I think I like this better, while the later version is obvious a classic I'm not that big a fan of the music and it's addition makes the story drag way too long while the pace of this is far better and makes the story at it's center much more enjoyable.
shareI like the music, but I have to say that I like the way that this version portrays Eliza much better. I like the fact that Eliza is smart and adept at phonetics from the start. It's been a while since I've seen the play, so I've forgotten how it was originally supposed to go, and it never made any sense to me in the musical version that Eliza just suddenly learns everything about syntax and phonetics in two minutes. The Eliza in this version is much more admirable and you can understand why Higgins would want to keep her around.
shareI concur by far, and am far more critical of the musical.
1) Shaw is generally considered the second greatest playwright of the English language, and Pygmalion is probably his greatest masterpiece. To add songs and shift things about for music is to mess with the rhythm and timing of a master of his craft. You might as well update Mozart because "he needs more cowbell". Modify Beethoven's Ninth because it doesn't have a kazoo. The very idea of anyone "improving" on Pygmalion by altering it substantially is almost utterly laughable. To do that you'd have to be as great a playwright as Shaw himself, and there's only one man who can inarguably claim that crown.
2) The casting of the musical is just atrocious:
a) Hepburn is absolutely gorgeous, and a blind man could see that. Hell, a flaming homosexual could see that, and did*. One look at Hepburn "in the gutter" and you would KNOW she had no business being there. So she's horribly miscast, because there would never be any question you could turn her into a duchess.
b )Wendy Hiller, on the other hand, is absolutely perfect for the role, she is pretty, but not specacularly so, and "scrubs up well".
c) Rex Harrison had no clue how to play Higgins -- he portrayed him as a cold, emotionless fish.
d) In contrast, Howard understood Higgins perfectly -- he's a very passionate man, but he has directed all his passion into his love for language. When he meets, and changes, Eliza, she embodies, in human form, all that he loves of language and culture, and becomes his Pygmalion.
e) Even the lesser roles are cast so much better in the 1938 film -- Eliza's father, Freddy, Higgins' housekeeper, Colonel Pickering, Count Karpathy.
* Truman Capote
Well call me a blind man but I'll take Hiller over Hepburn and day of the week - and twice on Sundays. I've never understood the Hepburn fascination, but apparently the gay guys do so I'll leave her to them.
shareAgreed. What's more, Wendy Hiller had the remarkable talent of being able to appear plain or beautiful *as she chose*. This is really apparent in Separate Tables, here in Pygmalion, and in Major Barbara. No makeup or lighting change needed -- she can choose to appear to be unremarkable or bring out her extraordinary natural beauty, as the scene requires. It wasn't, as a poster above said, that she "scrubbed up well" -- her face was so expressive that she could make us glance over it, take a disinterested look, or do a double-take and swoon, all as she pleased, or rather the moment required.
Hepburn basically had one face, rather pretty but not animated -- a static painting, which we forgive because of the big eyes. She didn't have the tenth of the range of Wendy Hiller, though she was a good actress enough.
And another thing, Wendy Hiller had beautiful diction!
?
You think that Audrey Hepburn is only for gay guys?
LOL
You are a libtard.
I agree. Wendy Hiller is gorgeous and an incredible talent, which is why Shaw cast her in Saint Joan and Major Barbara in addition to Pygmalion. She had a long and distinguished career.
shareI enjoyed the acting in "Pygmalion" (Leslie Howard and Wendy Hiller) more than that of the actors in the musical version. "My Fair Lady" has an outstanding musical score and I can visualize where the songs broke in during the dialogue, etc., but Rex Harrison - Tony and Oscar winning actor for his stage and screen performance of Henry Higgins is no Leslie Howard.
Howard should have won the Oscar in 1938, but lost to Spencer Tracy (who won the second of his two consecutive Oscars, this time for "Boys Town") and Wendy Hiller was a very strong nominee as well, only to lose to Bette Davis in "Jezebel".
Wendy Hiller was also excellent in another film made a few years later co-starring Roger Livesey, "I Know Where I'm Going".
I'm amazed it took me this long to see this film. I've seen "MY FAIR LADY" 3 times. It's one of the few musicals where I love both the story and the music; usually I love one and hate the other. (Examples: "WEST SIDE STORY", I love the music but hate the story; "GUYS AND DOLLS", I love the story but can't remember a single song in it-- they just get in the way!)
