My Fair Lady (Mi bella dama)

I don't know how much I can add to this. The musical stands alone, as far as I'm concerned, so it puts a lot of pressure on the director, George Cukor, one of the greatest, to complement it. This is a lot to ask. I love this movie. I never got a chance to see the Broadway cast (I was four when it opened), but I have never been disappointed. The production numbers are grand, the byplay between the smug, offensive Higgins and Eliza is precious (my favorite song is "Just You Wait, Henry Higgins"). I've always been intrigued how Freddy never even has a chance (I can't watch those wonderful Sherlock Holmes episodes without imagining the grim visage of Jeremy Brett singing "On the Street Where You Live."). The one thing that made an impression on me, though some may see it as a criticism, is how "clean" everything is. There is no doubt in my mind that Cukor was elevating not only the dialogue but the visual images. It's probably not fair to like a movie because you like looking at an actress, but Audrey Hepburn glows in her Eliza, and I don't care if she is or was a street girl, she is the magical rose on the landscape before she ever meets Higgins. The business about who sings the songs is of no significance to me. This is a movie, not the Broadway show, so the images and sounds are melded and presented. Knowing that Audrey Hepburn has a beautiful voice makes it moot as well. I don't know if she could carry the picture or not--maybe not, but it doesn't concern me. When I first saw Stanley Holloway, there was something about him that grated on me (too many performances on the Ed Sullivan Show). He grated on me as Eliza's father. Now, every time I see this film, I thoroughly enjoy him and I really like the comedic qualities of his song. I love how he and his cronies cavort around London with total disregard for their base roots. I could go on, but I really like this film because it is filled with class: George Bernard Shaw filtered through George Cukor. Not bad!