My Fair Lady

Lerner and Loewe's musical version of Shaw's Pygmalion transferred effectively to the screen by Cukor, the director who, thematically if not stylistically, would seem to be the perfect choice for the project (many of his films deal with the relationship between real life and assumed appearances, and Born Yesterday is a beautifully funny update of the story). The sets, costumes (by Cecil Beaton), photography, and Hermes Pan's choreography are all sumptuously impressive, and Harrison makes a fine, arrogant Professor Higgins; but Hepburn is clearly awkward as the Cockney Eliza in the first half, and in general the adaptation is a little too reverential to really come alive.