Pygmalion - 1938 * * *

Walk? Not bloody likely, I'll be taking a taxi!

There are many similarities to Pygamlion and My Fair Lady, and to be honest I prefered the latter. Leslie Howard is really good as Henry Higgins but he doesn't have the same mischievous glint and humour as Rex Harrison did. I realise this is the earlier version and it's very unlike me to prefer a later version of any film, but I really can't see myself watching this again whereas I constantly refer back to My Fair Lady for the beauty of its casting and glorious music. This is one time where I think maybe a film would have been better with a few songs in it and a different leading lady would have sufficed. Audrey Hepburn is in my opinion the perfect Eliza Dolittle and no one else really comes close. Although she is an American actress I much prefer her voice trying to be an English cockney than Wendy Hiller, who seems rather uncomfortable and strained both in her rendition of a common wench and as a sophisticated lady. Also in this, Higgins is actually a very unpleasant person and not in the least bit kind or decent towards Eliza.
I wasn't bowled over by this film, although I think it's a masterpiece on George Bernard Shaw's part.