My Fair Lady

Marni Nixon's singing in both THE KING AND I and WEST SIDE STORY sounded purer to me than did her work in MY FAIR LADY; I thought this was fine, but somewhat thinner and less rich (the voice may well have thinned a little by then). It's lovely to hear Hepburn in "Just You Wait," as it comes as something of a surprise if you had thought all of her singing was dubbed, as I once had. The dubbing and acting do seem to come to a perfect luminous moment at least once: at the end of "I Could Have Danced All Night" it seems as if Audrey Hepburn is really singing it and gives the impression that possibly no one else ever had. It is possible that the best result might have been to let some of the other simpler songs, like "Wouldn't It Be Loverly" be done by Hepburn, and leave those obviously requiring a more technically accomplished singer to Nixon.

It is interesting that Hepburn's "Moon River" is not included on the old soundtrack of BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S. Similarly, I went to her memorial service at the 5th Avenue Presbyterian Church here in New York in 1993, and, uncannily, the entire program was listed EXCEPT that... all of a sudden they played her "Moon River" and the whole church became very emotionally charged. I think we were grateful that this let us experience our grief directly by forcing something immediate (but not cruel) on us like that.

I have always been glad anyway that Hepburn did the part and it is certainly the only real reason the film still has life--the controversy about her getting the part may have as much to do with that "life" as anything: it would be a mere artifact, a duplicate of the stage production had Julie Andrews been chosen. Andrews still seems primarily a stage star despite all the movies she made. Most of them are mediocre,a few of them quite good even if I haven't found them interesting myself: she is perfect in THE SOUND OF MUSIC, but the phenomenal appeal of this film is based on something considerably less sharp than what made the earlier Rodgers and Hammerstein masterpieces great-- even when they weren't quite as lavishly produced. Clearly, for example, the score of SOUTH PACIFIC is light-years beyond that of THE SOUND OF MUSIC. Admittedly, Andrews's singing of the score is better than Mary Martin's was. And the voice you can still hear on the Broadway and London cast recordings of MY FAIR LADY is far more complex and rare than Nixon's is.

Still, she wouldn't have made the film unique: while it may or may not be a great film, it has managed to retain a one-of-a-kind quality, and is kept from being a mere facsimile.

It is certainly true that Ms. Nixon should have been credited for her work, whatever our other reservations are. I nevertheless think that some of the lighter opera voices of the time--maybe Anna Moffo or Mirella Freni--would have been better (I don't think Ms. Nixon was "too fine," but rather not quite as good here as she once had been.) Dubbing doesn't have to "match" all that perfectly; of course, certain examples--like Giorgio Tozzi for Rossano Brazzi as Emile de Becque do seem perfect. And if the case of MEETING VENUS is somewhat different, no one ever would dream of worrying about Kiri TeKanawa's voice not matching Glenn Close (Ms.Close unfortunately let us hear her real one doing Wagner on Entertainment Tonight when plugging the film--a harsh and strident moment...)

This is one of quite a number of cases in which the original star was controversially replaced. The strangest may be the rejection of Ethel Merman for GYPSY, although Rosalind Russell was excellent. The smartest may have been Barbra Streisand for Carol Channing for HELLO, DOLLY! She was high-voltage enough for the gargantuan production and her trumpet-like singing was magnificent--a number of us think this is her best film--and it ages fantastically. And, while it is not a matter of replacing a role originated by someone else, Hepburn herself was loudly denounced for BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S by Truman Capote; we think of the role as her indelible mark (and surely it is in some ways), but his preference for Marilyn Monroe could have unquestionably led to something extraordinary also--and maybe that idiotic ending that is so hard to overlook would have been replaced by the much more subtle and meaningful one Capote wrote.

It really is Audrey Hepburn who makes MY FAIR LADY continue to "do its work." And in it we may have well seen the most gloriously ripe moment of her incredible beauty.

I don't know how much I can add to this. The musical stands alone, as far as I'm concerned, so it puts a lot of pressure on the director, George Cukor, one of the greatest, to complement it. This is a lot to ask. I love this movie. I never got a chance to see the Broadway cast (I was four when it opened), but I have never been disappointed. The production numbers are grand, the byplay between the smug, offensive Higgins and Eliza is precious (my favorite song is "Just You Wait, Henry Higgins"). I've always been intrigued how Freddy never even has a chance (I can't watch those wonderful Sherlock Holmes episodes without imagining the grim visage of Jeremy Brett singing "On the Street Where You Live."). The one thing that made an impression on me, though some may see it as a criticism, is how "clean" everything is. There is no doubt in my mind that Cukor was elevating not only the dialogue but the visual images. It's probably not fair to like a movie because you like looking at an actress, but Audrey Hepburn glows in her Eliza, and I don't care if she is or was a street girl, she is the magical rose on the landscape before she ever meets Higgins. The business about who sings the songs is of no significance to me. This is a movie, not the Broadway show, so the images and sounds are melded and presented. Knowing that Audrey Hepburn has a beautiful voice makes it moot as well. I don't know if she could carry the picture or not--maybe not, but it doesn't concern me. When I first saw Stanley Holloway, there was something about him that grated on me (too many performances on the Ed Sullivan Show). He grated on me as Eliza's father. Now, every time I see this film, I thoroughly enjoy him and I really like the comedic qualities of his song. I love how he and his cronies cavort around London with total disregard for their base roots. I could go on, but I really like this film because it is filled with class: George Bernard Shaw filtered through George Cukor. Not bad!

