My Fair Lady (1964)
Average Rating: 8.1/10
Reviews Counted: 40
Fresh: 38 | Rotten: 2
Fans of the play may miss Julie Andrews in the starring role -- particularly when Marni Nixon's singing comes out of Audrey Hepburn's mouth -- but the film's charm is undeniable.
Average Rating: 8/10
Critic Reviews: 9
Fresh: 8 | Rotten: 1
Fans of the play may miss Julie Andrews in the starring role -- particularly when Marni Nixon's singing comes out of Audrey Hepburn's mouth -- but the film's charm is undeniable.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.7/5
User Ratings: 166,248
My Rating
Movie Info
At one time the longest-running Broadway musical, My Fair Lady was adapted by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe from the George Bernard Shaw comedy Pygmalion. Outside Covent Garden on a rainy evening in 1912, dishevelled cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle (Audrey Hepburn) meets linguistic expert Henry Higgins (Rex Harrison). After delivering a musical tirade against "verbal class distinction," Higgins tells his companion Colonel Pickering (Wilfred Hyde-White) that, within six months, he could
Dec 25, 1964 Wide
Aug 5, 2003
Warner Bros. Pictures
Cast
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Audrey Hepburn
Eliza Doolittle -
Rex Harrison
Prof. Henry Higgins -
Stanley Holloway
Alfred P. Doolittle -
Wilfrid Hyde-White
Col. Pickering -
Gladys Cooper
Mrs. Higgins -
Jeremy Brett
Freddy Eynsford-Hill -
Theodore Bikel
Zoltan Karpathy -
Mona Washbourne
Mrs. Pearce -
John Holland
Butler -
John Alderson
Jamie -
Frank Baker
Elegant Bystander -
William Beckley
Footman -
Marjorie Bennett
Cockney with Pipe -
Oscar Beregi Sr.
Greek Ambassador -
Betty Blythe
Ad Lib at Ball -
Walter Burke
Main Bystander -
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Maurice Dallimore
Selsey Man -
Henry Daniell
Gregor of Transylvania -
Roy Dean
Footman -
Brendan Dillon
Leaning Man -
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Isobel Elsom
Mrs. Eynsford-Hill -
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Sam Harris
Guest at Ball -
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Lillian Kemble-Cooper
Lady Ambassador -
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Alma Lawton
Flower Girl -
Queenie Leonard
Cockney Bystander -
Moyna MacGill
Lady Boxington -
Laurie Main
Hoxton Man -
Owen McGiveney
Man at Coffee Stand -
John McLiam
Harry -
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John Mitchum
Ad Libs at Church -
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Alan Napier
Ambassador -
Marni Nixon
Eliza [singing] -
Pat O'Moore
Man -
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Barbara Pepper
Doolittle's Dance Partn... -
Hilda Plowright
Bystander -
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Victor Rogers
Policeman -
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Bill Shirley
Freddy [singing] -
Geoffrey Steele
Taxi Driver -
Grady Sutton
Dancer at Ball -
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Gwendolyn Watts
Cook -
Ron Whelan
Algernon/Bartender -
Ben Wright
Footman at Ball -
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Diana Bourbon
Ascot Type -
Colin Campbell
Ascot Gavotte -
Nick Navarro
Dancer -
Michael St. Clair
Bartender -
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David Robel
Cockney -
Ayllene Gibbons
Fat Woman at Pub -
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Allyson Daniell
Ad Libs at Ascot -
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Jack Greening
George -
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James O'Hara
Costermonger -
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All Critics (40) | Top Critics (9) | Fresh (42) | Rotten (3) | DVD (25)
Despite all reservations expressed, I must make clear that his fantastically successful show has been converted into a generally entertaining film.
Top CriticA marvelous restoration of the 30-year-old musical, precisely the kind of high-class popular entertainment that Hollywood can't seem to make these days.
A stunningly effective screen entertainment.
Lerner and Loewe's musical masterwork, reimagined for film by director George Cukor.
Hepburn is clearly awkward as the Cockney Eliza in the first half, and in general the adaptation is a little too reverential to really come alive.
All things considered, it is the brilliance of Miss Hepburn as the Cockney waif who is transformed by Prof. Henry Higgins into an elegant female facade that gives an extra touch of subtle magic and individuality to the film.
