My Fair Lady (1964)
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A phonetics scholar bets he can transform a Cockney flower-seller into a woman capable of passing for a duchess.
The story
In Edwardian-era London, a phonetics scholar named Henry Higgins makes a wager that he can teach a poor Cockney flower-seller, Eliza Doolittle, to speak English with such perfection that she could pass for a duchess. Eliza, who seeks to improve her social standing to secure employment in a flower shop, agrees to take lessons from Higgins. Supported by Colonel Pickering, who covers the expenses, Eliza undergoes rigorous and often harsh training to master her vowels and consonants. As she struggles through the demanding process, she begins to transform her speech, leading to a series of social trials to test her progress in high-society settings.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In Edwardian-era London, phonetics scholar Henry Higgins bets he can transform Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower-seller, into a woman who can pass for a duchess. With the financial backing of Colonel Pickering, Eliza undergoes intense training. After a period of struggle, she masters an upper-class accent. During a trial at the Ascot Racecourse, she briefly lapses into her original dialect, but later succeeds at an embassy ball, where she is mistaken for a Hungarian princess. Following the ball, Higgins treats her with indifference, leading Eliza to leave him. She briefly finds companionship with Freddy Eynsford-Hill but realizes she no longer fits into her old life. Her father, Alfred, becomes wealthy but is now bound by 'middle-class morality.' Eventually, Eliza realizes she has grown accustomed to Higgins's presence. The film concludes with her appearing at his home, and Higgins asking for his slippers, signaling their continued connection.
- First release year
- 1964
- Runtime (minutes)
- 173
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- George Cukor
- Writers
- Alan Jay Lerner · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Audrey Hepburn · Eliza Doolittle; Rex Harrison · Professor Henry Higgins; Stanley Holloway · Alfred P. Doolittle; Wilfrid Hyde-White · Colonel Hugh Pickering; Gladys Cooper · Mrs. Higgins; Jeremy Brett · Freddy Eynsford-Hill; Theodore Bikel · Zoltan Karpathy
- Genres
- musical; comedy; drama
- Themes
- social class; identity; transformation
- Tone and mood
- romantic; elegant
- Premise and plot tags
- musical; period piece; transformation
- Source material / true-story basis
- Lerner and Loewe's 1956 stage musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 stage play Pygmalion
- Reception
- A critical and commercial success, it was a 'total triumph' and 'one of the classic screen performances' for Rex Harrison. It was highly acclaimed for its production values and as a 'pure joy to experience.'
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 95% · scale: percentage · review count: 91; Metacritic · score: 95 · scale: 100 · review count: 15
- Awards and nominations
- Academy Award · Best Picture · win; Academy Award · Best Director · win; Academy Award · Best Actor · win
- Production trivia
- The film was the most expensive film shot in the United States up to that time.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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