Axis International, also possibly known by other names, was a Hong Kong-based film dubbing group operated by Ted Thomas from the early 1960s to early '80s. It primarily dubbed East Asian films, frequently in the martial arts genre, including those from its native Hong Kong as well as Japan, Taiwan, and beyond. Among its known Japanese assignments were 11 kaiju and science-fiction films, mostly from Toho and Daiei. Axis operated as the primary English dubbing group for the Shaw Brothers in the '60s and '70s. The group was never credited for any of its work as, according to Thomas and his associates, notable members were primarily Hong Kong government employees brought in from the broadcasting world who treated their dubbing work as a sideline.
Name
When discussing his dubbing group in interviews, Ted Thomas described it as a "company" called Axis International.[1][2]Linda Masson, Thomas' ex-wife, agreed on the name in a 2023 interview, but in response to a leading statement.[3] Currently, interviews with these two individuals are the only sources for this claim, and no historical documents or other sources have been found that reference this name; also, by Thomas's own admission, it was not an actual company. Additionally, Thomas states that the Axis name was rarely used at the time, if at all,[2] due to the Hong Kong government discouraging its employees from doing outside work.[1]
According to contemporary reports in both the trade magazine Variety and the Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post, Arthur Herman Solmson managed a U.S. owned-and-controlled dubbing company named Soundtrax International during at least the early 1960s; this company took credit for being the first English film dubbing company active in Hong Kong. Activity claimed by Soundtrax included dubbing films originally in Japanese as part of a contract with Shaw Brothers;[4] this is the same activity and basic timeline provided by Ted Thomas in 2011 for the dubbing company he claimed to have founded, which he named as Axis International and described as the first of its kind in Hong Kong without ever mentioning Solmson.[5] Although Solmson "told reporters that he would be exploring the possibilities of expanding the film dubbing business in [Hong Kong]" in 1961,[6] it is not known how much longer Solmson was involved in film dubbing.
History
By the 1950s, Ted Thomas secured his release from British Naval Intelligence and became a broadcaster for Radio Hong Kong.[1] He was later invited by Shaw Brothers co-founder Run Run Shaw to test out film dubbing and see how well he liked it.[2] Thomas enjoyed the experience and began his career in the dubbing industry, going on to produce English dubs for Shaw Brothers' movies. Ron Oliphant served as Thomas' partner, helping him run the dubbing group.[3][7]
The dubbing group mainly consisted of expatriates from English-speaking countries, such as the United Kingdom, United States, Australia and Canada. The majority of the dubbers involved, including Thomas himself, worked in broadcasting/communication, with some also having backgrounds in professional and amateur theatre. American accents were generally encouraged because it was believed to have raised the value of the film.[8] Some of the actors dubbed multiple characters in a single film.
The films were dubbed via the looping method.[1] Thomas is known to have hired scriptwriters proficient in Chinese, including Oliphant,[9]Bob Toole[10] and Graham Earnshaw.[11] Oliphant went over dialogue translations inch by inch and counted syllables, making sure that the English words matched those of the original language. Certain alterations to scripts were also made to avoid labials when the on-screen actor had open lips.[1] Due to their day jobs, dubbing sessions were done during the night; the sessions took roughly 12-20 hours with the dubbers usually working from 6:00 p.m. to midnight.[2] Typically, there was only one rehearsal before recording.[8] Loops that involved fight scenes with grunts and groans were usually not dubbed, unless dialogue was included.[11] The main focus of the dubbing was the lip sync, more so than the actual acting, as it helped determine the value of the film dubbed.[8]
One of the studios used by the group was a converted flat; its living room was converted into a dubbing studio while a bedroom had holes cut into its walls to create a projector room. The flat was not entirely soundproof, meaning that any sounds from other rooms would result in the dubbers stopping a session and starting over.[2] Additionally, Shaw Brothers is known to have supplied their own studios to Thomas.[11] Another dubbing studio used by the group was one located in Kowloon.[7]
Bob Toole eventually split from Thomas' dubbing group and created a short-lived rival. Thomas was upset by Toole's actions, seeing them as disloyal.[3][7] Toole is known to have used some of Thomas' dubbers in his own recordings, including Barry Haigh, Barbara Laney, Carolyn Levine, Chris Hilton, Rex Ellis, Jack Moore, Saul Lockhart, and Frank Mullen. In spite of this, Thomas did not appear to hold any resentment towards their involvement with the rival group, as they were known to have worked for him after Toole's last known dub was produced.
Afterwards, other dubbing groups formed in Hong Kong, some by Thomas' former dubbers, such as Haigh and Michael Kaye.[12] Another notable Hong Kong dubbing group that utilized some of Thomas' former dubbers was Matthew Oram's group, whom Haigh was known to collaborate with and vice versa, with even Linda Masson dubbing for him following her and Ted Thomas' divorce.[3]
The group's last known dubs were produced in the early 1980s; Thomas seemingly ceased his dubbing operations thereafter. Several dubbers who had worked for Thomas continued dubbing, at least for some time, after they had left his group. Rik Thomas, a former Axis dubber, went on to form Omni Productions as a successor to the group. Ted Thomas himself occasionally returned to voice acting in other dubbing productions before retiring to Thailand in the 2010s.[13]
Selected films dubbed
Note: Films' ordering and years correspond to their domestic releases and not necessarily their dubs' first availability.
This is a list of references for Axis International. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]
↑South China Morning Post 1994: "FORMER head of the Television Authority, Ron Oliphant, died yesterday at his home in southern California aged 65 . . . He was fluent in Cantonese and German and did freelance work dubbing foreign films into English, often rewriting scripts in the process."
↑The Straits Times 1962, p. 7: "Mr. Toole will continue his studies of Chinese art, culture and language at the University of Hong Kong . . ."
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