The one thing that has always bothered me about "MY FAIR LADY" from the start was Audrey Hepburn. When I learned her singing had all been dubbed by someone else, that made it even worse. Then I happened to see a documentary on PBS about Broadway, which included 2 songs from the play. It brought tears to my eyes. Julie Andrews was SO MUCH BETTER!!! The next day, I bought the original cast CD. The studio were idiots for not having Julie Andrews in the film. (Then again, they didn't want Rex Harrison or Stanley Holloway either!)
It was fascinating to see pretty much the identical story, only without the songs. It certainly moves along much faster this way. And yes, I don't recall any mention in the musical of Eliza being brilliant when it comes to phonetics, which I did notice in the original film. I think it safe to say that both Higgins and Pickering are better in the original, as well as Wendy Hiller. (Until this, the only thing I'd ever seen her in was "MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS", as "Princess Dragomiroff".) But I did prefer Jeremy Brett as Freddy. He seemed believbably sympathetic. The Freddy in the '38 version is just too exagerated of a charicature. As someone said, "Upper Class Twit Of The Year".
I think Stanley Holloway also stood out more in the remake, particularly the scene where he's goin on about "I'm dyin' t' tell ya!" They also added a scene to the remake where Higgins is seen writing a letter about Doolittle, which sets up the surprise later on when Doolittle tells how his life has been "ruined".
If you are reading this: Well said. Hiller puts everyone else in the shade. No one I know has put done the role as well, certainly nothing photopgraphed. As for the character's quick ascension:made plausible by her father's like transformation. As Shaw intends us to think. Agree with all except the evaluation of Shaw. But I love his stuff, and charmed to learn he had a hand in the movie. "Pygmalian" was the first professional play performance I ever saw. That was almost sixty years ago.
sharei dont really like the musical version, i thought it was kind of boring, i just didnt really think it was great, to me it was like, i was suppose to like it because it was old, and audrey hepburn was in it, but i just didnt really,i think i would like this better
Much, much, MUCH better than the oh-so-boring My Fair Lady. That version is too long, too many songs, too much bad acting, just hate it on all levels. The only change I would make is improve Hiller's Caulkney.
shareThis version is miles ahead of my fair lady. and as dmacdonald3 said i can not understand this fascination over Audrey. moreover i think she overacted a bit whether it was because its a musical or she just couldn't act right i do not know and in one scene it is most apparent is when she is invited to prof. Higgins' mother's house. Hiller was super hilarious in that scene and very natural, while Audrey was like one of those "carry on.." movie character.
one trivia. guess who plays Freddy in MFL.. (clue- think of new Downey jr. movie)
I've just watched the musical version. It is about as moving as agricultural policy -- and about that believable. It is a colossal letdown after Pygmalion. To me, Eliza is Wendy Hiller and there can be no other. And whilst I might -- just -- imagine another actor playing Professor Higgins, it could only be by an identical performance to Leslie Howard's. Even good old Wilfrid Hyde-White was slightly ridiculous as Pickering in the musical film, but Scott Sunderland was perfect. And Mrs. Pearce and Mrs. Higgins both shine in their roles in Pygmalion, but they don't merit a second glance in My Fair Lady.
I don't really think you can top Pygmalion any more, because Shaw himself wrote the screenplay and worked with the actors and actresses. You might -- in a thousand years -- get such talent together again in the cast, but even then the best they could hope to achieve would be by copying every gesture and expression and inflection in Pygmalion. It's really a perfect picture.
I wouldn't exactly characterize the musical as boring. It's a musical, not a movie. And musicals, as a genre, fall into two basic categories for viewers: you either hate them or you love them. Lerner's lyrics are nothing short of brilliant, but if you're not a fan of musicals, you simply won't like this telling of the story.
As for Hepburn, she was cast in the role of Eliza because the studio wanted a big name. And although Julie Andrews had solidified the role on stage and was an obvious choice in the film, the producers didn't think she would be a big enough draw. In the end, the one glaring flaw in the musical was indeed Hepburn. She could not sing, and, as many have pointed out, she was unable to capture the inherent vulgarity of Eliza's character.
