Pompous phonetics Professor Henry Higgins (Sir Rex Harrison) is so sure of his abilities that he takes it upon himself to transform a Cockney working-class girl into someone who can pass for a cultured member of high society. His subject turns out to be the lovely Eliza Doolittle (Audrey Hepburn), who agrees to speech lessons to improve her job prospects. Higgins and Eliza clash, then form an unlikely bond, one that is threatened by aristocratic suitor Freddy Eynsford-Hill (Jeremy Brett).Written by
Jwelch5742
As an English gentleman, Freddie would not say or sing "ON the street where you live". English people say "IN the street". See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
[sounds from crowd, occasionally a word or phrase, indistinct and mostly not associated with a character]
Mrs. Eynsford-Hill:
Don't just stand there, Freddy, go and find a cab.
Freddy Eynsford-Hill:
All right, I'll get it, I'll get it.
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Crazy Credits
In the posters, playbills and the original cast album for the stage version of "My Fair Lady", the credits always read "based on Bernard Shaw's 'Pygmalion' ", letting the audience know what play "My Fair Lady" was actually adapted from. The movie credits simply read "from a play by Bernard Shaw". See more »
Alternate Versions
In the remastered version of the film, some of the scene changes are changed from sudden cuts to wipe outs, as they probably were when the film was released. When CBS Fox released it on video originally, they were changed to sudden cuts. See more »
There have been numerous recordings of this musical from the days of Julie Andrews through Kiri te Kanawa and many others. But Marni Nixon's singing in the film is superb. Audrey Hepburn looks the part. Rex Harrison and Stanley Holloway leave their defining performances of Higgins and Doolittle for us to enjoy, the supporting cast are fine - Gladys Cooper, Jeremy Brett, Mona Washbourne, Theodore Bikel and the incomparable Wilfred Hyde-White. Cecil Beaton's designs bring the screen to life and in the newly restored version it looks 'loverly'. One of the best musicals ever, certainly along with West Side Story and Oliver! the cream of the 1960s.
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There have been numerous recordings of this musical from the days of Julie Andrews through Kiri te Kanawa and many others. But Marni Nixon's singing in the film is superb. Audrey Hepburn looks the part. Rex Harrison and Stanley Holloway leave their defining performances of Higgins and Doolittle for us to enjoy, the supporting cast are fine - Gladys Cooper, Jeremy Brett, Mona Washbourne, Theodore Bikel and the incomparable Wilfred Hyde-White. Cecil Beaton's designs bring the screen to life and in the newly restored version it looks 'loverly'. One of the best musicals ever, certainly along with West Side Story and Oliver! the cream of the 1960s.