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22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
PYGMALION FINDS HIS GALATEA..., May 12, 2005
This superlative, award winning film adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's play is as delightful today as when it was first filmed, nearly sixty-five years ago. This ageless story is based upon Greek mythology in which an ivory statue of a maiden, Galatea, is brought to life by the prayers of its sculptor, Pygmalion. In the film, a professor of linguistics, Henry Higgins (Leslie Howard), takes a cockney flower seller, Eliza Doolittle (Wendy Hiller), and bets that, within a matter of six months, he can turn her into a lady who can pass in high society without betraying her lowly origins.
Leslie Howard, wonderful in the role, is the quintessential Henry Higgins, playing him as an arrogant, aristocratic misogynist whose own mother (Marie Lohr) barely finds him tolerable. Henry makes his bet about his prospective success with Eliza with his friend, the kindly Col. George Pickering (Scott Sunderland), a wealthy gentleman who bankrolls the costs of Eliza's transformation from guttersnipe to royal pretender.
Wendy Hiller is perfectly cast in the role of Eliza, having a certain earthiness about her, which makes her so believable as the cockney upstart. Yet, she has enough of an incandescence about her, so as to make her believable in her transition from gutter to drawing room. Scott Sunderland is wonderful as Col. Pickering, the buffer between Henry and Eliza. Marie Lohr is excellent as Mrs. Higgins, Henry's exasperated mother. The scene in which Eliza has tea with Henry's unsuspecting mother and her guests is one of the funniest on the silver screen. Look also to a wonderful, comedic foray by Wildred Lawson, as Eliza's father, Alfred Doolittle.
All in all, this is a film that has withstood the test of time. The precursor for the musical adaptation "My Fair Lady", Pygmalion reigns supreme. Nominated for four Academy Awards and winning two, this is the definitive adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's play, sharp and witty. Deftly directed by Leslie Howard and Anthony Asquith, it is simply a magnificently acted film, and one that those who love classic, vintage films will enjoy. Bravo!
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33 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is the edition to own, March 4, 2001
This review is from: Pygmalion (The Criterion Collection) (DVD)
The Criterion/Home Vision edition of this wonderful film is definitely the one to own. It is taken from a pristine print and the sound quality is amazingly vibrant for a film that is over sixty years old. The other available versions are all from worn public domain prints that are better left sight unseen and prove the old truism "you get what you pay for." I have always been a fan of Leslie Howard: his delightfully cynical Higgins was no surprise. The real revelation for me was Wendy Hiller as Eliza. I was previously primarily familiar with her later roles, such as Paul Scofield's wife in A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS. She is absolutely luminous in this film. If you are a fan of MY FAIR LADY, this is a must-have motion picture.
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
~Professor Higgins vs. Eliza Doolittle~ A Review..., May 17, 2005
This review is from: Pygmalion (The Criterion Collection) (DVD)
Pygmalion is the predecessor to the musical My Fair Lady, but saying that, it undoubtedly rings true as the best version of the popular George Bernard Shaw play. This 1938 film version stars Leslie Howard as Professor Henry Higgins, a teacher and hobbyist of phonetics. Engrossed in this trade, he stumbles across a "cockney guttersnipe," flower peddler Eliza Doolittle (played by Wendy Hiller in her film debut). He takes on a bet with his new acquaintance, Colonel Pickering, and proclaims that in a short time, he can transform her into a proper lady and pass her off as "The Queen of Sheba."
What follows is rigorous training in dialogue and etiquette. From the famous `Marbles in Mouth' exercise ("I swallowed one!") to the final test at the Transylvanian Ball, hilarity and poignant antics ensue. The film shows us a budding friendship between teacher and pupil, even though said characters come within inches of striking the other down in tense moments of their relationship. Pygmalion shows "how deliciously low" Professor Higgins is. There is only one fault in his seemingly perfect facade (besides his swearing): his unsuccessful attempt to see Eliza not just as a guinea pig, but as a human being under her yowling dialect and uncouth manners. Henry's mother couldn't have put it more perfectly, saying that not once has he praised, petted, or admired Eliza for her work. Because of his lack of feeling towards Eliza, he gets a taste of his own medicine when Eliza threatens to forget and leave him.
Traditionally put in the Romance genre, Shaw never intended Pygmalion to be so. In an epilogue for the play that never came into the light, he writes that Eliza and Freddy do get married. He won an Oscar for the film's screenplay, and although in public he loathed having received the award, it was told that he proudly displayed it and showed it off to his friends in private.
Pygmalion is one of Howard's great masterpieces. His facial expressions can't be beat, his silvery voice cannot be overlooked, and his physical magnanimity is priceless. Shaw personally picked Hiller to play Eliza and it's crystal clear why he did. She is a treat to watch as a poor flower girl-turned-duchess. Other praiseworthy performances include Wilfrid Lawson as Alfred Doolittle, Marie Lohr as Mrs. Higgins, and Scott Sunderland as Colonel Pickering (Oh, do be reasonable!)
DVD features: Presented in classic black and white. Comes with chapters and a Color Bar menu (don't know what that's all about!)
Pygmalion is a classic! Do not pass up the opportunity to place this in your collection. Whether you're a Howard fan or not, Pygmalion is a movie the whole family will enjoy.
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