Harrison, on the other hand, was, I think, well-cast in the film. He had already garnered a Tony for his stage performance as Higgins, and for his portrayal of the callous, egomaniacal professor in the film, he was awarded an Oscar.
Harrison, on the other hand, was, I think, well-cast in the film. He had already garnered a Tony for his stage performance as Higgins, and for his portrayal of the callous, egomaniacal professor in the film, he was awarded an Oscar.
I've always liked My Fair Lady, but not loved it - its pretty long for a musical. I only just saw Pygmalion for the first time last week (well, I could say twice because I loved it so much I immediately watched it again!!!) - I immediately and absolutely fell in love with Pygmalion - I just thought it was so wonderful, clever - and funny! (i had no idea it would be so hilarious!) and I think the scenes between Leslie Howard and Wendy Hiller were far better than between Rex Harrison and Audrey Hepburn. I'm a big fan of both Hepburn (esp Roman Holiday) and Harrison (esp The Ghost and Mrs Muir) - and now I'm a great fan of Leslie Howard - (pity his films are so hard to find in Australia, save GWTW).
- but i was pleased to see a young Jeremy Brett in the musical version as Freddy (he's a brilliant Sherlock Holmes)
So I would definately vote for Pygmalion - just a wonderful wonderful film!!!
Do you have monkeys in Scotland?
~No, but if we did we'd probably deep fry them!
I like the musical of my fair lady very much...but not the film because Audrey Hepburns casting is fatal to its credibilty as several others have noted....I suspect the film would have been better with Julie Andrews, esp as it would have been her film debut and she would not have been familiar to audiences....(and at least Julie was English)That said, the film of Pygmalian was perfect, probably Leslie Howards best work on film, and a brilliant starmaking performance for Dame Wendy....
It is not our abilities that show who we truly are...it is our choices
The acting in this version especially of Howard, Hiller and Lawson is fantastic.
shareI had no idea that "My Fair Lady" was a remake of "Pygmalion." I had no idea what "Pygmalion" was even about! I had been told again and again to watch "My Fair Lady," by peers, friends, enemies, and even pop culture. One day I attempted to watch it -- My Fair Lady -- and two minutes into it I had to stop, mainly because of Audrey Hepburn's accent; it was odd, squeaky, like nails on a chalkboard. It vexed me terribly, and dissuaded me completely from going forth into a film bleeding with color, music and movie stars.
...but then I saw "Pygmalion," with Leslie Howard . . it had been on my list for many moons, and oh what a pleasant surprise. A truly nice, pleasant, intelligent film that just flows, solely focusing on the important, not dragging on, cohesive and with great dialogue and acting. Amazing. Absolutely glad I didn't watch "My Fair Lady," prior to watching this.
.;*We Live Inside A Dream*;.
Elisa's cockney accent was supposed to be irritating. Higgins describes it as a bilious pigeon, ear-piercing, detestable, and so on.
Although Hiller was fantastic in this movie, I could hardly find her accent irritating at all. Yes, Audrey's cockney was not right, but through MFL you see a transformation that includes the way she speaks into a more lady-like.
As much as I liked this movie, I found the reading of the book much more interesting. As for the acting that everyone is praising so much, at times I found it too soft and somewhat bland. The actor that played Freddy is a joke. He seems to be retarded.
I agree that Pygmalion is better-paced with generally better acting and directing, but I actually thought Hepburn's Eliza was much harsher and more vulgar than Hiller's Eliza in the beginning. As someone mentioned above, Hiller's cockney is hardly annoying or vulgar-sounding, and her transformation into a lady isn't as surprising. Her cockney is more convincing, but she doesn't come off as loud and vulgar as Hepburn. As a result, Hepburn's transformation is technically much more stunning than Hiller's, as the contrast between Hepburn's flower girl and lady performances is much more dramatic and profound.
shareI agree with this whole thread.
This movie really amazed me. It was so powerful and I agree, it showed that Eliza was intelligent from the start and was very talented at learning.
I watched My Fair lady two days after watching this version twice. I had watched My Fair Lady on several occasions before but for me it was always just some musical.
When I watched Pygmalion I was like "My George, I finally got it". After watching this movie, you realize how much less powerful My Fair Lady is when you THEN see My fair Lady again.