MovieChat Forums > My Fair Lady (1964) Discussion > Am I only one who can't stand AH in this...

Am I only one who can't stand AH in this movie?

posted 12 years ago by producerbonnie-1
33 replies | jump to latest

Yes, she was very pretty, to the point of being hypnotic---- but she had a very limited range, and it was never more on display than in this movie. Her performance is an astonishingly hammy, one-note, over-the-top interpretation that somehow manages to make Eliza nothing more than annoying. Except for her beauty, there is nothing attractive in this character to make Freddy or Higgins fall madly in love with her.
Perhaps Hepburn was defensively trying to prove that she was every bit as good as Julie Andrews, who had made the part her own on Broadway (and was a genuinely talented, subtle actress who could handle both stage and screen). And part of it is the script---- Eliza is not written with much depth or appeal. But IMHO, Hepburn just makes this movie excruciating. She screams, cries and whines her way through the entire film, seemingly incapable of communicating any other way. (And damn, she had such an ENORMOUS mouth---- it seems like it's wide open for half the running time!)
I guess what bugs me the most is that Eliza may have a different accent at the beginning, but she is still the same person---- you need to see her intelligence, ambition and appeal right from the beginning. But Hepburn plays her as almost a mental idiot in the first half, screaming wildly at the idea of a bath and saying over and over, "I'm a good girl, I am!!" In the second half suddenly she is supposedly fascinating, although she's still screaming and throwing shoes as a method of communicating. YAWN.
Sorry, I know many people loved her in this but it looked like bad community theater to me. I think Andrews would have done a MUCH better job.
(Please, no snark in response. You're welcome to agree or not, but don't waste time being a jerk, thanks.)

[–] smt-cool156 11 years ago

Love both AH and JA. But I think Hepburn was a better choice for Eliza Doolittle. Andrews is too charming and classy for the role. The role required sort of naughty and comedic body language where Audrey suits much better. I personally cannot vision Julie as Eliza Doolittle though she would've been a better singer no doubt.

[–] denis-38 11 years ago

Julie Andrews, obviously, was very fine as Eliza onstage. It made her a great Broadway star. But judging by all her other film performances--including her absurd Oscar-win for "Mary Poppins"--she seems far too bland for the screen version of "My Fair Lady." I thought Hepburn was wonderful and played the role as written. My only complaint is Marni Nixon's dubbing. Not that Audrey was capable of handling the vocals, but Nixon's voice is SO far off track in terms of sounding anything like Hepburn. It's distracting.

[–] audreysoldier 10 years ago

Andrews = Theatre star
Hepburn = Movie star

[–] 10 years ago

[deleted]

[–] katydb65 10 years ago

The real Audrey was Patsy Cline and she died in a plane crash. The dates of filming are inaccurate. You are the snarky one sweetheart and I'd love for your people to respond to my people because as a family member of Hepburn's whose mother was Katherine I would like to know what you may know about her death.

[–] RMenz 8 years ago

I like most musicals,and a lot of the songs in My Fair Lady.
However i am unable to watch this film as Audrey Hepburn spoils what could have been a decent film.She is dreadful in the part and her accent and continuous whining and shouting
is beyond belief.She can't even do her own singing,so why she got the part is beyond me.
I reckon this is one of the worst casting mistakes of all time.

[–] Blueghost 8 years ago

Yes, she was very pretty, to the point of being hypnotic---- but she had a very limited range

You have no idea what you're talking about.

Didn't you see her lose her temper as a flower girl in the begining of the film?

Didn't you see her try to act like middle class customer in Higgin's office after "she come in a taxi"?

Didn't you see her cry to Higgens after the ball?

You have no concept of what on screen talent does to prepare and then to perform on screen so muckrakers like you can enjoy a fantasy on screen.

What's interesting about "the net" is that every jerk gets a chance to voice opinions without having trained in the art they're commenting on.

As for no snark responses, maybe you need to take your ego and put it someplace uncomfortable.

[–] pontevedro 8 years ago

I started out in the Julie Andrews crowd. I'd grown up listening to her in the original cast recording and thought it was an injustice that she wasn't in the movie. I still think that, but I've come to love Audrey Hepburn in the role as well. Too bad we can't have it both ways.

For those who'd like a little taste of what might have been, I suggest checking out Julie in Mary Poppins, filmed at about the same time. I hadn't seen the movie since I saw it in the theaters, fifty plus years ago. Julie is lovely dressed in Edwardian costume. The hat she wears when she arrives is similar to the hat Audrey wears at the beginning of MFL and the white dress Julie wears in the "Every Day's a Holiday" scene is reminiscent (although not as spectacular - Cecil Beaton was not involved) of the outfit Audrey wears to the Ascot racing day.

[–] marktayloruk (2555) 3 years ago

Except for her beauty?