Pygmalion
Major Barbara
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Pygmalion
Directed by Anthony Asquith and Leslie Howard.
With Leslie Howard, Wendy Hiller, Wilfrid Lawson.
UK, 1938, 35mm, black & white, 89 min.
Print source: HFA
George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion is a spiritual source for Hollywood romantic comedies, with its emphasis on transformation, education, and the need for two people to acknowledge each other as equals. This British film version of the play is a superb realization, co-directed by Howard, who undoubtedly brought warmth to the proceedings, and Asquith, renowned for his elegant film style and penchant for realism. Typically sensitive and easy-going as a performer, Howard brings some salt and edginess to his performance as Henry Higgins, and the young Wendy Hiller as Eliza Doolittle is, as always, a weird and fascinating film presence.
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Major Barbara
Directed by Gabriel Pascal.
With Wendy Hiller, Rex Harrison, Robert Morley.
UK, 1941, 35mm, black & white, 100 min.
Print source: HFA
Wendy Hiller stars as Major Barbara Undershaft, a Salvation Army worker who rebels against her father (Morley), a munitions factory owner. She is wooed by a young Classics professor (Harrison) who becomes frustrated when she devotes all of her time to her charity work. Her life is further complicated when the Salvation Army accepts a sizable donation from her wealthy father. George Bernard Shaw's satire of capitalist drive is given fusty warmth thanks to the performances of Hiller, Harrison, and Morley.
Part of film series
Screenings from this program
Ballad of a Soldier / The Forty-First
Nightfall / Great Day in the Morning
Verboten! / Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street
I'll Never Forget What's 'is Name / The Jokers
Hearts of the World / True Heart Susie
Anna Christie / The Long Voyage Home
Suddenly Last Summer / The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone
Quiet Days in Clichy / Henry and June
The Freshman / The Sin of Harold Diddlebock
The Sheep Has Five Legs / The Law is the Law
Hobson's Choice / Sidewalks of London
I Know Where I'm Going / Outcast of the Islands
An Inspector Calls / The Belles of St. Trinian's
Mother Joan of the Angels / Thérèse
Dawn of the Dead / Strange Behavior
