According to Greek mythology, Pygmalion was a sculptor who succeeded in bringing his marble statue of a woman to life. George Bernard Shaw used the legend of Pygmalion as an analogous title for his London stage play, which told the story of a street beggar transformed into a cultured lady by a linguistics professor.

The basic story probably predated even Shaw, who lived to be 94, and can be found in recent films such as Trading Places (1983), Educating Rita (1983) and She's All That (1999). The teacher is older, cynical, condescending, and intellectual, while the student is dehumanized even as she makes her way up the social ladder. At last, the teacher is forced (perhaps too late) into recognizing his 'creation' as a person who possesses all the rights of class that he has.

But while the plot is vaguely familiar, even for those who haven't seen My Fair Lady, that takes little away from the execution. Shaw was a master of drawing room class comedy, and delights in developing the characters of Higgins and Doolittle. We laugh at Higgins' conceit and intellectualism, and at Eliza's awkward attempts to fit into her new life. But we are touched at her transformance, and how it demonstrates the lost potential of the uneducated lower class.

A generation after writing the play, Shaw was tapped as first screenwriter for its adaptation to the screen. He was rewarded with an Academy Award for Best Screenplay, which he shared with Ian Dalrymple, Cecil Lewis, and W.P. Lipscomb. At age 82, Shaw must have been one of the oldest winners of an Oscar at that time.

In addition to his repute as a playwright, Shaw was a humorist, a British counterpart of Mark Twain. My favorite quote of his is "the theory of legal procedure is that if you set two liars to expose one another, the truth will emerge." Or at least the side with the better lawyers.

Anyway, Pygmalion was nominated for Best Picture as well, while leads Leslie Howard and Wendy Hiller received Oscar nominations for Best Actor and Actress. While only her second film, Wendy Hiller had previously played the role of Eliza Doolittle on stage. Eventually given the title of Dame by Queen Elizabeth II, Hiller went on to have a lengthy and memorable screen career. Her next important film was Major Barbara (1941), another Shaw adaptation in which she had billing over the male lead Rex Harrison.

Harrison, in turn, would play Professor Higgins in My Fair Lady (1964), the lavish musical version of Pygmalion. Harrison was more querulous and less romantic than Leslie Howard, who was best suited for sensitive roles. While Harrison was probably better in the role, the same cannot be said for Audrey Hepburn. Hepburn was so much the fair lady that she was less convincing as a dirty flower girl, turning the satire of the English class system into more of a Cinderella fable. Hiller retains enough sauciness even as a lady that she is a formidable match for Higgins.

Comparing Pygmalion with the much more famous My Fair Lady is inevitable. The relationship is like that of another Rex Harrison film, Anna and the King of Siam (1946), to its musical version The King and I (1956). Careful direction and consummate production values make the lavish color musical a good film, but the story is softened, and the incisive dialogue that adds depth to the characters is partly sacrificed. The original black and white film is tighter and better in both cases, although a Dutch version of Pygmalion, made without the blessing of Shaw, was released the year before, 1937.

However, concessions were extracted from Shaw by the film's producers, who changed the ending and watered down some of the supporting characters. Freddy (David Tree) is a hapless, lovestruck idiot, posing no threat to Higgins for his dominion over Eliza. Colonel Pickering (Scott Sunderland) is less a peer to Higgins than a prop, a robotic good old boy whom you expect to begin every line with "I say, dear old chap..."

Still, it is the lead characters that matter, and the barbed dialogue between Higgins and Doolittle often makes for great comedy.

Sometimes, it is impossible to fit interesting trivia into the flow of a review. But it worth mentioning that the editor for Pygmalion was David Lean, who would later become one of England's most celebrated directors. (72/100)


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up Ages 8