My Fair Lady (1964)

A snobbish phonetics professor agrees to a wager that he can take a flower girl and make her presentable in high society.

Director:

George Cukor

Writers:

Alan Jay Lerner (book), George Bernard Shaw (from a play by) (as Bernard Shaw)

Stars:

Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison, Stanley Holloway

Won 8 Oscars. Another 16 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Audrey Hepburn	...	Eliza Doolittle
Rex Harrison	...	Professor Henry Higgins
Stanley Holloway	...	Alfred P. Doolittle
Wilfrid Hyde-White	...	Colonel Hugh Pickering
Gladys Cooper	...	Mrs. Higgins
Jeremy Brett	...	Freddy Eynsford-Hill
Theodore Bikel	...	Zoltan Karpathy
Mona Washbourne	...	Mrs. Pearce
Isobel Elsom	...	Mrs. Eynsford-Hill
John Holland	...	Butler

Storyline

Pompous phonetics professor Henry Higgins 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, who agrees to speech lessons to improve her job prospects. Higgins and Eliza clash, then form an unlikely bond -- one that is threatened by an aristocratic suitor.

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Plot Keywords:

remake | king george v character | afi | professor | flower girl | 

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Taglines:

The most loverly motion picture event of all!

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Genres:

Drama | Family | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 December 1964 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mi bella dama

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$17,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$72,000,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

170 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (35mm Mag-optical) Stereo (1964 Reissue) (Stereo)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

After screening the rough cut, Jack L. Warner, who had not wanted to cast Rex Harrison, rose in silence, turned to the actor and bowed.

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Goofs

As Eliza collects coins from the ground just before the "Wouldn't It Be Loverly" number, a man in the background standing on a cart calls out, "You're no Eastender, kid! We've got a bloomin' heiress in our midst." There's an odd extra syllable between the two lines, which explained by the subtitles (on the 1998 DVD release); these read, "Shouldn't we stand up, gentlemen? We've got a bloomin' heiress in our midst." Presumably the subtitles are based on the original script and/or dialogue track, and the first sentence was spliced out for the final release, in favor of the "You're no Eastender, kid!" line.

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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".

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Connections

Referenced in Honey West: Don't Look Now, But Isn't That Me (1966)

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Soundtracks

I Could Have Danced All Night
(1956) (uncredited)
Music by Frederick Loewe
Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner
Music played during the opening credits
Performed by Audrey Hepburn (partially dubbed by Marni Nixon), Mona Washbourne, and chambermaids

User Reviews

A Loverly Film!

My Fair Lady is a musical which is very witty. The dialogue is wonderful. The story begins as Henry Higgins (Rex Harrison) makes a bet that he can transform flower girl Eliza Dolittle (Audrey Hepburn) into a high society lady. Henry Higgins is the perfect example of high society snobbery of the times. What he wasn't counting on was falling in love with his "project". Some people may find this film to be sexist but it is really quite the opposite. While it is about a sexist person it is not actually sexist at all. In fact it is all about the irony in the relationship between that of Eliza Dolittle and Henry Higgins. It is not unbelievable that Henry and Eliza should fall in love because they are not "compatible". Opposites often attract after all. Even though there is an anti-romantic disclaimer in the original play Pygmalion , it is obvious that Eliza and Higgins are meant for one another in the end of My Fair Lady. My Fair Lady is really different from Pygmalion. There is a movie version of Pygmalion which is the dull non-musical version of My Fair Lady. Rex Harrison is simply wonderful as Henry Higgins. He is not one bit tired with his role. And even though Julie Andrews originated the role of Eliza on Broadway, Audrey Hepburn is great in the role. It would be unfair to say that she didn't deserve the role just because her voice was dubbed. The supporting cast is first rate as well. This film is more than just good, it is great. If you have not seen it yet you certainly should!

*****/ ***** stars