My Fair Lady.

Review #1416: My Fair Lady.

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), and John Holland (The Butler) Directed by George Cukor (#479 - Travels with My Aunt, #974 - A Star is Born (1954), and #1355 - The Philadelphia Story)

Review:
"She is a truly romantic creature. She doesn't just profess good manners--she is really well mannered at all times. She is not driven in her career but she gives full value and she is never indifferent."

If you watch enough musicals, they may eventually seem all too alike from each other. However, if you encounter one with elegance and charm, it certainly will stick in your mind as one for the ages. In an age of musicals and big-scale productions, My Fair Lady certainly belongs in the discussion as one of those classic musical epics. It was adapted by Alan Jay Lerner from the stage musical of the same name that was done by him and Frederick Loewe in 1956 that was based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 stage play Pygmalion (with one notable difference between the two being its ending, since Shaw strenuously argued against Eliza coming back to Higgins). The original Broadway and West End productions featured Harrison and Julie Andrews in the star roles (with the former winning a Tony Award for his performance), and there have been numerous revivals (with the most recent being in 2019) over the years. When it came time for Warner Brothers to do a film adaptation (after buying the rights to it for over $5 million), Jack L. Warner decided to personally oversee the production himself, and it was he who decided that the lead role was to be played by a star (in this case, Academy and Tony Award winner and fashion icon Audrey Hepburn), as opposed to Andrews. Even if Hepburn had rejected the part, it would have gone to another big star before Andrews (one named floated was apparently Elizabeth Taylor). Hepburn would have most of her vocals dubbed by Mami Nixon (vocal singer for films such as An Affair to Remember (1957) and West Side Story (1961)), however, despite training with a vocal coach and musical director Andre Previn before shooting (the same would be done for Brett by Bill Shirley). Harrison, famed English actor of stage and screen, would reprise his role (after rejections from Cary Grant and Peter O'Toole), doing so while having a wireless microphone on him to do his musical numbers (as opposed to pre-recording them, which he felt he could not do convincingly for his particular range), which was innovative for the time; Holloway and costume designer Cecil Beaton would also be retained for the film.

Made on a budget of over $17 million (with primary filming on soundstages, much to Lerner's disappointment), this is a film of tremendous style and passion, rumbling through 170 minutes with spirit from its main group of actors that make a ravishing experience. One finds plenty of interest in the numerous songs that are catchy and endearing. Regardless of the dubbing, Hepburn pulls in a tremendous performance, convincing with her evolution to dignity and elegance that generates a few smiles and interest no matter what she is doing, whether that means being insulted while trying to sell flowers on the street with an accent or being at an embassy ball and looking the part of a princess.  One cares about her struggles with getting a "proper" accent, as one could expect from such a dignified actress. Harrison proves his own with a strait laced performance, filled with confident bravado that talks his way through songs with capability and a bit of wit to go alongside everything. They together make for a compelling duo to watch interact with each other, both brimming with confidence that we grow accustomed instantly. Holloway accompanies the action at times with charm befitting someone on the corner selling you some wit. Hyde-White lends a straight hand to Harrison when needed, while Cooper gives off sharp noble air and Brett gives off a capably insipid performance to round out the cast. Cukor, who grew up around the theater, executes the film with conviction and interest to make everything resonate with interesting tunes and a story worth being involved with. When it came time for awards, Cukor, Warner and Harrison reaped an Academy Award each, and the film won awards for its cinematography, sound, score, and art + costume design. One can debate the merits between this beating Mary Poppins for Best Picture, but its title star (Andrews) would reap the benefits of being snubbed for this film while Hepburn didn't get a nomination. Regardless of that, this is a classic big-scale musical in an age where the tide was slowly turning away from such things, a great hurrah with everything seeming right at home here, where pace and spectacle go hand in hand with each other in the fairest of senses.

Overall, I give it 10 out of 10 stars.