bhryun Posted February 22, 2005 Share Posted February 22, 2005 Has anyone ever noticed the similarities in these movies. I've always thought they were VERY similar, i mean especially thinking of the song that gaston sings "she's just a girl" compared to Rex Harrison's "I've grown accostomed to her face" to choose your favorite, which would it be? (I would be so tempted to say My fair lady at first, but...I dont know.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feaito Posted February 22, 2005 Share Posted February 22, 2005 Gigi, all the way. I used to like very much "My Fair Lady", but just as it happened to me with "The Sound of Music" and "The Wizard of Oz", I watched it so many times, that I finally grew tired of it. As far as I can recall, Audrey Hepburn did "Gigi" on Stage, but Leslie Caron was chosen to play her on film. On the other hand, I'm not certain that Julie Andrews played Eliza Doolittle on Stage, but I'm sure she wanted to play her on screen and Audrey Hepburn was chosen for the role. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brackenhe Posted February 22, 2005 Share Posted February 22, 2005 I like the songs in My Fair Lady better, although neither is my favorite musical. Plus, I like Hepburn a little better than Caron. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d120421 Posted February 22, 2005 Share Posted February 22, 2005 GIGI should seem very similar to MY FAIR LADY, since it was crafted by Lerner and Lowe, who wrote the score for MY FAIR LADY and were hired by MGM to craft a similar film musical following MY FAIR LADY's smashing Broadway success. Hepburn DID play GIGI on Broadway, but it was in a non-musical version, not the Lerner/Lowe musical written for MGM and starring Caron. Reportedly Hepburn was approached about playing the part in the musical, but turned it down on the grounds that she was both too tall and, by that time, too old to successfully portray the adolescent Gigi on film. Andrews did create the role of "Eliza Doolittle"in the original Broadway version of MY FAIR LADY (she was hired after Deanna Durbin, Dolores Gray and Mary Martin reportedly all turned it down, Martin because she didn't care for the score), which was the longest-running Broadway musical hit up to that time. Jack Warner, however, who paid $5,000,000 dollars for the film rights, refused, despite great public interest, to gamble on Andrews's untested screen potential and hired Hepburn to play "Eliza", with Marni Nixon dubbing her vocals. This outraged a huge section of both the public and the critical intelligentsia, all of whom felt (unjustly) that Hepburn had "stolen" Andrews's "part." Columnist Hedda Hopper, for example, snidely commented: "With Marni Nixon doing the singing, Audrey Hepburn will give only half a performance." This pro-Andrews/anti-Hepburn sentiment, probably accounts for Hepburn failing to receive an Oscar nomination for her work as "Eliza" in the film (despite the generally fine reviews she received), although the film itself and co-star Rex Harrison did both receive Oscar nods. As for choosing which one is better or a favorite, although GIGI has a fine score, MY FAIR LADY unquestionably has a better one, as well as the better source material (Shaw's PYGMALION). On the other hand, by the time MY FAIR LADY reached the screen, it had attained such an iconic status that I think much of the spontaneity was drained out of the film version due to the too-careful and measured approach taken by George Cukor and the other makers of the film. Andre Previn, who handled the musical direction/scoring, said of the finished film, "I don't think it's so wonderful, I think it's endless. People became too obsessed over the details of the film, such as whether a rest should be a quarter or a half rest. It's a MUSICAL for heaven's sake, not Wagner's RING CYCLE!" Actually, I do think that much of the film version of MY FAIR LADY is enjoyable, in large part because Harrison and Hepburn are, even though Hepburn, especially with that too-refined, monochromatic, and bright Marni Nixon soprano, never convinces as the "flower girl" Eliza. Despite this handicap, Hepburn is still an affecting Eliza following her transformation into the "Lady", but I definitely think the film could have been livelier and better overall had its' makers not looked upon it as a "once in a lifetime" event. Therefore, although neither one is my favorite, as a film, I'd probably prefer GIGI. Although it's also burdened by the heavier tone that generally impacted fifties musicals, it suffers from this defect much less so than MY FAIR LADY, in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandykaypax Posted February 22, 2005 Share Posted February 22, 2005 Good post, d! I have one thing to add about the issue of Julie Andrews not being able to reprise her role as Eliza Doolittle in the film version of MY FAIR LADY--if she had, she would have been unable to play Mary Poppins! So, it all worked out in the end for Julie, although I would've loved to have seen her Eliza on