My Fair Lady

My Fair Lady is a 1956 musical theater production with lyrics and book by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederic Loewe, adapted from George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion.

The film

The stage musical was later made into a musical film, released in 1964 by Warner Bros.. The film was directed by George Cukor, and starred Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison and Stanley Holloway. It won Cukor an Academy Award for Directing, and ranked #91 on the American Film Institute's 100 Years, 100 Movies.

Related Topics:
Musical film - 1964 - Warner Bros. - George Cukor - Audrey Hepburn - Rex Harrison - Stanley Holloway - Academy Award for Directing - American Film Institute

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The lead role in the film was originally intended for Julie Andrews, who played Eliza in the stage version. Hepburn was cast, despite lobbying from Lerner, because Warner Brothers didn't want to cast a stage actress. Opera singer Marni Nixon was cast to dub Hepburn's songs. Julie Andrews in fact became a screen star in her own right that same year in Mary Poppins. The controversy over the casting damaged Hepburn's career, painting her in a negative light (although Elizabeth Taylor reportedly fought long and hard for the role as well). Andrews' subsequent Academy Award nomination for Mary Poppins, which she won - and lack of a nomination for Hepburn - was seen by many as vindication for Julie Andrews, though both actresses denied that there was ever any animosity between them. Film of some of Hepburn's original vocal performances for the film was released in the 1990s, and many fans of the actress believe that it was unnecessary for her voice to be dubbed. At the very least, she could actually sing, in contrast to Harrison, whose songs were mostly recitative.

Related Topics:
Julie Andrews - Marni Nixon - Mary Poppins - Elizabeth Taylor - Academy Award

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The film's copyright was owned by CBS, as the head of that company put up the money for the original Broadway production in exchange for the rights to the cast album (through Columbia Records). When Warners bought the film rights for the then-unprecedented sum of $5 million, it was agreed that the rights to the film would revert to CBS seven years after its release.

Related Topics:
CBS - Columbia Records

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In the 1990s, the original film elements had fallen into disrepair from heavy printing and were feared in danger of total deterioration. Film restorers Robert A. Harris and James C. Katz were brought in to physically restore the film. Their work was a success, preserving this well-loved film for future generations, and a 30th anniversary re-issue in 1994 reinforced the film's popularity.

Related Topics:
Robert A. Harris - James C. Katz

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The film cast

• Rex Harrison as Henry Higgins
• Audrey Hepburn as Eliza Doolittle (Marni Nixon dubbing the singing voice in this movie.)
• Stanley Holloway as Alfred P. Doolittle
• Wilfrid Hyde-White as Colonel Pickering
• Jeremy Brett as Freddie Eynsford-Hill