Question about Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady. — Page 3

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#51

Question about Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady.

Posted: 12/15/13 at 11:38pm

The discussion of Marni Nixon inspired me to look at her IMDB page to see all of the movies where she has dubbed (though they don't all seem to be listed if you believe the other link on here). But i found it interesting that she is listed on IMDB as a performer on Glee in the song A Boy Like That/I Have A Love. I wonder who she dubbed in that one - Naya or Lea or both? And interesting too (well, sad, really) that in this day and age she is still "uncredited" for dubbing performances.

#52

Question about Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady.

Posted: 12/16/13 at 12:30am

@adam, I just did the exact same thing (visited Marni Nixon's IMDB page). Best's comments about her dubbing part of Marilyn Monroe's vocals in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes caused me to look it up. I had no idea that Ms. Nixon had done dubbed part of Marilyn's vocals. Does anyone know which (if any) film credits are missing from her IMDB page?

#53

Question about Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady.

Posted: 12/16/13 at 12:42am

It's funny that Maureen O'Hara should come up in this thread, as according to her autobiography, she was nearly involved in My Fair Lady too.

Allegedly, she was asked to dub Hepburn, and the producers were going to launch a big publicity campaign based around it. Hepburn got wind of the plan and didn't like the idea of the movie being sold with her role billed as "two stars for the price of one" and so the idea was dropped pretty quickly.

#54

Question about Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady.

Posted: 12/16/13 at 2:25am

I'm surprised Andrews would have trouble playing a commoner Cockney flower girl. She was one of the few children not evacuated from London during the Blitz in 1940 at age five. She lived in the worst parts of London with a horrid stepfather who was a drunk.

Andrews performed with him as an older child. It seems like the perfect background for Eliza.

#55

Question about Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady.

Posted: 12/16/13 at 7:22am

Shaw died in 1950. I think he only ever saw two film Elizas.

I don't think anyone said otherwise. I'm sure nobody meant to imply he did.

#56

Question about Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady.

Posted: 12/16/13 at 8:17am

I remember seeing an interview with Hepburn where she addresses the issue of the dubbing of her songs in MFL. She said that she had to give credit to the people responsible for "turning the knobs" and making one voice out of two because she couldn't really sing, she wasn't a soprano.

Nixon was not mentioned by name but Hepburn did acknowledge to the interviewer that she was dubbed.

Updated On: 12/16/13 at 08:17 AM

#57

Question about Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady.

Posted: 12/16/13 at 12:19pm

GavestonPS -- I was just noting that, unlike today's film critics, GBS didn't have the opportunity to see all the film versions of Eliza that there've been. Sorry if I was unclear, or if I misunderstood what you were saying.

#58

Question about Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady.

Posted: 12/16/13 at 4:22pm

I like Debbie Reynolds very much, but I don't think she is at all good in THE UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN. She pushes much too hard in a very dull movie.

Eh. She was doing her classic Reynolds thing and performing the role pretty much as it was intended. It was written to be and typically performed as a scenery-chewing brassy and brash character. And to be honest, the show itself was never that great. The direction of the film was its biggest failing as it simply couldn't rise above the material much less meet the energy level of Debbie Reynolds' performance.

"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian

#59

Question about Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady.

Posted: 12/16/13 at 8:29pm

^^^ Reynolds is still better in the film that she was doing the songs in concert 15 years later. THAT latter performance was like watching grandma perform on the coffee table after too much punch.

GavestonPS -- I was just noting that, unlike today's film critics, GBS didn't have the opportunity to see all the film versions of Eliza that there've been. Sorry if I was unclear, or if I misunderstood what you were saying.

No problem. I thought I had been unclear. The conversations on Shaw and the conversations on all the Elizas got mixed together. It's hard to imagine that Shaw would have liked ANY version of MY FAIR LADY, given that he wrote almost 100 pages of prose arguing that Eliza marries Freddy.

#60

Question about Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady.

Posted: 12/16/13 at 11:00pm

Julie Andrews received no criticism for her cockney Eliza. Audrey Hepburn did. Julie received universal raves for her Eliza.

Julie Andrews was offered director and cast approval from Jack Warner to appear in CAMELOT, against Logan's wishes. Logan did not want her, but she could have had him replaced. When Burton declined, she had no interest in doing the role.

Finally, the shooting schedule for POPPINS was such that all of the principal photography was completed, prior to MY FAIR LADY's principal photography (due to all the effects and animation that had to be added). She could have done both. MFL's schedule conflicted with THE AMERICANIZATION OF EMILY and THE SOUND OF MUSIC; and yes, Disney waited for her because she was pregnant.

Oh, and to reply to the OP's question, God no!!!

Updated On: 12/16/13 at 11:00 PM

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