Movies:
Pygmalion
DVD Release
- Release Date: 2000
- Rating:
- Genre: Comedy
- Movie Type: Romantic Comedy, Comedy of Manners
- Themes: Culture Clash, Opposites Attract, Mentors
- Director: Anthony Asquith
- Main Cast: Wendy Hiller, Leslie Howard, Wilfred Lawson, Marie Lohr, Scott Sunderland
- Release Year: 1938
- Country: UK
- Run Time: 96 minutes
Plot
Leslie Howard and Wendy Hiller star in Anthony Asquith's and Leslie Howard's classic version of George Bernard Shaw's satiric comedy. Henry Higgins (Howard) is an upper class phonetics professor who encounters low-class guttersnipe Eliza Doolittle (Hiller) and bets his friend Colonel Pickering (Scott Sunderland) that he can pass her off as a duchess within three months. Pickering accepts Higgins' bet, with Eliza readily agreeing to the proposal, since she will get to live in Higgins' fancy home. Once in Higgins' house, Eliza is subjected to intensely repetitive phonetics lessons in an effort to transform her Cockney accent into the speech of proper English. Things are a bit rocky at first, with Eliza blurting out "Not bloody likely" at a tea party. But when Eliza is presented at the Ambassador's Ball, she is not only accepted as a princess but is the talk of the ball, everyone in attendance commenting on her charm, beauty, and poise. Relishing his success, Higgins abruptly dismisses her. But Eliza has fallen in love with Higgins and is aghast at her cursory treatment by him. She tells him, "I sold flowers. I didn't sell myself. Now you've made a lady of me, I'm not fit to sell anything else." When Eliza leaves, Higgins realizes that he loves her too, but Eliza has announced to Higgins that she plans to marry high society playboy Freddie Eynsford-Hill (David Tree). ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie GuideReview
One of George Bernard Shaw's most popular and durable plays concerns the stuffy British professor of phonetics who, on a bet, tries to transform a flower girls' speaking style from lower-class Cockney to proper English, with all it implies. Pygmalion was first filmed in Great Britain in 1938 and became an instant classic. Featuring well-pitched performances from Leslie Howard and Wendy Hiller in the lead roles, this Anthony Asquith film has the exquisite timing and tenor of a sophisticated comedy of manners. Barely concealed beneath the story is a devastating satire of British class pretensions. This material was adapted as the musical My Fair Lady in the 1950s and the film of the same name in 1964. It also inspired numerous imitatations, such as Educating Rita. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie GuideCast
- Wendy Hiller - Eliza Doolittle
- Leslie Howard - Prof. Henry Higgins
- Wilfred Lawson - Alfred Doolittle
- Marie Lohr - Mrs. Higgins
- Scott Sunderland - Col. Pickering
Jean Cadell - Mrs. Pearce; David Tree - Freddy Eynsford-Hill; Violet Vanbrugh - Ambassadress; Iris Hoey - Ysabel; Viola Tree - Perfide; Cathleen Nesbitt - Old Lady; O.B. Clarence - Vicar; Esme Percy - Count Aristid Karpathy; Frank Atkinson; Ivor Barnard - Bystander; Irene Browne - Duchess; Kate Cutler - Grand old lady; Leo Genn; Everley Gregg - Mrs. Eynsford Hill; Leucen MacGrath - Clara Eynsford-Hill; George Mozart; Stephen Murray - Police Constable; Wally Patch - Bystander; Anthony Quayle - French Hairdresser; H.F. Maltby - Bystander; Cecil Trouncer - 1st Policeman
