MY FAIR LADY film :lucky Julie

[gregnyc2]

Im watching MFL now on TCM. Its such sludge. The peonies at the beginning are lovely. The rest.......ugh.

Is this screenplay close to the musical book?

In retrospect, Im guessing it was the luckiest career move ever for Julie Andrews that she wasnt cast? This studio production, so thick and lifeless.

I want to like this, but its just so bad. Audrey is wrong in every moment. The cockney is wrong, and shes gaunt and wan when its the princess mode.

What Im trying to do is insert Julie into this film. I dont think she could have changed this staged dour film. I think she was lucky.

Sorry sorry to those who might love the film.

[AADA81]

I disagree with you.  The movie is 'sound'-stage bound, no doubt, but it has other charms.  Hepburn is game but a bit miscast for the Cockney scenes, though her comic timing is terrific and her scene at the racetrack is simply superb.  She's utterly beguiling during her "princess" moments.  Harrison is a bit of a cold fish but so is the role so it works, and Gladys Cooper makes for a chatty and delightfully blunt Mrs. Higgins.  The screenplay retains much of the libretto and much of Shaw, which the libretto interspersed, which means there is a lot of witty dialog.  I do think the direction is rather stodgy and flat, which makes several scenes seem hopelessly stagebound, but the score remains superb and the film is far more entertaining than I was willing to give it credit for when I first saw it.  That's simply my opinion, of course.

[Call_me_jorge]

Honestly, I wouldn’t mind if we got a remake of this and other golden era musicals, like The King and I.

[Valentina3]

Call_me_jorge said: "Honestly, I wouldn’t mind if we got a remake of this and other golden era musicals, like The King and I."

Both these stories are so deeply problematic by today's sensibilities that any actual movie remake would require a modern perspective. MFL is easier to make feminist (she makes the choice to go to Higgins, and doesn't back down etc.), so with right leads - it can be a fantastic film. Do think they will need to cut it short by a lot.

[QueenAlice]

Of course a few years ago Emma Thompson was enlisted to write a screenplay for a new film version of MY FAIR LADY (reportedly to star Carey Mulligan) but nothing ever came of it.

 

https://www.newshub.co.nz/entertainment/emma-thompson-says-my-fair-lady-shelved-2014040211

[(Insert Clever Name)]

God I wish we had her on film in that role though

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

I've always stood by Robert Osborn's assessment that SOUND OF MUSIC and THE KING AND I are the two most successful Golden Age adaptations, because each uses the grandness of cinema to its advantage. The "smallness" of Mrs Anna and Maria when they enter the homes can't really be shown onstage, and no stage production of Sound of Music has ever been able to capture the thrill of that opening scene or the cinematic freedom of "Confidence" and "Do Re Mi" and "16/17."

MFL's living room scenes feel almost claustrophobic on a soundstage. I don't know if it was Jack Warner, or George Cukor, or someone else who wanted to keep MFL as close to the original Broadway production as possible, but they succeeded.

I also don't think George Cukor really knew how to direct a musical, though he had done a few before including Judy's Star is Born. He didn't get the full potential out of the camera.

[gregnyc2]

Yes, Audrey in the racetrack scene is pretty Great I’ll admit

Someone on this board will know this: Is there really no footage of MFL with Andrews? (Like not the Ed Sullivan or other “formal” tv excerpt stuff but something of an actual performance?).

Can you imagine seeing this show when it was brand new and you were in the audience hearing I could have danced all night with a then essentially unknown Julie?

I still laugh at that famous New Yorker cartoon of the new widow who missed her husband’s funeral because they had MFL tickets......

[AEA AGMA SM]

Julie Andrews herself wrote in her memoire Home that the Ed Sullivan appearances are the only filmed record of her performance, so at least at that point if any footage did exist she had never seen or heard about it, and I feel like if any had turned up since Home was published that somebody would have made it known here.

[bk]

Valentina3 said: "Call_me_jorge said: "Honestly, I wouldn’t mind if we got a remake of this and other golden era musicals, like The King and I."

