how come in old American movies the actors have sort of British accents?

Question

was this the way everyone in the U.S. spoke back then?

Answer 1

There may be something to the fact that sound in films was new and enunciation was important.
There is an older (1950s) movie with the importance of good diction vs bad diction when "talkies" were introduced as a major part of the plot. The movie is "Singing in the Rain".

We've all had our regional accents for quite a while longer than there has been sound in movies.

Oftentimes, when Americans enunciate we sound as if we have an accent. This "accent" is usually mistaken for a British accent.

Answer 2

I love the old movies and love to hear the British speak.
I believe that most of the actors and actresses were from England.
Ingrid Bergman, Lawerance Olivia, Vivian Leigh, and etc.

Answer 3

Back then, people cared about how they articulated their thoughts and words. There are many differnt dialects here in the US, as there were back then. I think it's more that they actually enunciated their words and spoke properly without lazy slang words.

Answer 4

I've wondered why they sound different as well. Some were English, but I think that maybe they just spoke proper English rather than slang. Even their voices sounded different.

Answer 5

could it have maybe been a southern accent, or if it was way way back when, it may also have been because many europeans were only comming 2 america.

Answer 6

Because many of them were British