Even if the story is quite simple, the film, as directed by the legendary George Cukor, achieves various levels of depth, particularly because of the way in which he turns it into a keen gender study.
Stylised and stylish, there's something gloriously timeless about My Fair Lady.
Well made musical, with more personal Cukor style and themes than is sometimes realized.
A wonderfully stylish and witty movie classic.
An elegant musical with some top class tunes -- the last of a dying breed of big-buck productions.
One of Hollywood's best musicals.
This remains one of [Hepburn] best-loved roles.
Audrey Hepburn's dramatic transformation makes My Fair Lady an entertaining musical experience.
Superb rendering of stage musical with stellar cast and production.
Cukor's screen version is classy in the positive and negative sense of this term: Lavish and elegant but also bloated, overlong, and theatrical.
The last great musical of classical era. Marni Nixon is brilliant.
Audience Reviews for My Fair Lady
Super Reviewer
Rex Harrison is Professor Henry Higgins, a wealthy, cultured, and highly educated lphoneticist who makes a bet with his colleague Colonel Pickering (Wilfrid Hyde-White) that he can take an uncouth cockney flower girl (Audrey Hepburn) and transform her into a duchess by the time the Embassy Ball comes around. It's a tale as old as time, but a quite endearing one nonetheless, especially since several more versions have been filmed since this one, namely Pretty Woman and She's All That.
This particular telling of the story though is one that's quite special. It's rightly regarded as a classic, and one of the best musicals ever. I won't disagree. The music is great, as is the singing ,even though Harrison mostly talk-sings, and Hepburn got dubbed over by someone else. Now that's I've finally seen this version, I'm able to see yet another musical that has been quite influential on Seth MacFarlane, mostly with his show Family Guy. Not only did they make an episode that's a nonmusical remake of this film's presence, but Rex Harrison (his appearance, voice, and mannerisms) is one of the primary influences on the character of Stewie.
The story evolves as you think it might, with there being lots of ups and downs, trials and tribulations, and some successes as well as missteps. For the longest time though, the film prrogresses in a rather realistic way by starting to end rather bittersweetly instead of a sappy romantic happy ending. However, shades of this latter ending do start to rear their head, but not enough so to make me totally angry or derail things. Also, while a lot of the music is good, it's not all great, so these reasons are mainly why I'm giving such an otherwise extremely great and well made film a half star less than perfect.
Could the film be better? Sure. But not by much, As it stands, this is a very fun movie that's far more enjoyable and engaging than the premise might make it seem. The performances are iconic, the sets and costumes stunning, and the tunes are pretty memorable. Give this one a go. It definitely lives up to its reputation.
Super Reviewer
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- Eliza Doolittle: The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain!
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- Prof. Henry Higgins: [singing] Women are irrational, that's all there is to that! Their heads are full of cotton, hay, and rags. They're nothing but exasperating, irritating, vacillating, calculating, agitating, maddening and infuriating hags!
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- Eliza Doolittle: Come on Dover, move your blumin' arse!
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- Eliza Doolittle: I washed my hands and face before I come I did.
- Prof. Henry Higgins: [elated] ...Eliza? ... Where the devil are my slippers?
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- Prof. Henry Higgins: But I'm used to hear say, 'Good morning' everyday. Her joys, her woes, her highs, her lows. A second nature to me now. Like breathing out and breathing in. I'm very grateful she's a woman! And so easy to forget. Rather like a habit one can always break! And yet, I've grown accustomed to the trace of something in the air. Accustomed to her... face.
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- Eliza Doolittle: Well, you have my voice on your gramophone. When you feel lonely without me you can turn it on. It has no feelings to hurt.
- Prof. Henry Higgins: ...I can't turn your soul on.
Discussion Forum
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Latest News on My Fair Lady
February 4, 2010:
Five Favourite Films with Anika Noni RoseIt's been a busy few years for Anika Noni Rose. After starting her career in the Broadway musical...
December 1, 2009:
John Madden Courts My Fair LadyIf all goes according to plan, John Madden will become the latest director attached to Columbia...
June 6, 2008:
Knightley Is Columbia's New Fair LadyKeira Knightley is in talks to star in a remake of My Fair Lady for Columbia Pictures.
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Foreign Titles
- My Fair Lady (DE)
- My Fair Lady (1964) (UK)
