The Good ‘Ole Days of Voice Over- “Goodbye Miss Turlock”
February 29th, 2008 Posted in General InfoI’m sitting here writing blogs and editing Part 2 of my interview with voice actor Dominic Catrambone for the Tuesday March 4th podcast.
Turner Classic Movies is on TV in the background. “Goodbye Miss Turlock” comes on. I see “narrator” in the credits so I pay attention. This short black and white film from 1947 has no dialogue. The narrator, John Nesbitt is the storyteller and “former student” of Miss Turlock. It’s all about this lonely “spinster” (their words not mine!) school teacher teaching in a rural one room schoolhouse. I’m struck by the power of this film mostly because John Nesbitt is able to narrate as if he’s peering into the classroom taking us along in his back pocket lamenting over it’s immanent disappearance.
I started thinking about how voice over has changed over the years with the slick, hi-tech, A.D.D. world we live in. But watching (and listening to) “Goodbye Miss Turlock” made me realize, voice over is still about being real and making people want to listen. Just like John Nesbitt did 61 years ago.
-Tracy Pattin
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