http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xghXlvOaQpQ Shalako was Connery's first film after he announced he was retiring from playing James Bond after You Only Live Twice (though Connery would eventually play 007 twice more). As an attempt to play a role totally different from Bond, this Western features Connery as "Shalako" Carlin, an American Civil War veteran turned trail guide cowboy. Like he did in Darby O'Gill, Connery attempted to cover up his accent by speaking in a relatively flat tone. But his Scottish accent constantly creeps back into his dialogue. At least the accent of his co-star, French actress Brigitte Bardot, was explained by her being part of a European hunting party. However, considering this movie was released during the era of badly-dubbed Spaghetti Westerns from Europe, Shalako's accent issues probably didn't seem all that bad in contrast to contemporary moviegoers. Because of this, it's no surprise that when Connery played characters that resided in America in future films (like Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade) they were given immigrant backgrounds to account for his natural accent. Frankly, that is much easier to buy than Connery's attempts to change the voice that made him famous.
Chris McKittrick is a published author of fiction and non-fiction and has spoken about film and comic books at conferences across the United States. In addition to his work at WhatCulture!, he is a regular contributor to CreativeScreenwriting.com, MovieBuzzers.com, and DailyActor.com, a website focused on acting in all media. For more information, visit his website at http://www.chrismckit.com.