Mary Poppins: Qustion for Randy

[andymarshall]

I was watching my DVD copy of MP ahead of the new bumper release, today and I noticed something I never did before;

In "Jolly Holiday", after Burt flies up into the air, Mary Poppins says "None of your larking about!".

The voice on this sentence is clearly not that of Julie Andrews- yet she mouths the same line, so presumably it must have been recorded at the time- why on earth would it have been replaced?

AM

 

[X-S Tech]

This line on the soundtrack sounds like Julie. Do you mean that they used a voice on the film that was different from what was recorded on the soundtrack? Or just that they dubbed this line in Post Production and it's a bit out of sync?

 

[wondergreg]

I've noticed that "none of your larking about" on the vinyl LP sounds different than in the film and CDs, most likely it is from a another take. Also, on "Step in Time" in the mono version of the original LP, Dick Van Dyke's vocal is louder just before the orchestra takes over. On the stereo LP he blends in more with the chorus at that point. Zoinks! It's a mystery!

 

[andymarshall]

Well it could certainly be from a different take-its clearly edited in rather badly- but to my British ear it doesnt sound like Julie A at all, but somebody doing an impression of her. I notice on the new sountrack that Marni Nixon is credited on the track- could it be her, replacing that line for JA for some reason?

 

[narkspud]

I've noticed that "none of your larking about" on the vinyl LP sounds different than in the film and CDs, most likely it is from a another take. Also, on "Step in Time" in the mono version of the original LP, Dick Van Dyke's vocal is louder just before the orchestra takes over. On the stereo LP he blends in more with the chorus at that point. Zoinks! It's a mystery!

I can vouch for it being two different reads of the "larking about" line (film vs. LP). Can't speak for the CD - don't have it yet.

As for stereo vs. mono, that's par for the course for just about any 60's album. They almost always did different mixes for the stereo and mono versions, rather than deal with the strange things that happen when you mix stereo to one channel. And it wasn't unusual for the mixes to be done by two different engineers, in two different facilities, who may not have heard what the other guy was doing, and who may not have even had access to all the same session tracks.

I don't know what the circumstances were on the Mary Poppins LP, but I do know that there are several differences between the stereo and mono versions, the one I most remember being the tambourine bop in Supercalifragil-etc., which is late in the stereo, but right on the nose in the mono.

 

[Randy Thornton]

Hiya Andy!

I can confirm that Julie Andrews and no one else says the ?Larking about? line. Marni Nixon only appears in the track as part of the Farm Animal Chorus.

The line in question could have been an ADR line (Additional Dialog Recording) done in postproduction. But there are several other possible reasons that the line sounds different from Julie's other lines. You'll notice that most of the song vocals were recorded in an actual recording studio, whereas the dialog portions of the songs were performed and recorded on the film soundstages during the filming. This results in drastic sonic differences ? where a recording studio is designed to eliminate ancillary sounds, the film soundstages are so large, it is impossible to avoid the ?roominess? of such a large space. You may also notice, through the clarity of this new release, that even material recorded in the actual studio, there is a variance in the sonic texture. It appears that the vocalists weren?t always recorded with the same microphone. This too can cause different colorizations in the vocals.

Hope that helps explain what may have happened. But, it is indeed Julie Andrews saying the line.

Randy Thornton

 

[andymarshall]

First of all, thanks for the new MP Soundtrack-its wonderful to finally hear all that beautiful underscoring..the original vinyl LP was the first soundtrack I ever bought and its truly exciting to own this definitive version...similarly the reconstituted Bedknobs..

Actually, I've had a fair bit of experience of ADR in the course of my work, including replacing entire sequences that were recorded on stages insufficiently soundproofed..some of my friends have suggested that the equipment lighting the bluescreen for the fabled Holy Prism may have been rather noisy, making re-recording the dialogue mandatory...but I still think there's something very peculiar about that one line..the others seem OK to me...but I'll go to my grave believing somebody else is doing "None of your larking about"!

AM

 

[Technirama70]

My ? for Randy is --

on the LP the vocal of Bert explaining to Jane & Michael about the "Chimney Sweep World" and their response before is 'lyric' was left off all CD releases, but was included on both the 1964 & 1973 LP and cassette releases.

Something about 'shaked up and gloomy up there' -- don't know the exact words, but always a welcome part of the song. I still recite those lines (included or not) when I listen to the song - old habits die hard.

STILL LOVE THE RESTORED SOUNDTRACK!!!!!
THANK YOU AGAIN - YOU ARE STILL MY HERO!