VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Humbersi The first must-see film of the year.

Siflutter It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Hayden Kane There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

TheLittleSongbird '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

Hitchcoc Henry Higgins is a bully and a braggart and full of himself. He has little respect for others, so when he chooses Eliza Doolittle to be the object of an experiment, he sees her as a prop, a part of his laboratory. The fact that he succeeds in taking a simple flower girl and making her fit in with royalty is not the issue. What is, is what the play is really about. It's about the growth of the characters. Eliza becomes so much more. Wendy Hiller is marvelous in this film, which, of course, has no music. Her facial expressions are excellent, her resolve even more. Leslie Howard as Higgins gives her nothing in the way of reward or kindness. He is a jerks to the bitter end. Shaw oversaw this play and the conclusion is a bit controversial. We will never know his intent, but he wanted to make sure that it has his imprint because he feared the producers would destroy it. Maybe one of the best films ever. If you saw "My Fair Lady," enjoy another interpretation of the characters.

BrewSwaine The character of Professor Higgins is a pompous, arrogant, thoughtless. selfish and completely unlikable character and it beggars belief that anyone could find anything about him worth caring about. And what is worse, he never redeems himself. George Bernard Shaw is far too enamoured with the sound of his own words to have been allowed to write the screenplay. There is good writing here no doubt, but most of the scenes are interminably long and verbose and continue long after the point has been made. Wendy Hiller is an absolute joy both to watch and listen to. Her performance is outstanding, but sadly not enough to save the movie from the endlessly annoying droning of Professor Higgins.

Tad Pole . . . that "Eliza Doolittle" is driven back to Leslie Howard's self-styled modern Pygmalion, Professor of Phonetics Henry Higgins. This despite the fact that the future "Ashley Wilkes" (Leslie Howard) uses the "D-word" a dozen times more than Clark Gable's Rhett Butler would the following year in GONE WITH THE WIND. (That's because England was about a dozen times more "free" than America back in the 1900s.) Eliza's wavering between misogynist "confirmed bachelor" Henry and Freddy's Mr. Giggles is understandable, since Oscar-winning screenwriter George Bernard Shaw included an "afterword" about 50 pages long with the book version of his original PYGMALION stage play explaining why he thought Freddy--NOT Henry--must wind up with the flapper version of Galatea, Eliza. Emerson said a foolish consistency is the "hobgoblin" of little minds, which excuses Shaw's ambivalence. Bernie had a great big brain--so vast that he's the only screenwriter in movie history to have a Nobel Prize on his mantle. When you watch PYGMALION, you'll realize Shaw handed Lerner and Lowe the musical openings and half the actual lyrics to their eventual 1964 "Best Picture" screen musical remake of this story: MY FAIR LADY.