Pygmalion

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Pygmalion

1938

1h 36m

Romance

Comedy

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100%

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17 Reviews

84%

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2,500+ Ratings

When linguistics professor Henry Higgins (Leslie Howard) boasts that he can pass off Cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle (Wendy Hiller) as a princess with only six months' training, Colonel George Pickering (Scott Sunderland) takes him up on the bet. Eliza moves into Higgins's home and begins her rigorous training after the professor comes to a financial agreement with her dustman father, Alfred (Wilfrid Lawson). But the plucky young woman is not the only one undergoing a transformation.

Otis Ferguson

The New Republic

In addition to a fresh idea it has humor, gadgets, romance and edges of comment.

May 7, 2024

Full Review

Variety Staff

Variety

Smartly produced, this makes an excellent job of transcribing George Bernard Shaw, retaining all the key lines and giving freshness to the theme.

Nov 6, 2007

Full Review

Don Druker

Chicago Reader

A marvelous 1938 adaptation of the Shaw classic.

Nov 6, 2007

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MFB Critics

Monthly Film Bulletin

It is all brilliantly amusing and remarkably undated. And there is certainly no cause for complaint about the interpretation of the story and dialogue by the actors. It is flawless.

Feb 8, 2018

Full Review

Louise Keller

Urban Cinefile

There's something special about this first English film version of George Bernard Shaw's play, before it became a musical

Oct 25, 2008

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Though authorized, Pascal's feature is the most successful adaptation of George B. Shaw to the big screen, one that maintains the text's acerbic wit and droll humor and is splendidly acted by Leslie Howard and Wendy Hiller in Oscar-nominated performances.

Rated: A

Jun 14, 2007

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Leaburn O

Like My Fair Lady obviously but with a less convincing male lead. Eliza becomes a strong, independent lady and then at the end of the film debases herself again. Extremely of its time and maybe that’s why I can’t enjoy it. A film suffused with high minded snobbery even when it tries to make the opposite argument. Watched on DVD.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

12/27/24

Full Review

Russ G

Miss Hiller is terrific; she should have had top billing in this. It's a tough watch in places as to our modern sensibilities there's a tremendous amount of psychological cruelty displayed by Professor Higgins. At the conclusion I didn't know what to think.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/19/25

Full Review

nick s

This Leslie Howard film still looks good today. Terrific acting and directing, along with rich characters and great storytelling. Maybe a few wobbles near the end, but not enough to distract from a masterpiece.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/22/23

Full Review

Sachin E

A middle-class guy with a god complex imposes bourgeois dialect and etiquette on a working-class girl with Stokholm syndrome.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

09/04/23

Full Review

John S

This movie was a wild ride. These characters were forthright and self-aware and surprisingly unpredictable. Higgins has got to be the first truly functional(?) sociopathic character ever put to film. Incredible performances and never a dull moment. I don't know if I'd call it romantic though. Had it been a romance Eliza would have stayed in Freddie's car.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

06/10/23

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Mark A

My Fair Lady without the music. Superb!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/03/23

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Anthony Asquith

Director

Leslie Howard

Director

Leslie Howard

Professor Henry Higgins

Wendy Hiller

Eliza Doolittle

Wilfrid Lawson

Alfred Doolittle

Marie Lohr

Mrs. Higgins

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Synopsis

When linguistics professor Henry Higgins (Leslie Howard) boasts that he can pass off Cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle (Wendy Hiller) as a princess with only six months' training, Colonel George Pickering (Scott Sunderland) takes him up on the bet. Eliza moves into Higgins's home and begins her rigorous training after the professor comes to a financial agreement with her dustman father, Alfred (Wilfrid Lawson). But the plucky young woman is not the only one undergoing a transformation.

Director: Anthony Asquith, Leslie Howard
Producer: Gabriel Pascal
Screenwriter: George Bernard Shaw, George Bernard Shaw, W.P. Lipscomb, Cecil Lewis, Ian Dalrymple, Anatole de Grunwald
Distributor: Loew's Inc.
Production Co: Metro Goldwyn Mayer
Genre: Romance, Comedy
Original Language: British English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 16, 1938, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Dec 1, 1938
Release Date (Streaming): May 5, 2017
Runtime: 1h 36m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: 35mm

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