THE DISCREET CHARM OF GEORGE CUKOR (Film Society of Lincoln Center Dec. '13-Jan. '14)

[Chris Knipp]

I like the "respectfully" part, which is getting back on a better track. Our disagreement is noted, and we can pass on. But it was not a good idea to comment on the "character" of Johann. Johann is a member in good standing. We know he is plainspoken. Agreed, that was out of line to call your statement ignorant, perhaps, but I found it without context and inexplicable as given. Let's not bother about what anybody's remark "reflects on". We're not trying to build up our personal reputations here. We've been discussing and debating movies for years. We have nothint to prove.

[Johann]

What does it say about my character?
I'd like a straight answer please.

[Johann]

I'm not here to argue- I just want a straight "respectful" answer.
I am definitely plainspoken.
Grab a helmet cinemabon. When you give us strange bon mots, don't be surprised when we ask for clarification.
No character assassination here.
We are not about that.

[cinemabon]

Oh, I think your message is quite plain. And so are your attacks.

[Johann]

I love you too. *BIG HUGS*

[cinemabon]

I like you. I respect you. I still want to go to Toronto, even though you're living on Krypton now.

[Johann]

I've always lived on Krypton. :)

My respect for you is huge. We've all been here for over a decade. How can I not respect you?

[Chris Knipp]

Thanks, boys, for making up.

I've seen Cukor's MY FAIR LADY and so added a thumbnail review of that to my artificially extended record of the Lincoln Center Cukor festival. Needless to say it would have been better to see it on the big screen at the Walter Reade Theater, but I got the idea. I had never seen this and needed to. The songs are marvellous, of course, but Cukor gets no credit for than.

[cinemabon]

I saw "My Fair Lady" in 1964 during its 70mm roadshow run. We had reserved seats. That print is lost, gone and forgotten by most. I can tell you that in the restored version, the opening is not as effective as the original opening. Cukor had close up shots of flowers that were not static. I found it almost puzzling at first until I realized that he wanted to put Eliza in the middle of the flower market. I found the film stunning and Rex Harrison is every bit as good as he was on Broadway (or damn near it). The one thing that puzzled me to this day was Jack Warner's disdain for Julie Andrews. He didn't cast her in "My Fair Lady" (despite her Tony nominations, Theater World win, and reputation) and he didn't cast her in "Camelot." This "snub" so infuriated the acting community that they overwhelmingly voted for her Best Actress award in "Mary Poppins" and prevented "Lady" from sweeping the Oscars that year. Andrews fumed about it for years. Eventually, she and Audrey Hepburn reconciled. However, I don't believe Andrews ever spoke to Jack Warner or ever made a movie for Warner Brothers. Hepburn was dubbed by Marnie Nixon who dubbed so many actresses including Debra Kerr in "The King and I" and Natalie Wood in "West Side Story" among many others. The Julie Andrews Broadway soundtrack was one of the greatest selling Broadway soundtracks of all time while the film hardly sold any discs at all in comparison. Andrews did four big musicals in the 1960's and one big flop - Star! (Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and Darling Lili. Ironically, like Audrey Hepburn, Andrews won her first and only Oscar for her debut film.

"My Fair Lady" is largely a filmed version of the stage play with 100% shot on sound stages set up like theater sets. The Lerner and Lowe score is bright, snappy, and fun. The acting is superb. In addition to Harrison, Stanley Holloway reprised his famous Broadway rendition of Alfred P. Doolittle and his number that brought down the house - Get me to the church on time. Cukor's famous battle with designer Cecil Beaton erupted when Beaton tried to throw his considerable weight around and Cukor wouldn't stand for it. While Beaton's designs are prominently filmed in the opening, the two men loathed each other and avoided one another during the shoot. They both won Oscars that year.

As a twelve year old, I was far more enamored with "Mary Poppins" (also nominated for Best Picture) and would have preferred that over "My Fair Lady." Although in retrospect, I can see how many people felt and still do that both "Zorba" and "Dr. Strangelove" are better films. Quinn's performance in "Zorba" is certainly one of the most memorable screen appearances of any actor on film. It is one of those choice roles that come along once in a generation. "Dr. Strangelove" is one of the strangest and yet most profound films of that year and affected everyone who saw it, including myself (I had to sneak into the theater in the nearby town because in my hometown it was labeled, "For adults only.") I believe Kubrick's movie had an influence on the entire cold war (along with the film "Fail Safe") as all of those who saw it began to realize the futility of nuclear war as not just absurd but as something that must be avoided at all cost. The lasting image of Slim Pickens final ride was so powerful that it is constantly shown in clips that include the greatest cinema of all time. Unfortunately, Kubrick had given up on Hollywood and America and moved to England. Jack Warner put his political machine in motion and his movie not only swept the awards, but Warner won his long coveted Oscar prize - the only one he would ever receive.

[Chris Knipp]

Another page from your memoirs.

The musical also closely follows the Anthony Asquith film, in some details I expect more than the original play. It's interesting to compare the two films. Cukor's version adds more stuff. The big padding is the Ascot race sequence, where Eliza's comical conversation is inserted instead of during the visit to Higgins' mother's. The Asquith film's tea at the mother's with Eliza's outrageous tale of "them as did her in in" and "gin was mother's milk to her" is more focused and funnier and Freddy's delighted reaction is more comical; Wendy Hiller is better at delivering dialogue and a warmer screen presence than the fragile, porcelain Audrey Hepburn, who probably was not as good as Julie Andrews but looks great and arouses our pity and sympathy well. I wonder if the Ascot races sequence was Cecil Beaton's doing, since it is the big opportunity to display his vision of stylized grey, black and white elegance, as also are the extended tableaux of the ball.

In the musical paradoxically (since you'd think a musical would be sweet; but that sure has changed) Higgins seems more cruel. In the film, Eliza is brilliant at learning with a fabulous ear as Higgins and Pickering immediately note and exclaim, and she catches on right away when introduced to "the rain in Spain falls mainly in the plain" and she nails the H's at once in "Hereford and Hampshire, hurricanes hardly ever happen" except for adding a H at the start of "ever" whereas in the musical/Cukor version, over and over Eliza gets it wrong. It all goes quickly in the more economical and fast-moving 1938 film. But much in the musical is copied from that film, such as the look of the insufferable Hungarian "best pupil," though Asquith's is more colorful. The fact that Eliza's perfect pitch and brilliant learning ability are left out and downplayed in the musical eliminates a central motive. They work with her because she's a perfect subject.