Pygmalion (1938)

Directors:

Anthony Asquith
Leslie Howard

Writers:

George Bernard Shaw (play)
George Bernard Shaw (scenario and dialogue)

Release Date:

3 March 1939 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

He picked up a girl from the gutter - and changed her into a glamorous society butterfly ! . . . See Wendy Hiller, new star discovery, in this amazing role !

Plot:

Shaw's play in which a Victorian dialect expert bets that he can teach a lower-class girl to speak proper English and thus be taken for a lady.

Plot Keywords:

Peasant | Male Female Relationship | Reflective | Training | Opposites Attract

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

Leslie Howard	...	Professor Henry Higgins
Wendy Hiller	...	Eliza Doolittle
Wilfrid Lawson	...	Alfred Doolittle
Marie Lohr	...	Mrs. Higgins
Scott Sunderland	...	Colonel George Pickering
Jean Cadell	...	Mrs. Pearce
David Tree	...	Freddy Eynsford-Hill
Everley Gregg	...	Mrs. Eynsford-Hill
Leueen MacGrath	...	Clara Eynsford Hill
Esme Percy	...	Count Aristid Karpathy
Violet Vanbrugh	...	Ambassadress
Iris Hoey	...	Ysabel, Social Reporter
Viola Tree	...	Perfide, Social Reporter
Irene Browne	...	Duchess (as Irene Brown)
Kate Cutler	...	Grand Old Lady

Also Known As:

Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion (UK) (complete title)

Runtime:

96 min | USA:89 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Wide Range System)

Certification:

South Korea:12 | Canada:G (Ontario) | Australia:G | Finland:S | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #4845)

Filming Locations:

Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Gabriel Pascal Productions

Trivia:

Although he expressed indifference to the Academy Award he won for writing this movie, his friend Mary Pickford reported that George Bernard Shaw proudly displayed his Oscar in his home, and showed it off to his visitors.

Quotes:

Prof. Henry Higgins: Yes, you squashed cabbage leaf, you disgrace to the noble architecture of these columns, you incarnate insult to the English language, I could pass you off as the Queen of Sheba!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Will & Grace: Fagmalion Part 1: Gay It Forward (#5.13)" (2003)

Bloody good movie.

Although "Pygmalion" is a black and white movie, and pretty old, it's really well done. The actors are very convincing - Higgins is just as rude as I thought he'd be, and Eliza as moralistic and vivacious. It complements the written play itself - not many things are left out and it does not seem too heavy or dramatised. The supporting cast were great as well - Mrs Pearce, Colonel Pickering, Mr Doolittle and Mrs Higgins were excellent. As for dialogue, there is a lot of it, but it's all so meaningful, that you have to be riveted so you don't miss a thing. The fact that it is black and white is actually irrelevant.

Oh yes. "Pygmalion" is the story of a Professor of Phonetics (Higgins) trying to change a flower girl in the streets (Eliza) into a lady in the middle class.

Overall, "Pygmalion" is an excellent movie, not to be missed.