Both these stories are so deeply problematic by today's sensibilities that any actual movie remake would require a modern perspective. MFL is easier to make feminist (she makes the choice to go to Higgins, and doesn't back down etc.), so with right leads - it can be a fantastic film. Do think they will need to cut it short by a lot."

Ooh, deeply problematic by TODAY's sensibilities.  Well, let's just bury 'em then, huh?  Because no audience member can actually see beyond their 2019 noses and understand context, when the shows take place - what a dopey world, but this too shall pass, I guarantee you.

[The Distinctive Baritone]

My Fair Lady is offensive only to people looking to be offended. Henry Higgins is clearly meant to be a raging a**hole, and the musical in no way condones his behavior. When done right, he’s funny in the same way Larry David is on Curb Your Enthusiasm.

MFL does not need to be “fixed” or rethought. Also, Eliza is a strong female character and a great role. The show is a true classic, as is the movie.

[CATSNYrevival]

My Fair Lady is actually one of my favorite film musicals because they seemed to actually trust the material and just made a film of the musical without making too many changes or cuts. A vast majority of musical film adaptations didn’t receive the same respect and trust.

[VintageSnarker]

I can't stand the movie because of the lip-syncing. Somehow it works in The King and I but is way too distracting in MFL. That said, I don't think they need to drastically rewrite the story for a new film. They just need to capture the magic that the closing cast with Laura Benanti (minus Harry... I saw it with his alternate) had. That production fully understood how to present the material in 2019 without changing too much. Eliza and Alfred are really the keys to getting it right. 

[SisterGeorge]

gregnyc2 said: "In retrospect, Im guessing it was the luckiest career move ever for Julie Andrews that she wasnt cast? This studio production, so thick and lifeless."

I agree the movie is a bit of a bore -- I find the last half hour or so interminable. I don't think the quality of the movie itself would have damaged her career as it was one of the biggest box office hits of the year. However, it might have prevented her from being in Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music and THAT would have been tragic.

[Valentina3]

I'm not asking for the story to be buried or ignored. It's very much a story worthy of being told over and over again - I'm just saying the way they romanticize Henry's character is not something I like about the movie. The current revival (and from what I understand - the original production of the musical) made very deliberate choices to play up Henry's "raging a**hole" attributes, and I think that would be crucial for any new movie adaptation to get right. Eliza's feminism is also downplayed in the movie, IMHO. The revival (more specifically, Lauren Ambrose's portrayal) made me see Eliza's "grooming scenes" as true comic relief moments because she wasn't just cowering, unlike in the movie where I often feel like "oh good God, poor girl get out of there!".

[Musical Master]

I think of the big three from 1964-65, the film adaptation of My Fair Lady as aged the worst because of direction and how dull it feels as a whole. Plus I think the revival and it's re-staged ending proved that this story can work in modern eyes because that's the kind of thing that even George Bernard Shaw would approve of. Personally I would love a new film version with Greta Gerwig directing it due to how lovely and almost music-like the 2019 film version of Little Women turned out and have Anne Hathaway and Tom Hiddleston play Eliza Dolittle and Henry Higgins, they are talented actors who could do wonderful things with it.

[Globefan]

Musical Master said: "I think of the big three from 1964-65, the film adaptation of My Fair Lady as aged the worstbecause of direction and how dull it feels as a whole. Plus I think the revival and it's re-staged ending proved that this story can work in modern eyes because that's the kind of thing that even George Bernard Shaw would approve of. Personally I would love a new film version with Greta Gerwig directing it due to how lovely and almost music-like the 2019 film version of Little Women turned out and have Anne Hathaway and Tom HiddlestonplayEliza Dolittle and Henry Higgins, they are talentedactors who could do wonderful things with it."

