50 years ago: My Fair Lady, one of Broadway and Hollywood's most successful musicals

My Fair Lady Released: December 25, 1964 Studio: Warner Bros. Genre: musical/romance/comedy Box Office (numbers in millions): Domestic: 72.00 Worldwide: ? Adjusted for Inflation: Domestic: 589.27 Worldwide: 1015.95

Directing: George Cukor Screenwriting: Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe Starring: Rex Harrison, Audrey Hepburn, Stanley Holloway, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Gladys Cooper, Theodore Bikel Review: Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe crafted one of Broadway’s most successful musicals of all time out of George Bernard Shaw’s 1913 play Pygmalion and then adapted the screenplay to be one of Hollywood’s most successful films of all time. Rex Harrison repeated his Tony Award-winning Broadway performance of Henry Higgins, an arrogant linguistics professor, for the screen and was awarded again, this time with an Oscar for Best Actor. He bets he can transform Eliza Doolittle (Hepburn), “a lowly, unrefined flower girl into a sophisticated, elite woman,” VD “just by teaching her to speak properly.” A98 Higgins ends up falling for his street-urchin-pupil-turned-proper-lady by the end. The ”lushly produced” VD is marked by “terrific tunes” VD including “I Could Have Danced All Night,” and “Wouldn’t It Be Lovely,” and “The Rain in Spain.” Sources: A98 American Film Institute (1998). “AFI’s 100 Years, 100 Movies” A07 American Film Institute (2007). “AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movies – 10th Anniversary Edition” VD Video Detective (1997). “Top 100 Films of All Time”

Awards/Honors/Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Genre Lists: Box Office: Oscars: Wins: 8 – including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Harrison), Best Color Cinematography, Best Color Art Direction/Set Decoration, Best Sound, Best Score, Best Color Costume Design Nominations: 12 – including Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor (Holloway), Best Supporting Actress (Cooper), Best Film Editing Other Awards: Other Lists/Honors: First posted 5/29/2023.

 

50 years ago: The Philadelpia Story, one of the great rom-coms of all time, released

The Philadelphia Story Released: December 1, 1940 Studio: MGM Genre: comedy/romance Box Office (numbers in millions): Domestic: 0.4 Worldwide: ? Adjusted for Inflation: Domestic: 215.10 Worldwide: ?

Directing: George Cukor Screenwriting: Donald Ogden Stewart Starring: Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, James Stewart, Ruth Hussey, John Howard “George Cukor’s classic, witty romantic comedy” FS is “a delight from start to finish.” T95 It “sophisticated and screwball at once.” A07 The movie is based on a hit play by Philip Barry that was “a sophisticated romantic farce about a socialite wedding.” FS It “effortlessly transcending its stage origins.” T95 It would later be remade again in 1956 as the musical High Society. The movie had “a sublime” RS Katharine Hepburn reprise “her stage role as a haughty heiress who is about to wed a pompous self-made man” A98 (Howard). “Goofy reporter” VD Macauley Connor (Stewart) “is present to cover the wedding with a photographer Liz Imbrie (Hussey).” FS He “helps her down from her pedestal and into the arms” A98 of “her irresponsible” FS but “suave ex-husband (Grant).” VD “The film is a marvel of timing and understated performances.” T95 Hepburn “gives one of the performances of her life, while Grant and Stewart keep pace.” TV Stewart won an Oscar for his performance, but thought he was miscast and voted for Henry Fonda in The Grapes of Wrath instead of himself. MSN Sources: A98 American Film Institute (1998). “AFI’s 100 Years, 100 Movies” A07 American Film Institute (2007). “AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movies – 10th Anniversary Edition” FS Filmsite.org “100 Greatest Films” MSN MSN Entertainment (7/19/2018). “100 Best Movies” by Shahnaz Mahmud RS Rolling Stone (12/30/1999). “100 Maverick Movies of the Last 100 Years” T95 Time Out (1995). “Centenary Top One Hundred Films” TV TV Guide (August 8-14, 1998 issue). “50 Greatest Movies on TV and Video” VD Video Detective (1997). “Top 100 Films of All Time”

Awards/Honors/Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Genre Lists: Awards: Oscars: Wins: 2 - Best Actor (Stewart), Best Screenplay Nominations: 6 – including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress (Hepburn), Best Supporting Actress (Hussey) Other Lists/Honors: First posted 5/31/2023.