The 1938 film Pygmalion, based on George Bernard Shaw’s 1913 play and directed by Anthony Asquith and Leslie Howard, has been my favorite movie seen in class so far. I had seen the 1964 film My Fair Lady, directed by George Cukor, when I was a child and loved it. But after watching it again in class, I still enjoyed it; but I prefer Pygmalion. In My Fair Lady, I thought Audrey Hepburn did a fantastic job as playing Eliza Doolittle; she is an iconic actress best known for her role in Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
Though I did like Audrey Hepburn, I did not like the actor that played Professor Henry Higgins, Rex Harrison. I thought that he was far too old for the part. Especially since this film is in color, and Pygmalion is black and white. Harrison’s grey hair stood out to me. In Pygmalion the actor who played Professor Henry Higgins was Leslie Howard, and I thought that he did a fantastic job. He certainly deserved a standing ovation. He was much younger and more attractive in my opinion compared to Harrison.
I felt that he was far more funny and great at delivering his sarcastic and witty lines. What makes this movie fantastic is that they found two wonderful actors compatible with each other playing the leading roles; actress Wendy Hiller, who played Eliza Doolittle, did just that. Howard and Hiller played well off each other, feeding each other’s fuel. They made each scene together beautiful: it either made you laugh or cry. In the end I was so happy that they decided to go with an alternative ending than the one in the actual play. If they did not end up together that would have been a shame and a slap in the face for everyone rooting for them.