Film: "My Fair Lady" (1964)

[Bob Pr.]

"My Fair Lady" (1964) color. Runtime: 170 min. (intermisssion about 2/3rds through). Rex Harrison & Audrey Hepbrun star in this film version of Lerner & Loewe's eponymous Broadway musical (1956) which was a musical adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's play "Pygmalion." [Shaw's play loosely draws on Ovid's (1st century) "Metamorphoses" for its plot.] Roger Ebert includes "MFL" in his list of "Great Films:" My Fair Lady :: rogerebert.com :: Great Movies "MFL" won 8 Oscars plus many other awards. We saw it in our 1ce/mos. series of "Great Films @ the Cathedral."

Years ago, I bought the record album of "MFL" and the sequence of its music tells the rough outlines of the story: a financially secure, snobbish, completely non-empathic but gifted phonetics professor, Henry Higgins (Rex Harrison) makes a bet with a close friend, Col. Pickering, that in 6 months he can transform Eliza Doolittle (Audrey Hepburn), a Cockney speaking girl selling flowers, a "gutter snipe," into a lady who'll be accepted by & in upper society.

The movie shows that next 6 months as Eliza learns "proper" speech and manners. Harrison & Holloway (who plays Eliza's father) reprise their roles from the Broadway musical. Hepburn's Cockney accents seemed genuine; she lip syncs her songs to Marni Nixon's actual vocals. Ebert's helpful review (linked above) discusses in detail the huge uproar from the choice of Hepburn instead of Julie Andrews (who played Eliza's role on Broadway), the substitution of Nixon's singing voice, and the fate of lip syncing after that (plus many other interesting things).

This gorgeous, stunning film adds more verses and variations to the music than that on my album. Harrison and Hepburn are simply great in their roles, as are all other supporting players [including a much younger Jeremy Brett (now an old Sherlock Holmes on the PBS series) as Eliza's young aristocratic suitor, Freddy, smitten with Eliza].

All the sets are magnificent. One of our audience had seen stage versions of "MFL" twice before but had never seen this film; she said the film was much richer and more satisfying to her. I was roughly familiar with the story but surprised to find some things I didn't know: that there was a near disastrous practice run with Eliza (@ the Ascot) and that something unwanted happened to Eliza's father that elevated him into the middle class.

My rating is 10 of 10 stars. My only criticism is that I thought the Doolittle(Holloway) singing and dancing number "I'm Getting Married in the Morning" went on a little too long (half would've been sufficient).

The film nicely leaves one in doubt as to whether Eliza will go back and stay with Higgins or marry Freddy-- although possibly with a slight bias to returning to Higgins.

In case you wonder what happens to Eliza in GBS's "Pygmalion" you can read Shaw's own long description of their later lives (see Sequel: What Happened Afterwards following Act V in Shaw, Bernard. 1916. Pygmalion And, if you read the Preface: A Professor of Phonetics in the same link, you'll find that Shaw modeled Higgins' personality and interactions after an actual professor of phonetics, Henry Sweet, who was both gifted but quite prickly.)

[dweck]

George Cukor ruined this film with his funereal pacing and stage-bound sets. Harrison is the only highlight. Hepburn -- who I adore in almost everthing else -- is horrid as Eliza Doolittle. When Higgins calls her a consort battleship, the sentiment is laughable against her gamine features. The transitions between the dub and her own vocals are laughingly inept. The choreography is nonexistant.

Only the Ascot Races really works, thanks to its copy of the Cecil Beaton costume designs from the stage musical.

I do like that Warner's full orchestra was available and used for the scoring, which was nicely opened up from the Broadway Original Cast Album by Andre Previn. His work with "The Embassy Waltz" is particularly nice.

Other than that, it is a complete bore.

[Bob Pr.]

Certainly NOT the first time -- we've completely disagreed!!

How many other Roger Ebert choices for his "Great Films" list do you disagree with?

My Fair Lady :: rogerebert.com :: Great Movies

For those who want an alternative assessment to dweck's, see the review linked above.

AND, for those who read the original play ("Pygmalion"), IMO it's a remarkably close, stunning adaptation of the original.