Greta Gerwig directing My Fair Lady is a great idea 

[Shubert Alley Cat]

Globefan said: "Musical Master said: "I think of the big three from 1964-65, the film adaptation of My Fair Lady as aged the worstbecause of direction and how dull it feels as a whole. Plus I think the revival and it's re-staged ending proved that this story can work in modern eyes because that's the kind of thing that even George Bernard Shaw would approve of. Personally I would love a new film version with Greta Gerwig directing it due to how lovely and almost music-like the 2019 film version of Little Women turned out and have Anne Hathaway and Tom HiddlestonplayEliza Dolittle and Henry Higgins, they are talentedactors who could do wonderful things with it."

Greta Gerwig directing My Fair Lady is a great idea"

 

And Julie could now play Mrs.Higgins - requires no singing.

 

[Globefan]

Shubert Alley Cat said: "Globefan said: "Musical Master said: "I think of the big three from 1964-65, the film adaptation of My Fair Lady as aged the worstbecause of direction and how dull it feels as a whole. Plus I think the revival and it's re-staged ending proved that this story can work in modern eyes because that's the kind of thing that even George Bernard Shaw would approve of. Personally I would love a new film version with Greta Gerwig directing it due to how lovely and almost music-like the 2019 film version of Little Women turned out and have Anne Hathaway and Tom HiddlestonplayEliza Dolittle and Henry Higgins, they are talentedactors who could do wonderful things with it."

Greta Gerwig directing My Fair Lady is a great idea"



And Julie could now play Mrs.Higgins - requires no singing.

Great idea about Julie 

 

[Jarethan]

I have always felt that the movie was too stage bound, and would have benefitted from opening it up, with real outdoor scenes and some imagination. That is the same criticism I have of TKAI. That said, there are a lot of excellent scenes throughout in what I view as a Tier 2 film. Re Tier 1 adaptations, there are not a lot; I would single out Fiddler, Hair, Sound of Music, and Chicago. There are probably others, but damned if I can think of one. 

I would also point out that a lot of people must have loved the movie; adjusted for inflation, it is one of the 20 highest grossing movies ever. I know that doesn’t mean a lot; however, this type of movie would have been a financial fiasco were it not so well reviewed and if word of mouth had not been so positive.

[Globefan]

Location shooting would really benefit a film like this 

[Musical Master]

I agree, location shooting would be perfect and also if the studio can take a risk then they can cast a theater star to play Eliza kind of like how Rachel Zegler is playing Maria in the 2020 West Side Story film. Don't know who though there are so many actresses to choose from.

[Bettyboy72]

People keep talking about opening up a musical and making it less stage bound. Isn’t that what sunk Hello Dolly. I just watched that film. Talk about a slog. Oh my god, it was exhausting. That movie needed to stick to what was on the stage.

[joevitus]

The Distinctive Baritone said: "My Fair Lady is offensive only to people looking to be offended. Henry Higgins is clearly meant to be a raging a**hole, and the musical in no way condones his behavior. When done right, he’s funny in the same way Larry David is on Curb Your Enthusiasm.

MFL does not need to be “fixed” or rethought. Also, Eliza is a strong female character and a great role. The show is a true classic, as is the movie."

This. The revival's alteration of the ending was dumb. 

[henrikegerman]

gregnyc2 said: "Im watching MFL now on TCM. Its such sludge. The peonies at the beginning are lovely. The rest.......ugh.

Is this screenplay close to the musical book?

In retrospect, Im guessing it was the luckiest career move ever for Julie Andrews that she wasnt cast? This studio production, so thick and lifeless.

I want to like this, but its just so bad. Audrey is wrong in every moment. The cockney is wrong, and shes gaunt and wan when its the princess mode.

What Im trying to do is insert Julie into this film. I dont think she could have changed this staged dour film. I think she was lucky.

Sorry sorry to those who might love the film."

Luckiest career move ever not to be cast -  an unlikely comment in reference to a movie that won 8 Oscars including best picture, received rave reviews, currently holds a 96% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and though the most expensive movie ever made in the U.S. (at 17 million) at the time of its release, grossed 72 million (in 1964!).  In fact the most prevalent complaint about the film, one you clearly share, might well be that Hepburn's performance isn't entirely convincing, which of course would have obviously been remedied if Andrews would have been cast.