screen. I prefer MY FAIR LADY to GIGI--I like the MFL score better. Sandy K Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loliteblue Posted February 22, 2005 Share Posted February 22, 2005 My Fair lady is what i love best. The music score i could recite and sing for hours the chemistry between Hepburn and Harrison explodes on the screen in my opinion Rex Harrison portrayal of Henry Higgins well there can be no other !....lolite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shainablue1 Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 I love My Fair Lady very, very much. The songs are , well, classic! Audrey Hepburn ( GARN!) does a gerat job as a flower girl and Rex Harrison is so commanding ( Eliza , where are my slippers?! ).My real favorite is Pygmalion ( the original version of My Fair Lady )with Leslie Howard and I forget her name- Wendy ?? ( a new British actress at the time is all I rememeber ). The story is just such a Cinderella story and it gets me every time when they fail to appreciate Eliza's accomplishments and she throws those slippers at Professor Higgins! Great movie. My fave over Gigi easy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spencerl964 Posted February 24, 2005 Share Posted February 24, 2005 To shainabluegirl-(drop me a line again sometime, please!) However, I thought you'd like to have Mr. TCM Himself: Robert 0sborne's pick. Early in 2001, he did list his favs. on these forums-(P.S. To Mr. 0sborne, I wish you'd still throw your hand in again, once in awhile!!! Plus, given you wrote thee book "75 years of OSCAR" Please give us your own PREDIX-(just on the majors) He also did it a couple of yrs. on the network itself Anyway, he likes: "Gigi" (1958) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhryun Posted February 24, 2005 Author Share Posted February 24, 2005 My vote goes to "My Fair Lady". Its one of those I can watch again & again. I love the music, the costumes, everything! Gigi I like also, just not as much. It was just on & I enjoyed it again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhryun Posted February 24, 2005 Author Share Posted February 24, 2005 Although I like MY FAIR LADY, I think there is no comparison to GIGI. It's MGM and Vincente Minnelli at their peak. I always thought MY FAIR LADY was basically a filmed stage (and at times stagey) musical whereas GIGI is a complete original. GIGI is a delightful, sophisticated musical with perfect casting. Oddly enough WB had negotiated with Minnelli to direct MY FAIR LADY but this fell through when studio and Minnelli couldn't come to terms with monies. With Minnelli at the helm of MY FAIR LADY it could have turned out much differently and for the better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
path40a Posted February 26, 2005 Share Posted February 26, 2005 For me, it's My Fair Lady hands down. Also, for those of you who love this particular story, make it a point to see Pygmalion with Leslie Howard & Wendy Hiller (Netflix has it). It's every bit as good, though it's not a musical, and perhaps even better given the more gradual and believable transformation of Eliza. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feaito Posted February 26, 2005 Share Posted February 26, 2005 I agree with Path "Pygmalion" is one of the best movies and one the best adaptation of any of Shaw's work ever. Try "Major Barbara" (1940) with Rex Harrison and Wendy Hiller too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d120421 Posted February 26, 2005 Share Posted February 26, 2005 Me too. PYGMALION's the best. Wendy Hiller is the best Eliza I've ever seen,and Leslie Howard is a marvelous Higgins. The only potential drawback being that its' crisp pacing emphasizes how ponderous the too careful pacing of MY FAIR LADY is by comparison. MAJ0R BARBARA is also marvelous. Shaw approved of Hiller for both films, which made her very reluctant to accept further film projects. I think it also marked the film debut of Deborah Kerr. Fortunately, when Hiller did decide to step before the movie cameras again, she made an excellent choice: the enchanting Powell/Pressburger wartime romantic fantasy, I KNOW WHERE I'M GOING (1945). > I agree with Path "Pygmalion" is one of the best > movies and one the best adaptation of any of Shaw's > work ever. Try "Major Barbara" (1940) with Rex > Harrison and Wendy Hiller too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
path40a Posted February 26, 2005 Share Posted February 26, 2005 I haven't seen Major Barbara, but would like to ... Netflix doesn't have it and since it's not in TCM's library, I'm not sure when I'll get a chance to see it. I've had it on my "to see" list for quite some time now; it was probably recommended to me here by feaito;- ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feaito Posted February 26, 2005 Share Posted February 26, 2005 "Major Barbara" has been aired at the Bravo/Film & Arts Channel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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