Pygmalion (1938) - Poshing the Cockney Up

In this sequence of Pygmalion (1938) Eliza Doolittle (Wendy Hiller), the girl from the gutter, makes her first appearance with newfound and developed language skills Professor Higgins (Leslie Howard) taught her. But of course catching a new accent is not always coherent without its indicative vocabulary.

[@drewmacleod6414]

One of the funniest scenes ever committed to celluloid. Wendy Hiller is superb!

[@ricky93100]

She should have won the Oscar for this scene alone

[@BalletBabyBoy]

When Actresses and Actors were magnificent

[@normansmithers8708]

the actor who played freddie appeared in 'don't look now' as a headteacher. i've watched 'pygmalion' 30 times in the last 2 months since i videoed it. it's my comfort blanket.

[@ritar.7836]

The same. The acting and the directing are just perfect. The humor in all its manifestations is such a treat to observe.

[@chocolatesouljah]

3:46 - "Yes, Lord love you!" So wrong and so right. Dame Wendy!

[@francesmadrid2616]

I have never subscribed to anybody. Consider that to be high praise, because it is, Godfather! You nailed it. One of my favorite movies, dissected, properly… efficiently, (and entertainingly) by a bright mind. KUDOS!

[@algernon4444]

I agree with Drew. This is hilarious.

[@marvinmelhorn2516]

Freddy is such a buffoon in this version. I suppose to make him less appealing. This is the first version that actually has Eliza return to Higgins and the infamous "Where the devil are my slippers?" finale. In fact, MY FAIR LADY is based more on this film -- more so than on the original play -- like the ending and "The Rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain" and "In Hartford, Hereford, and Hampshire hurricanes hardly ever happen." People complain that MY FAIR LADY ruined the ending of the play, but the screenplay for this film was written by none other than George Bernard Shaw himself, who also won the Oscar for it. Anyhoo, this film would be perfect if Freddy wasn't written/portrayed as such a bumbling goon, and if it stuck to the original timeline. The original play takes place in 1912/1913, but this film moved it up to the late 1930s, I guess, to make it more modern to the then-contemporary film audience.

[@brettknoss486]

I'm not sure if changing the date hurt things, this was the depression after all. But it's hard to say. Certainly after the war, attitudes towards accents changed.

[@Mike-zh1ew]

@@brettknoss486 not really, it didn’t actually did until the 1960s and even today old attitudes about accents still remain

[@bdjoh011]

Was this Freddy the same actor who would later play Mr Banks on Mary Poppins and Mr Thorndyke in the first Herbie movie?

[@normansmithers8708]

wendy hiller had an unusual beauty about her. at the start of the film she reminded me of janis joplin, if she had been born 30 years later she might have been a rock singer.

[@presbyterosBassI]

Who does not fall in love with Wendy Hiller after seeing this?

[@DoctorEcks]

I really enjoy David Tree in this scene as well

[@Paulwilliamson599]

I washed me face and hands before I come so I did!

[@waynesmith6784]

Brilliant acting by all but Shaw’s screenplay is -especially in this scene- far below the level of his great play and something of a travesty.