiliated.

The reply that turns the blame around: her rudeness is real, but so is the humiliation that drove her off the set.

Questions about this scene

Why is Myrna Dalgleish asked not to speak?

Her accent is heavy, so the studio plans to use Mary's voice instead. Myrna must move her lips in silence while Mary's lines are recorded.

Why does Myrna walk off the set?

She is humiliated by the dubbing and irritated by the equipment around her, and after several failed takes she swears and leaves.

What will happen to Myrna's career?

The family thinks it may be over. Her first sound film is going badly, and other silent actors are facing the same end.

Why does someone suggest the Crawleys try?

They know how to reason with Myrna, unlike the studio people, so they are the best hope of persuading her to return.

Why does Myrna take it out on the studio?

The new sound equipment is ruining her performance, and the studio is asking her to surrender her voice to another actress.

Downton Abbey: A New Era · 18 chapters

All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 12washed upThe Maids Talk Myrna Down
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 DowntonChapter 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 IllWatching · Chapter 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 11 of 18 · about 16 min to go