I thought Rex Harrison notoriously couldn't -- or wouldn't -- sing; is he dubbed here? (And why choose to cast him as a singer, of all professions? After all, for the purposes of the plot, the character could equally well have been a pier-end juggler, or any other down-at-heel and faintly comic entertainer...)
~~Igenlode, who has the original cast recording of "My Fair Lady"
Gather round, lads and lasses, gather round...
Well, he wasn't exactly a singer--the singing was a front to protect Anna's father. And I believe Anna even makes a crack at his bad singing. That said, I too was surprised to see Harrison singing. I wonder if he was dubbed. *mystery*
I proclaim ignorance.
Many years ago, I was in the audience at The National Flim Theatre, London for an interview with Sir Rex Harrison and the excerpt with Harrison singing was shown. He confirmed that it was his voice and not dubbed.
As for My Fair Lady, Harrison lacked confidence in his singing abilities, especially with such literary source material, and decided to "singspeak".
I was delighted to see Rex H. sing in this (the film was TV'ised last week on British TV). I had no idea he could sing at all, after watching 'My Fair Lady'! What a treat to hear a not-so-bad-after-all voice!
~ by SceneByScene ~
I really got a kick out of seeing and hearing him sing!!
Whomever it was that came up with the idea to have him hawk sheet music on the boardwalk was a genius!