BBC Play of the Month Pygmalion (1965–1983) Online

Shaw's best-known play -- although many people know it only from its musical version, MY FAIR LADY -- is produced for the small screen. The story is given a more feminist handling than it usually is, made possible by treating Henry Higgins as more of a childish bully than he is usually portrayed -- James Villiers tackles the role without a fraction of the absent-minded charm that the two best-known portrayers -- Leslie Howard in the 1938 film version and Rex Harrison in the musical -- used. Lynn Redgrave handles the comedy better than any other Eliza I have seen, and notice should be taken of Lally Bowers as Mrs. Higgins, who is quite believable as an indulgent mother who spoiled her brilliant son for many years and is now regretting it.

The other roles, particularly the female roles, are given a lot more pathos and moral sense than they usually are and, of course, Emrys James as Doolittle is wonderful -- it's the standout role of the show.

If you have never seen a straight version of this play, this is a good one to start with -- although I have yet to see a poor version.

One of the pitfalls of reviewing a play such as PYGMALION is the tendency to compare different versions with such landmark works as MY FAIR LADY (1964) or Anthony Asquith's PYGMALION (1938). It is far more fruitful to approach Cedric Messina's 1973 production on its own terms as a genuine attempt to rethink a well-known classic. There are certain alterations, notably the introduction of a bathroom scene when Liza Doolittle (Lynn Redgrave) is bathed by Mrs. Pearce (Angela Baddeley), and an ending which leaves us deliberately uncertain as to whether Liza will return to Professor Higgins' (James Villiers') house or not. What renders this BBC Play of the Month version so interesting is the quality of the individual performances: Villiers' Higgins is basically an overgrown schoolboy, accustomed to having his own way yet easily suppressed both by Mrs. Pearce and his mother (Lally Bowers). He tries his best to bully Liza, but is eventually forced to succumb to her will. Redgrave's Liza is a physically imposing presence, with sufficient esprit de corps to make us realize that she will not remain subservient for very long. At the time the program was made, Baddeley was also involved in UPSTAIRS DOWNSTAIRS; her Mrs. Pearce has a lot of Mrs. Bridges in it. A practical, no-nonsense personality, she knows how to deal with Higgins, while realizing that Liza will only stay so long as she deems it necessary to do so. Ronald Fraser turns in a quietly understated characterization of Colonel Pickering - although determined to work with Higgins, he realizes the Professor's shortcomings. Messina uses frequent reaction-shots of Pickering's face to point up Higgins' behavioral absurdities. Emrys James' Alfred Doolittle is a star turn in itself - this ruddy-faced, effervescent personality is every inch the orator, the kind of person for whom middle class morality is both the bane of his life and the passport to success. Messina's straightforward, no-nonsense production relies a lot on close-ups for its effect; it unfolds at a cracking pace, while vividly emphasizing Shaw's satiric purposes. Definitely worth watching.

Due to My Fair Lady, Pygmalion may be Bernard Shaw's most famous play, though not necessarily his best. If you'd like to see it in its original form, find the 1938 version with Leslie Howard as Professor Higgins and Wendy Hiller as Liza Doolittle. Despite the high ratings it received from others, I found this version decidedly inferior. Lynn Redgrave, despite her impressive resume, is not in the least persuasive as Liza and James Villiers is completely over the top as Professor Higgins. The best acting by far in my estimation is by Emrys James as Liza's father, the spokesman for "the undeserving poor," and Lally Bowers as Professor Higgins' mother. Your mind may be filled with Audrey Hepburn (or Julie Andrews) as Liza and Rex Harrison as Higgins, possibly with Stanley Holloway as Doolittle. Redgrave and Villiers cannot handle the comparison and, while I prefer Holloway, James handles the role exceptionally well. On the other hand, Howard and Hiller were brilliantly paired, and watching them is a useful reminder of how great they both were, Hiller in her bloom of youth and Howard a few years before his untimely death during World War II.

Bernard Shaw's play 'Pygmalion' was filmed in 1938 with Wendy Hiller as Eliza and Leslie Howard as Higgins; and was later made into a musical, 'My Fair Lady', filmed in 1964 with Audrey Hepburn as Eliza and Rex Harrison as Higgins. It could be argued that any other versions are superfluous.

Made for television, this version has Lynn Redgrave as Eliza, James Villiers as Higgins, Ronald Fraser as Pickering, Lally Bowers as Higgins' mother, Angela Baddeley as Mrs Pearce, Nicholas Jones as Freddy, and Emrys James as Eliza's dustman father. All are reasonably effective in their roles - I particularly enjoyed the performances of James, Baddeley and Bowers - although Redgrave isn't quite right for the flower girl turned lady, and Villiers blusters a bit too much as the phonetics Professor.

Filmed on a low budget and decidedly studio-bound, and with Shaw's original ending (where Eliza doesn't necessarily return to Wimpole Street), this is an effective snapshot of the play. It's just that it's been done before, and better, and this version doesn't add anything new.

George Bernard Shaw's best known play is about Eliza Doolittle, a cockney girl who sells flowers by Covent Garden. Lynn Redgrave was divine in the role and heartbreaking as Eliza Doolittle. The BBC taped plays for television. While the taped productions are done without an audience. You will enjoy this production especially if you are a Lynn Redgrave fan. She slowly transforms herself from a poor little London girl to a proper lady with the help of Professor Henry Higgins and Professor Pickering. The actors do a terrific job. Shaw makes a social point that just because somebody is poor and working class doesn't mean they don't have the abilities. Eliza doesn't want to be patronized at the end but she wants respect for herself and how she has been given an opportunity. She was born into poverty which explains her situation.