Audrey Hepburn Movie Recommendation #3

My Fair Lady (1964; in color) - 2 hrs 52 mins

A classic re-telling of George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion, the Tony Award-winning musical My Fair Lady came to the screen in 1964. Warner Bros. cast veteran film actor and the show’s original Broadway star, Rex Harrison, as Professor Henry Higgins. An expert in phonetics, his life changes when he accepts a bet to turn a poor flower girl into a refined lady in just six months.

Although Warner Bros. may have cast Broadway’s original Professor Higgins after some deliberation, they made a surprising choice in casting Eliza Doolittle- the poor flower girl. Rather than cast the musical’s original Eliza, Julie Andrews, they cast Hepburn. Hepburn felt terrible about the situation and only accepted the role after she found out that even if she refused Andrews would not be cast. Andrews had yet to make her mark in films, so perhaps the studio felt the film needed a bigger name to guarantee the film’s success. Nevertheless, Hepburn proved herself equal to the role. She showed herself to be an actress with surprising depth and range. In the film, she’s simultaneously comedic and charming as the frustrated Eliza who so desperately wants to prove herself. Hepburn’s natural charm actually makes the poor and unrefined Eliza a far deeper character than perhaps how another actress might have portrayed her. It is a not-to-be missed Hepburn performance. I think that it says much more about her as an actress than her work in films like Roman Holiday (1953), Sabrina (1954), and even Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961).

Availability: Youtube, Amazon video, Googleplay, DVD, and Blu-ray.

• Purchase DVD: https://www.amazon.com/My-Fair-Lady-Audrey-Hepburn/dp/B002HK9IDQ/ref=asc_df_B002HK9IDQ/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=250827503267&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=4444783315409296654&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9003962&hvtargid=pla-450976052105&psc=1

• Purchase Blu-ray: https://www.amazon.com/Fair-Lady-Blu-ray-Audrey-Hepburn/dp/6317712158/ref=tmm_blu_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=