An undoubted classic of a movie but an undisputed shocker of a British accent to boot. Dick Van Dyke’s efforts to convince as the chimney sweep Bert still causes much merriment all these years on. We could be here all night, offering up anecdotal evidence, but his comical poem probably does justice to what went wrong and is worth reprinting (and then you can watch the clip for further proof). “All right, ladies an’ gents! Comical poem! Suitable for the occasion, extemporized and thought up before your very eyes! All right, ‘ere we go! Room ‘ere for everyone. Gather around. The constable — responstable! Now ‘ow does that sound?” Need you ask, Mr. Van Dyke? Empire magazine placed this part at No. 2 in the worst film accents of all time, only beaten out by Sean Connery’s atrocious Irish lilt as cop Jim Malone in The Untouchables, thus proving that Brits can give as good (or should that be bad?) as we get.
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