'Pygmalion' is a wonderful play with George Bernard Shaw at his best. It is full of sharp wit, bite and charm. It is so wonderfully written with finely written characters, great character interaction and dynamic relationships. Its class and society views are also of great interest value and fairly daring back then.Love 1964's 'My Fair Lady' and am more familiar with it. While that is more visually beautiful and Freddy was written stronger there, the detail and spirit of Shaw's writing and story in 'Pygmalion' is more faithfully done here and the lead performances better. 'Pygmalion' is a wonderful film and for me it's the best film version adaptation-wise and overall of any of Shaw's plays. It is hard to say which is better between this and 'My Fair Lady', would rate them equally while finding aspects in one film done better in the other.My only complaints are Freddy's role being rather bland (not the film's fault though) and in particular the contrived missing-the-point ending, not surprised that it is a controversial one.However, 'Pygmalion' looks fine. Not exactly audacious or technically incredible, but it's nicely shot and the attention to detail is wonderfully meticulous. The script is one of the film's best assets, the wit sparkles like bubbles on top of a champagne glass and it's very clever and biting still, it's got classic Shaw all over it. With the exception of Freddy, the characters are fleshed out well and the character interactions and relationships dynamic. The relationship between Higgins and Eliza is suitably complex, witty, sometimes charming and enjoyable to watch. The story is beautifully told, never dull and opened up enough without feeling too stage-bound even when it is quite talky. Anthony Asquith directs with an adept hand and the Embassy Ball is beautifully handled.The performances are without fault, with Leslie Howard at his best embodying every ounce of Higgins' character and Wendy Hiller's brilliantly definitive Eliza. Wilfrid Lawson and Scott Sunderland fare best of the supporting cast.In summary, terrific. 9/10 Bethany Cox

At first I was doing research and couldn't help but notice that something was familiar about this flick. As the first establishing shot of the town faded in, one building had gigantic pillars and that is when it hit me. MY FAIR LADY. Same story, honestly only different in some ways, but not too much. This one is not a musical, sadly, but on the bright side it is only and hour and a half, as opposed to three hours as its remake was with Audrey "the beautiful" Hepburn in 1964. The title of this film, staring and directed by Leslie Howard, is Pygmalion (1938).Now, Pygmalion is actually a Greek story of an artist who designs a sculpture of a beautiful woman. He ends up falling in love with her and prays to the gods for her to come to life. Aphrodite granted his wish -the lucky bastard.. But this is what the story is based off of.**Henry Higgins's goal is to teach a down-in-the-dumps gutter-girl how to speak the proper English; the fancy kind. To aide him is a colleague named Colonel Pickering, who is a very easy going lad with very little to say.I really found Eliza (Wendy Hiller) a bit different from Hepburn's. I believe in this film, she gave here character more of a meaning. She starts out as a desperate FLOWER girl who just wants to get by, but also aches to learn how to be more middle-class; how to speak properly; and how to fare. This is shown towards the beginning when they negotiate the terms in which Henry (Leslie Howard) teaches her simple phonetics (the science of speech). -- She is also a tad more passive; she seems more accepting to the change rather than completely pushing it away.As for Henry, Rex Harrison's was excellent, but so was Howard's. He defines his character and makes him truly an arrogant bachelor, who does not even notice his insults that come out of his mouth. You can see that he takes after his mother, but only on the egotistic part. She carries a little more heart on her sleeve, if you know what I mean.One thing I would like to mention is that the EDITING, for its time, is amazing! There are two montage scenes that include fading transitions and dutch-angle close-ups that I cannot help but find sexy.I gave this 1938 film a 8 out of 10. I didn't not give it the extra star because I find the story a bit condescending in a way during the MANY arguments between Eliza and Henry. I just think it was not necessary and could have been more pleasing/gratifying towards the end. Other then that, this film and its story is perfection; a true beauty.

Most people know the story of "Pygmalion" by way of the musical version, "My Fair Lady" or the homage, "Trading Places," without ever having seen the original, which is unfortunate. It's simply one of the best films ever made, and stands up not only to time—it is, after all, nearly 80 years old—but to repeat viewing.On a fresh viewing, what struck me most was the superb script—for which it won an Academy Award—which is hilarious and quite caustic, in no small part due to George Bernard Shaw. Both performances by Leslie Howard and Wendy Hiller are amazing to watch, every bit as good as the best contemporary actors. And Hiller's performance in this is stunning and heartbreaking. I'm certain Anthony Asquith, who also directed "The Browning Version," deserves much credit, and David Lean as editor.Sometimes, I have to caveat older films with "it was really influential" or "It was good for the time." "Pygmalion," however, is timeless. A film anyone can enjoy.

This is my first review and I will try to make it short. This movie is based on Shaws play "Pygmalion". Its basically an adaption of an old Greek myth. You can read more about it by just searching for Pygmalion on Google (I do not want to somewhat spoiler). Its not like all the comedy nowadays. You do not sit there and laugh at big jokes. This movie rather makes you smile continuous. You have to look at the movie as a whole and not at the single little jokes. The acting is brilliant. Both Leslie Howard and Wendy Hiller do a great job and they really get into their roles. If you like comedy with a little more content, you should try to watch "Pygmalion".