Pygmalion (1938)

Directors:

Anthony Asquith
Leslie Howard

Writers:

George Bernard Shaw (play)
George Bernard Shaw (scenario and dialogue)
(more)

Release Date:

3 March 1939 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

He picked up a girl from the gutter - and changed her into a glamorous society butterfly ! . . . See Wendy Hiller, new star discovery, in this amazing role !

Plot:

Shaw's play in which a Victorian dialect expert bets that he can teach a lower-class girl to speak proper English and thus be taken for a lady.

Plot Keywords:

Bet | Gutter | Flowers | Language | English

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 2 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Leslie Howard	...	Professor Henry Higgins
Wendy Hiller	...	Eliza Doolittle
Wilfrid Lawson	...	Alfred Doolittle
Marie Lohr	...	Mrs. Higgins
Scott Sunderland	...	Colonel George Pickering
Jean Cadell	...	Mrs. Pearce
David Tree	...	Freddy Eynsford-Hill
Everley Gregg	...	Mrs. Eynsford-Hill
Leueen MacGrath	...	Clara Eynsford Hill
Esme Percy	...	Count Aristid Karpathy
Violet Vanbrugh	...	Ambassadress
Iris Hoey	...	Ysabel, Social Reporter
Viola Tree	...	Perfide, Social Reporter
Irene Browne	...	Duchess (as Irene Brown)
Kate Cutler	...	Grand Old Lady
Cathleen Nesbitt	...	Old Lady (as Kathleen Nesbitt)
O.B. Clarence	...	Mr. Birchwood, the Vicar
Wally Patch	...	First Bystander
H.F. Maltby	...	Second Bystander
George Mozart	...	Third Bystander
Ivor Barnard	...	Sarcastic Bystander
Cecil Trouncer	...	First Policeman
Stephen Murray	...	Second Policeman
Eileen Beldon	...	Mrs' Higgins Parlormaid
Frank Atkinson	...	Taxi Driver
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Leo Genn	...	Prince (uncredited)
Moyna MacGill	...	Woman Bystander (uncredited)
Patrick Macnee	...	Extra (uncredited)
Anthony Quayle	...	Eliza's Hairdresser (uncredited)

Directed by
Anthony Asquith
Leslie Howard

Writing credits
George Bernard Shaw		(play) (as Bernard Shaw)
George Bernard Shaw		(scenario and dialogue) (as Bernard Shaw)
W.P. Lipscomb		(scenario) and
Cecil Lewis		(scenario)
Ian Dalrymple		uncredited and
Anatole de Grunwald		uncredited
Kay Walsh		additional dialogue (uncredited)

Produced by
Gabriel Pascal	....	producer

Original Music by
Arthur Honegger

Cinematography by
Harry Stradling Sr.		(as Harry Stradling)

Film Editing by
David Lean

Art Direction by
John Bryan

Costume Design by
Ladislaw Czettel		(as Professor L. Czettel)
Schiaparelli		(uncredited)
Worth		(uncredited)

Production Management
Phil C. Samuel	....	production manager (as Phil G. Samuel)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Teddy Baird	....	assistant director

Art Department
Laurence Irving	....	set designer
Baden Siddall	....	property buyer (uncredited)

Sound Department
Sash Fisher	....	sound recordist (as Alex Fisher)

Camera and Electrical Department
Jack Hildyard	....	camera operator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Madeleine Godar	....	wardrobe (uncredited)

Music Department
Louis Levy	....	conductor
William Axt	....	composer: additional music (US release ) (uncredited)

Other crew
Hazel Wilkinson	....	continuity (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Gabriel Pascal Productions

Distributors

• General Film Distributors (GFD) (1938) (UK) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1938) (USA) (theatrical)
• Ellis Films (1949) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Lloyd-Filmverleih (1949) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Embassy Home Entertainment (1987) (USA) (VHS)
• Hollywood Classics (1995) (USA) (VHS)
• Home Vision Entertainment (HVE) (1995) (USA) (VHS)
• Monterey Home Video (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Continental Home Vídeo (Brazil) (DVD)
• Epoca (????) (Argentina) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Worth and Schiaparelli  dresses

Also Known As:

Runtime:

96 min | USA:89 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Wide Range System)

Certification:

Canada:G (Ontario) | South Korea:12 | West Germany:6 | UK:U (DVD rating) | USA:Not Rated | Portugal:M/6 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | USA:Approved (PCA #4845)

Filming Locations:

Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Gabriel Pascal Productions

Trivia:

George Bernard Shaw's original play opened in London on 11 April 1914.

Quotes:

Prof. Henry Higgins:Heaven help the master who is judged by his disciples.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Broadway: The American Musical: Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin': 1943-1960 (#1.4)" (2004)

A Delightful Movie With Outstanding Performances

Professor Henry Higgins (Lesley Howard) is an arrogant bachelor professor of phonetics who bets with his rich friend Colonel George Pickering (Scott Sunderland) that he is able to transform the cockney accent of the simple low class seller of flowers Eliza Doolittle (Wendy Hiller) in a British accent that would make high class people believe that she is a duchess. This story is one of the most delightful in the cinema history. Based on a book of Bernard Shaw, this was the first time I watched this 1938 version, and I found it marvelous. The cast has an outstanding performance. I am Brazilian, but it seems to me that the cockney pronunciation of Wendy Hiller is perfect. I intend to watch today again `My Fair Lady', a musical and fancy version of this story for comparison. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): `Pigmalião' (`Pygmalion')