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Downton Abbey: A New Era · 2022 — Chapter 7 of 18 · 3'14" · B2

Mary Saves the Talkie, Explained: perform miracles

The film's leading lady cannot manage an English accent, take after take, and the crew is ready to quit. "I am here to record sound, Mr. Barber, not to perform miracles," the sound man says, and the only way forward is for Mary to try the accent herself.

What happens

On the set at Downton, the production is trying to finish a talking picture. The star, Myrna Dalgleish, keeps mangling the aristocratic accent the part requires, and the takes fail. The sound man, Mr. Stubbins, refuses to fix it, and the director, Jack Barber, turns to Mary, asking her to take over the accent so the film can keep shooting.

Office chatAsking for helpSaying noPersuadingCoworkersB2mediumbritishClean
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Listen for

As ready as I can beperform miraclesfor goodMay I remind you

00:00 / 03:14
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Phrase of the scene

perform miracles

创造奇迹

导演指望录音师解决女星口音的问题，录音师用这句话划清自己的职责。

I can fix the leak, but I can't perform miracles.

Also in this scene

  • As ready as I can be

    能准备到什么程度就准备到什么程度

  • for good

    永远地；一劳永逸地

  • May I remind you

    容我提醒你；别忘了（不容反驳）

Everything marked in this scene

30 notes across 63 lines

Phrase · B2as ready as someone can beAs ready as I can be, Mr. Barber, when I've not controlled the soundproofing or the set.
Grammar · B2As ready as I can be

as ... as comparison

As ready as I can be, Mr. Barber, when I've not controlled the soundproofing or the set.
Phrase · B2time something to somethingNow, time your speech to match the film.
Grammar · B1time your speech to match

infinitive of purpose

Now, time your speech to match the film.
Soundtime your speech

liaison

Now, time your speech to match the film.
Phrase · B1lean inNo, no, no. Don't lean in.
Phrase · A2try not to do somethingAnd try not to move your head.
Phrase · B1keep a secretNo one can keep a secret these days.
Soundkeep a secret

liaison

No one can keep a secret these days.
Phrase · B1throw away somethingMay I remind you it's my future to throw away.
Phrase · B1hang on a minuteI only came to... ' Hang on a minute. I turned me head round there.
Slang · B1Hang on a minuteI only came to... ' Hang on a minute. I turned me head round there.
Phrase · B2a line to cover somethingI-I've written a line to cover that. You see?
Phrase · B1turn backYou... Y-You turn back on 'future.'
Phrase · B2watch someone do something'I can' t stay and watch you ruin yourself.
Phrase · B1Could I have a moment?Thank you, Myrna. Could I have a moment?
SoundCould I have a moment

liaison

Thank you, Myrna. Could I have a moment?
Phrase · B2perform miraclesOh, I am here to record sound, Mr. Barber, not to perform miracles.
Grammar · C1she is not

fronting for emphasis

The Lady Anne Erskine she is not.
Phrase · A2do something againCouldn't she just learn the accent a bit better and do it again?
Phrase · B2spend a lifetime doing somethingPeople spend lives trying to learn this particular accent and failing.
Phrase · B1can't be that hardIt can't be that hard.
Phrase · B1be keen to do somethingAre you keen to see her Hedda Gabler?
Phrase · B1even soEven so.
Phrase · B1shut downIf you can't do it, we'll shut down, possibly for good.
Phrase · B2for goodIf you can't do it, we'll shut down, possibly for good.
Phrase · A2keep goingIf you can, you'll allow us to keep going.
Grammar · B2allow us to keep going

allow someone to do

If you can, you'll allow us to keep going.
Phrase · B1deal with someone/somethingHow do we deal with Miss Dalgleish?
Phrase · B1get someone back somewhereOh, right now, um, get her back upstairs.

Mary Saves the Talkie, explained

What's really going on

The crisis is technical on the surface and personal underneath. A star of the new talking pictures cannot produce the class accent the role demands, and the fix would normally be to hire someone else, except no one can fake the voice quickly enough: "People spend lives trying to learn this particular accent and failing." Stubbins hides behind his job description, insisting "I am here to record sound, Mr. Barber, not to perform miracles," which is a way of saying the problem is not his to solve. That pushes the burden onto Mary, who has the right voice by accident of birth. The scene is about a vanishing world's one exportable asset, its accent, becoming the thing that saves a modern industry, and about a woman asked to perform her own class on cue.

Theme

DutyStubbins draws a hard line at his job, refusing work that is not his, while Mary is asked to take on what isn't hers.
ClassA servant-class accent cannot be faked, so the upper-class Mary is asked to supply the voice the film needs.

What you'll learn

  • 'perform miracles' carries more than its dictionary gloss.
  • 'for good' changes the pressure of the reply.
  • The surrounding lines set the social temperature.

Listen for

  • time your speech — liaison
  • keep a secret — liaison
  • Could I have a moment — liaison
Oh, I am here to record sound, Mr. Barber, not to perform miracles.

Stubbins's refusal: his job is to capture sound, not to solve the accent problem, so the director should not expect him to fix it.

The Lady Anne Erskine she is not.

A blunt verdict on the star: whatever the role needs, she is no Lady Anne Erskine, the refined character she is meant to play.

No one can keep a secret these days.

A line from the film-within-the-film, a wry aside that gossip always gets out in the end.

If you can't do it, we'll shut down, possibly for good.

Barber's stake in the gamble: if Mary cannot manage the accent, the production stops, and may never restart.

People spend lives trying to learn this particular accent and failing.

The explanation for why the star cannot simply learn the voice: this accent is famously hard, and a lifetime of study often fails.

Questions about this scene

Why can't Myrna Dalgleish finish the scene?

She cannot produce the English aristocratic accent the part requires, so take after take is ruined by her voice.

Why does Mr. Stubbins refuse to fix it?

He says his job is to record sound, not to perform miracles, so solving the accent is not his responsibility.

Why do they ask Mary to do the accent?

She naturally speaks the accent the part needs, and with the star unable to learn it, Mary is the fastest way to keep the film shooting.

What is at stake if Mary says no?

Jack Barber says the production will shut down, possibly for good, so the whole film depends on whether she can do the accent.

Downton Abbey: A New Era · 18 chapters

All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 8On an impulseMolesley Pitches His Own Ending
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 VillaWatching · Chapter 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 7 of 18 · about 23 min to go