Julia and the countess?

[franimal]

Maybe I'm mis-remembering, but didn't the Countess have an accent in the original 1795 plotline?  I though she was much more Julia-ish yesterday.  Both in voice and mannerisms.  

Franimal

[Raineypark]

I think she forgot she was French.  

RP

[Bette]

No, she didn't have an accent in 1795. As to mannerisms and voice, she didn't remind me of Julia at all, but I'll watch it again sometime, paying close attention to the mannerisms.

In the 1991 version, Barbara Steele did play the Countess with an accent.

I remember reading somewhere (maybe the Sam Hall interview with Gross) that Grayson wanted to give Natalie an accent, but the other actors playing characters from Martinique weren't able to do it, and it would have seemed strange if only Natalie spoke with an accent. When it came to playing Magda though, Grayson and Thayer worked together on their gypsy accents so that they would sound alike.

Bette

[Dr. Eric Lang]

I remember reading somewhere (maybe the Sam Hall interview with Gross) that Grayson wanted to give Natalie an accent, but the other actors playing characters from Martinique weren't able to do it, and it would have seemed strange if only Natalie spoke with an accent. When it came to playing Magda though,  Grayson and Thayer worked together on their gypsy accents so that they would sound alike.

In the very first 1795 episodes in which they appear, Josette, Natalie and Angelique have very slight French accents - they were dropped by the second episodes. According to TLATKLS (Dark Shadows Scrapbook Memories), Dan Curtis found their accents deplorable and told them to drop it.:-)