I first saw this film when I was eight years old, after receiving it as a first communion present from my mother. For months I watched the movie on an almost daily basis, and it was quickly a favorite. I thought it was absolute perfection.

Now that I am a bit older.. I notice that is does have quite a few flaws. It doesn't really capture the essence of Shaw's Pygmalion, but I don't think that should really take away from the movie; they should be treated as separate entities. Some of the sets are a little, well, cramped, but consider what they had to work with, they did a pretty good job.

And then there is the dubbing issue. I recently special on MFL on AMC, and they showed "Wouldn't It Be Loverly" and "Show Me" with Audrey's voice, and though Audrey may not have the perfect melodic voice of Marni Nixon, her voice was much more "Eliza". I really do think they should have just used her voice. If you watch "Funny Face", you get a good feel for voice, which I think is beautiful in a unconventional way.

Then, there is the question of whether Julie Andrews should have played Eliza in the film version of MFL. I've gone back and forth on this issue. Now, Audrey Hepburn is my favorite actress of all time, and Julie Andrews is a close runner-up, so it really is hard to "choose". Of course Julie's voice is much better than even Marni Nixon's... but like I said before, I don't think a perfect singing voice really would suit Eliza. And as for which would play a better Eliza overall.. I really don't know. I wasn't alive to see MFL on Broadway, so I really can't compare the two. What I do know is that Audrey gave an amazing performance. Anyway, as someone else said, if Julie had played Eliza, who would have played Mary Poppins? ;)

I have read in a great many places (including the IMDb) that Henry Higgins is a misogynist. It has also been said that the film is a misogynist's fairy tale. Anyone saying this has clearly not watched this film too closely.

First, Higgins is not a misogynist. A misogynist hates women. What Higgins is, in reality, is a misanthrope. A misanthrope basically dislikes and distrusts everyone! Watch the film and you'll notice that Higgins treats everyone with the same disregard-Col. Pickering, Eliza's father, his own mother-everyone receives his rather cynical disdain. Some of the minor characters come off being treated worse than the principals do. It's simply more noticeable with Eliza because it's more frequent, it's newer with Eliza because the other principal characters have known Higgins longer and thus take it in stride. The myth that Higgins is a misogynist is perpetuated by the song, "Why Can't A Woman Be More Like a Man?".

Second, it can hardly be called a misogynist's fairy tale. If that were the case, I doubt Alfred Doolittle would have cause to sing, "Get Me To the Church On Time", as he'd hardly be getting married. His life is just as "ruined" as Eliza's by his encounters with Higgins, just as altered as her life has been.

This is a great musical, a good movie and it was even better as the original play by Shaw. Well worth seeing. Recommended.

My Fair Lady is a musical which is very witty. The dialogue is wonderful. The story begins as Henry Higgins (Rex Harrison) makes a bet that he can transform flower girl Eliza Dolittle (Audrey Hepburn) into a high society lady. Henry Higgins is the perfect example of high society snobbery of the times. What he wasn't counting on was falling in love with his "project". Some people may find this film to be sexist but it is really quite the opposite. While it is about a sexist person it is not actually sexist at all. In fact it is all about the irony in the relationship between that of Eliza Dolittle and Henry Higgins. It is not unbelievable that Henry and Eliza should fall in love because they are not "compatible". Opposites often attract after all. Even though there is an anti-romantic disclaimer in the original play Pygmalion , it is obvious that Eliza and Higgins are meant for one another in the end of My Fair Lady. My Fair Lady is really different from Pygmalion. There is a movie version of Pygmalion which is the dull non-musical version of My Fair Lady. Rex Harrison is simply wonderful as Henry Higgins. He is not one bit tired with his role. And even though Julie Andrews originated the role of Eliza on Broadway, Audrey Hepburn is great in the role. It would be unfair to say that she didn't deserve the role just because her voice was dubbed. The supporting cast is first rate as well. This film is more than just good, it is great. If you have not seen it yet you certainly should!

*****/ ***** stars