My Fair Lady

In 1913, the stage play Pygmalion was released to the world. This play, written for the stage by George Bernard Shaw, was popular enough that more than twenty years later it was adapted into a feature film of the same name. Then, in 1956, it was reimagined for the stage again, this time as a musical and retitled My Fair Lady. That version became a starring vehicle for up-and-coming actress Julia Andrews, who played the lead role of Eliza Doolittle. In 1964, a film version of that musical was released, without Andrews. It seems that Warner Bros. felt that such a big-scale motion picture couldn’t afford to entrust the lead role to a relative unknown. Instead, they chose to go with a star with marquee value: Audrey Hepburn.

Audrey didn’t have musical training, though, and she was aware that this film would require a lot of singing. She engaged a tutor to try and strengthen her voice and prepare her for the difficult role. The end result was that Warner Bros. had to hire a singer to perform most of the songs while Audrey simply lip-synced them. Audrey feared that she would receive backlash for stepping into the role that deservedly belonged to Julie Andrews, and there was some of that. But the final result ended up being a triumph for the studio as the film was a financial success and ran away at the Oscars. Julie Andrews, on the other hand, didn’t come away empty-handed. By not being in the film My Fair Lady, it left her open to accepting the role of Mary Poppins from Disney, a role that won her the Best Actress Oscar, whereas Audrey wasn’t even nominated. 

The plot is identical to that of Pygmalion. In London, Eliza Doolittle (Audrey Hepburn) is selling flowers on a street corner when she is overheard by Professor Henry Higgins (Rex Harrison). Henry, a scholar of phonetics, believes that a person’s accent determines their place in society. He listens to Eliza, with her strong Cockney accent, and takes notes. When he is caught, believed to be a detective, Eliza protests, insisting she has done nothing wrong. Colonel Pickering (Wilfrid Hyde-White), himself a phonetics expert, steps in, delighted to make the acquaintance of Higgins; in fact, he has just traveled from India to meet him. Higgins boasts that he could teach Eliza proper English so successfully that she could pass as a duchess at an upcoming embassy ball. 

Eliza wants to better herself by working in a flower shop, but her strong accent prevents that. So, the following morning, she shows up at Higgins’ home, seeking lessons. Higgins is at first dismissive of her until Pickering offers him a wager: if he can make good on his earlier boast, Pickering will pay for the lessons. Higgins agrees to the wager. Thus begins a long and grueling series of treatments, designed to purge Eliza of every trace of her Cockney accent. Eliza struggles but eventually starts to make progress. 

As a trial run, Higgins takes her to the Ascot Racecourse, where she makes a good impression at first. But the excitement of the race and her inexperience in this world cause her to break character while cheering on one of the horses. While there, she meets Freddy Eynsford-Hill (Jeremy Brett), a handsome young man who becomes infatuated with her. 

More treatments follow, threatening Eliza’s tolerance as Higgins brutally pushes her to improve every last syllable to the point of it coming off naturally. Eliza attends the ball where all her hard work pays off, and she is even able to fool a former student of Higgins who has since become an expert on phonetics in his own right. Higgins and Pickering celebrate afterwards, neglecting to recognize Eliza’s hard work in the process. This incenses Eliza, who runs away, fearing that now that she is a proper lady, she no longer is good for anything but getting married. Henry, who refuses to admit to himself that he is developing feelings for her, lets her go, angrily complaining that women are not as reasonable and sensible as men, especially men like him. 

My Fair Lady keeps the same polarizing ending that Pygmalion had. Some people felt that Eliza should have gone off with Freddy; after all, he was in love with her and could provide her with a good life. Unlike the same character in Pygmalion, Freddy is presented as a solid gentleman; he’s a bit of a dope in the earlier film. This change makes Eliza’s decision to return to Higgins feel less understandable. On top of that, unlike Leslie Howard, Rex comes across far older compared to Audrey (although their age difference is actually comparable to that of Howard and Heller). This is both in his physical appearance and the way he carries himself. He’s also far more stern than Howard’s interpretation of the character. It makes his transformation less believable. Rex Harrison never feels like the right man for her, making this ending somewhat frustrating. 

This film has some sharp observations to make about Britain’s obsession with class distinction. While Eliza may have been poor, selling flowers on the street for a few schillings, she at least could earn a living. Once she has been transformed by Higgins, her only prospect is to find a good man to take care of her. “I sold flowers; I didn’t sell myself. Now you’ve made a lady of me, I’m not fit to sell anything else.” These simple words say all you need to know about the way society views women at this time and place.

Audrey Hepburn is simply delightful to watch as Eliza Doolittle. She was the only one of the principal cast not to receive an Oscar nomination, though. This could be speculated as a response to her having to be dubbed for most of the songs. It certainly isn’t her acting; she commands the stage whenever she is on screen. She is equally as good both with the Cockney accent and later when she is slowly eliminating it. She is best when transitioning it as you can see her actively sounding out the words as she says them rather than it coming more naturally as it does later. 

Audrey is considered a national treasure, one of the brightest stars in Hollywood. This is one of her finest performances and it is deserving of praise. She got accolades from the Golden Globes, the New York Film Critics, and a few others, but not the Academy Awards. A friend of mine who specializes in the Academy Awards would say “maybe she came in 6th place,” meaning perhaps she might have barely missed the ballot. We’ll never know if it was a snub because of the songs or if those who vote found five others they felt were more deserving. 

My Fair Lady is charming, filled with some truly amazing songs, and holds up after more than sixty years. It is amongst the best of musical films from the second golden age of Hollywood. Its biggest weakness, aside from my aforementioned dislike for Rex Harrison in the film, is its length. This story was much more economical in Pygmalion, where it played out in about ninety minutes. At nearly three hours, it’s just a bit too long. This is a faithful adaptation of the stage play, which is why it runs as long as it does. As a film, the showstoppers, as good as they are, don’t hit quite as well, and it slows things down far too often. Still, this is an amazing picture overall and deserves to be lauded.

Academy Award Nominations:

Best Picture: Jack L. Warner (won)

Best Director: George Cukor (won)

Best Actor: Rex Harrison (won)

Best Supporting Actor: Stanley Holloway

Best Supporting Actress: Gladys Cooper

Best Screenplay - Based on Material from Another Medium: Alan Jay Lerner

Best Art Direction - Color: Gene Allen, Cecil Beaton, and George James Hopkins (won)

Best Cinematography - Color: Harry Stradling (won)

Best Costume Design - Color: Cecil Beaton (won)

Best Film Editing: William Ziegler

Best Scoring of Music - Adaptation or Treatment: André Previn (won)

Best Sound: George R. Groves (won)

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Release Date: October 21, 1964

Running Time: 173 Minutes

Not Rated

Starring: Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison, Stanley Holloway, Wilfred Hyde-White, Gladys Cooper, Jeremy Brett, and Theodore Bikel

Directed by: George Cukor