My Fair LadyToday is the last day you can see the Oscar winning Best Picture of 1964, . Thanks to TCM and Fathom Events, the charming musical is back in more than 600 nationwide theaters. Most of you have probably never seen it (at least not in a proper theater). Don't miss this chance to see one of the greatest movie musicals of all-time. Especially now, when the film has returned remastered for optimal visual and audio experience. One of the two dates has already passed, but you have one last opportunity tomorrow, Wednesday, February 20. The special presentation is accompanied by pre- and post-film insights by TCM Primetime Host Ben Mankiewicz.
More ‘Loverly’ than ever, My Fair Lady waltzes back into as Part of the TCM Big Screen Classics Series, just in time for its 55th Anniversary. 55 years ago this was THE film on everyones lips. Due in no small part to its controversial casting. Eliza is the role that should have gone to Julie Andrews who created the character on Broadway, but at the time she was an unknown to movie-goers. So, the role went to Hepburn, even though her singing voice was deemed unusable. Her singing was ultimately dubbed by the well know dubbing queen, Marnie Dixon (she also dubbed Deborah Kerr for The King and I, as well as Natalie Wood in West Side Story).
The captivating story is very much like "Cinderella". Eliza Doolittle (Hepburn), a poor London flower girl, plucked out of obscurity and remade into a glamorous socialite matches wits with linguistic Professor Henry Higgins (Rex Harrison, who received an Oscar as Best Actor in this role). The two sing and dance their way through one of the most visually magnificent and transcendent musicals of all time (the film also won an Oscars for Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Costumes, and Best Music). Winner of a total of eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director (George Cukor), My Fair Lady dazzles the eyes, ears and hearts of audiences everywhere with such indelible songs as “I Could Have Danced All Night,” “The Rain in Spain,” “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly?” and “On the Street Where You Live.”
I remember this film quite well, as my High School put it on my Sophomore year of High School (my sister played Professor Higgins' mother). In preparation for their performances, the whole cast watched a bootleg VHS copy of the film at our house. By no means was that production come up to snuff as compared to the film. But it was fun to see how a bunch of teenagers tried their best to do the best they could. And it wasn't really that bad. It was probably the best theater Aptos High ever produced, which is probably most due to the wonderful music (nothing personal). In case you local High School has no plans to put up their own show of My Fair Lady I encourage you to catch it at your local theater tomorrow. No doubt you'll remember it for a long time too.
Tickets for "My Fair Lady" can be purchased at FathomEvents.com or participating theater box offices. Fans throughout the U.S. will be able to enjoy the event in hundreds of select movie theaters through Fathom’s Digital Broadcast Network (DBN). For a complete list of theater locations visit the Fathom Events website (participating theaters are subject to change). Fans can also be enchanted by the "My Fair Lady" high-definition Blu-ray™ with must-have special features, including audio commentary, featurettes, vintage footage, galleries and more, available now from CBS Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Media Distribution.