I'd like to think, like millions of others, that General George had the deep, resonant pipes of a George C. Scott. But I know better. I've heard, or read, that, in fact, it was more (forgive me) Andy Hardy. High pitch, girly-man like. I'd like to know whether any one is aware of recordings or archives of the General's actual speaking voice. I'd appreciate the source. Thanks.
I have some MP3 and WAVs of him speaking. There are some pages out there that have recordings of him. edit Here is one: http://www.pattonhq.com/sounds.html
Thanks. Do you recall how you came about them and where I may possibly check them out? Just this moment was made aware of a source: http://new.wavlist.com/movies/214/ I understand there are clips of his various speeches. Thanks again.
I have no idea, it's been several years ago. I looked at what I have and I have the one above and one other, where he talked about the soldiers he commanded. One file turned out to be a duplicate. Here is the text of what he said "Goddamit, it is no fun to say to men that you love, "go out...go out and get killed." But we had to say it. And by God they have gone...and they have won. But I want you to remember that the sacrifice these men have made must not be in vain." Try doing a search on those words.
Thanks so much guys. Firstly, my apologies for the source I mentioned. Turned out to be a movie site; the sound file was G.C Scott, not the General. Secondly, there was a post and topic already at this very site that would have served admirably had I but been a bit more vigilant in my search. (This, a total lack of pre-action planning, would not have set well with the General.:whip And lastly, I am eternally indebted to Clint for what is in fact a virtual rally point for all things Patton: from a time-line of events in the General's personal life to tributes and testimonies from those who served under and alongside the General. Truly a find for all genuine Patton-philes. Thank you my friends. [ps- After further study and reflection, while I realize there is always a subjective element in things of this type, a totally disinterested party would have to conlude, in my estimation, and as has been often noted, GSP's voice was no better nor worse for his time. Certainly, no radio-voice, nonetheless, it would not, in my opinion, have detracted one iota from the character portrayed so aptly in the film.]
I'm glad you enjoyed the link to the Patton site. Lots of good stuff on there. The General himself was the biggest complainer about his speaking voice, it tended to "pitch up" when he got excited or tried to project it over a larger hall. It (according to his wife) also had a tendency to "crack" if he got to going too fast. She also had a cute one about why his statue on the grounds of West Point is standing with his binoculars in his hand squinting in the direction of the library. She claimed she asked for that spot specifically because George always told her (jokingly) that the reason it took him so long to graduate from the Point was becasue he "couldn't find the library". There is a verygood chance that he was dyslexic and had a real problem with reading all through his life. His memory was excellent however, and once he heard, read or absorbed some data it was his for life.
