Tonight on 'Classic Film Days' you can see the musical comedy 'My Fair Lady', directed by George Cukor and starring Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison.
Linguist Henry Higgins meets Eliza Doolittle, a flower seller who speaks very vulgarly. Because of a bet with her friend Colonel Pickering, Higgins will have six months to teach the flower girl to speak English correctly and make her pass as a lady of high society.
1. The myth of Pygmalion: from the book, to the theater to the cinema
'My Fair Lady' is the film version of the play about the myth of Pygmalion, written by George Bernard Shaw in 1913. Before the film, the musical premiered on Broadway in 1956 with great success.
2. Julie Andrews was the protagonist in the musical, why not the movie?
Julie Andrews was the star of the musical on Broadway. However, she was not considered for the film adaptation. There are different theories about this: she was not pretty enough for Hollywood, she rejected the role or because, since the Warner studio paid five and a half million dollars to get the rights to the musical, she did not want a theater actress to play the role. film. Although Rex Harrison did repeat as Henry Higgins in the movies... What do you think happened? Finally, it was Audrey Hepburn who played Eliza Doolittle.
3. Winner at the Oscars
In 1964 'My Fair Lady' won eight Oscars, out of 12 nominations, including best film, director and actor. Rex Harrison dedicated it to his “twofair ladies”: Hepburn in film and Andrews in theater. Curiously, the best actress award went to Julie Andrews for 'Mary Poppins'.
4. Hepburn's voice was dubbed in the songs
Audrey Hepburn had worked to prepare her voice to be able to record the songs for this musical comedy. However, the producer, Jack L. Warner, preferred that her voice be dubbed. Marni Nixon was in charge of providing vocals on the songs of 'My Fair Lady'. The actress assured that she would not have agreed to play Eliza Doolitle if she had known.
5. The title "My Fair Lady" is not named in the film
The musical was going to be called 'Lady Liza' but Rex Harrison was not happy that the name was based on the female lead Eliza Doolittle. The title “My Fair Lady” was taken from the children's song "London Bridge Is Falling Down" but it does not appear in the musical and is not quoted in the film!
