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Pygmalion

  • 1938
  • Approved
  • 1h 29m
IMDb RATING
7.7/10
9.9K
YOUR RATING
Pygmalion (1938)
Period DramaComedyDramaRomance

A phonetics and diction expert makes a bet that he can teach a cockney flower girl to speak proper English and pass as a lady in high society.A phonetics and diction expert makes a bet that he can teach a cockney flower girl to speak proper English and pass as a lady in high society.A phonetics and diction expert makes a bet that he can teach a cockney flower girl to speak proper English and pass as a lady in high society.

  • Directors
    • Anthony Asquith
    • Leslie Howard
  • Writers
    • George Bernard Shaw
    • W.P. Lipscomb
    • Cecil Lewis
  • Stars
    • Leslie Howard
    • Wendy Hiller
    • Wilfrid Lawson
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • IMDb RATING
    7.7/10
    9.9K
    YOUR RATING
    • Directors
      • Anthony Asquith
      • Leslie Howard
    • Writers
      • George Bernard Shaw
      • W.P. Lipscomb
      • Cecil Lewis
    • Stars
      • Leslie Howard
      • Wendy Hiller
      • Wilfrid Lawson
    • 103User reviews
    • 44Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Won 1 Oscar
      • 3 wins & 5 nominations total

    Photos30

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    Top cast30

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    Leslie Howard
    Leslie Howard
    • Professor Henry Higgins
    Wendy Hiller
    Wendy Hiller
    • Eliza Doolittle
    Wilfrid Lawson
    Wilfrid Lawson
    • Alfred Doolittle
    Marie Lohr
    Marie Lohr
    • Mrs. Higgins
    Scott Sunderland
    • Colonel Pickering
    Jean Cadell
    Jean Cadell
    • Mrs. Pearce
    David Tree
    David Tree
    • Freddy Eynsford Hill
    Everley Gregg
    Everley Gregg
    • Mrs. Eynsford Hill
    Leueen MacGrath
    Leueen MacGrath
    • Clara Eynsford Hill
    • (as Leueen Macgrath)
    Esme Percy
    Esme Percy
    • Count Aristid Karpathy
    Violet Vanbrugh
    Violet Vanbrugh
    • Ambassadress
    Iris Hoey
    Iris Hoey
    • Ysabel - Social Reporter
    Viola Tree
    Viola Tree
    • Perfide - Social Reporter
    Irene Browne
    Irene Browne
    • Duchess
    • (as Irene Brown)
    Kate Cutler
    Kate Cutler
    • Grand Old Lady
    Cathleen Nesbitt
    Cathleen Nesbitt
    • A Lady
    • (as Kathleen Nesbitt)
    O.B. Clarence
    O.B. Clarence
    • A Vicar
    Wally Patch
    • First Bystander
    • Directors
      • Anthony Asquith
      • Leslie Howard
    • Writers
      • George Bernard Shaw
      • W.P. Lipscomb
      • Cecil Lewis
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Pygmalion
    Pygmalion

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The scene in which Eliza accidentally swallows a marble while having an elocution lesson does not appear in the original play. During rehearsals for this scene, a pained expression came over Wendy Hiller's face. When she spat out the marbles she had in her mouth, she said, "Leslie, I've swallowed one!" to which Leslie Howard replied, "Never mind, there are plenty more." This caused such amusement among the watching crew that it was added to the movie and to its musical version, My Fair Lady (1964).
    • Goofs
      After the ball when Mrs. Pearce serves Professor Higgins his tea, the shadow of the camera can be seen in the bottom left, moving back across his blanket.
    • Quotes

      Eliza Doolittle: Walk? Not bloody likely. I'm going in a taxi.

    • Crazy credits
      Opening credits prologue: PYGMALION WAS A MYTHOLOGICAL CHARACTER WHO DABBLED IN SCULPTURE. HE MADE A STATUE OF HIS IDEAL WOMAN-GALATEA. IT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL THAT HE PRAYED THE GODS TO GIVE IT LIFE. HIS WISH WAS GRANTED.

      BERNARD SHAW IN HIS FAMOUS PLAY GIVES A MODERN INTERPRETATION OF THIS THEME.
    • Alternate versions
      This film was made a year before the Hays Office gave Clark Gable permission to say "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn", so while in the British prints of this film Leslie Howard often utters the word, in the American prints the word "damn" is replaced by either "hang" or "confounded".
    • Connections
      Featured in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Big Parade of Hits for 1940 (1940)

    User reviews103

    Review
    Review
    Featured review

    Good, and definitely not My Fair Lady

    After seeing Leslie Howard as Henry Higgins, there is no way I could find Rex Harrison half as appealing, with his chanting/singing, in My Fair Lady. Leslie Howard simply is Henry Higgins, and if he seems unappealing and unlikable, that's because he's supposed to be unappealing and unlikable -- Henry Higgins is not a nice man. Howard does an incredible job with the role, and Wendy Hiller's Eliza puts Audrey Hepburn, as lovely as she is, to shame.

    If George Bernard Shaw thought that Howard's interpretation of his play was good, then who are we to argue?
    • rutabega
    • Oct 2, 1999
    • Permalink

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    FAQ17

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 3, 1939 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Pigmalion
    • Filming locations
      • Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK(studio: made at Pinewood Studios England)
    • Production company
      • Pascal Film Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    • Budget
      • £87,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 29 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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