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What the heck?!
There are at least TWO versions of the Leslie Howard/Wendy Hiller classic "Pygmalion" (1938).
(Perhaps best known as the original non-musical play on which "My Fair Lady" was based.)
One is the Criterion DVD, which is mastered from the best available (although slightly worn) film elements. The other is a cheap VHS from Monterey Movie Company (who?) with a different print, apparently made for the American market. Certain British slang terms have been replaced with less obscure expressions, all of Leslie Howard's utterances of the word "damn" have been dubbed with alternative words, and, most strangely, much of the Arthur Honegger score has been replaced with music by (according to IMDB) William Axt.
To my ears, it seems as if someone wanted to exchange the eccentric, quirky quality of Honneger's stuff for a more traditionally romantic sound. This would follow with the general tendency, which so irked George Bernard Shaw, to think of "Pygmalion" as a love story. Although Shaw subtitled the play "A Romance in Three Acts," he always insisted that he meant the term satirically. His intention for the ending of the play was that Professor Higgins and Eliza would go their separate ways. However, the way he wrote it seems ambiguous, as if he wanted the audience to decide. He wrote an epilogue to one of the printed editions explaining why he believed Eliza would rather marry Freddie Eynsford-Hill than the Professor.
Anyway, Americans apparently prefer a love story to a satire, and a happy ending to ambiguity, so we have this alternative print with different music as an option. But does anyone know the details about who commissioned the changes, when the new music was added, etc.?
Does the fact that you can get more than one version on video mean that "Pygmalion" has somehow fallen through the cracks in the copyright laws, and become public domain? Could the changes in the American print possibly have anything to do with the copyright renewal lapse?
Also, while I'm at it, does anyone know where I can get the 1935 German-made or the 1937 Dutch-made films of "Pygmalion"? I've been searching for years!
E-mail me at:
sigersonholmes@hotmail.com
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A mere four years later, and my quest is half over!
Lookie, everybody, a real-life, honest-to-goodness DVD release of the 1937 Dutch film of "Pygmalion":
http://www.rodisc.nl/gsp.dll?sid=103&pid=9&p_artikelid=83415&keysetid=40744460
Now if I only understood enough Dutch to order it. I get to the page where you enter your address, and it doesn't offer the "United States" option -- only European countries. I shot their customer service e-mail address a message -- here's hoping their English is better than my Dutch.
It's a Region 2 DVD, but I have a multi-region player. No mention of any English subtitles, it seems, but given my familiarity with the text from other productions and versions, it should be a treat to view this anyway.
At the very least, I can enjoy the score by Max Tak (1891-1967). A quick glance at his IMDB filmography reveals that he also scored the 1938 Dutch version of "Daddy Long Legs," based on the same book which later became the Fred Astaire screen musical. Wouldn't you know it? The Leslie Caron role was played in 1938 by Lily Bouwmeester, who'd played Eliza Doolittle in the above-mentioned 1937 "Pygmalion."
("The Daddy Long Legs" female lead had previously been played in American movies by Janet Gaynor (1931) and Mary Pickford (1919). And does Shirley Temple in "Curly Top" (1935) count?)
. . . Anyway, back to the original topic:
One down, one to go! Now I've gotta find that German version. Anyone have any tips on tracking down the first (1935) filming of "Pygmalion"?
With the 70th anniversary of the Leslie Howard film approaching, one wonders wheter Criterion or Turner or anybody else has a multi-disc re-release planned. The 2000 Criterion DVD is nice, but threadbare as far as extras, and these two foreign versions (plus the 1938 M-G-M re-edit for American audiences) would be interesting bonus features. I'd certainly double-dip an elaborate anniversary four-movie "Pygmalion" DVD -- and it'd be a nice way to mark the occasion.
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Anyway, Americans apparently prefer a love story to a satire, and a happy ending to ambiguity, so we have this alternative print with different music as an option. But does anyone know the details about who commissioned the changes, when the new music was added, etc.?
MGM surely subscribed to the old axiom that defined "satire" as something that opens on Friday night and closes on Saturday night.
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MGM surely subscribed to the old axiom that defined "satire" as something that opens on Friday night and closes on Saturday night.
That axiom is most often credited to George S. Kaufman. Nobody seems to know when or where he said it, or what specifically prompted it. The silliest thing is, often as not, whoever attributes it to him goes on to point out that Kaufman did well enough himself writing the occasional satire, and so why would he go and say a thing like that anyway?
His other similar quote that comes to mind is the one about a "success d'estime," (did I spell that right, French speakers?) which he reportedly defined as "a success which runs out of steam."
Incidentally, with the assistance of Altavista's handy-dandy translation engine, I managed to order that Dutch Pygmalion DVD. It should be on its way!
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Motion Picture Daily reported in August 1938 that MGM agreed to distribute the film in the United States, but the studio required some retakes, a new musical score and other changes to "bring it up to American standards."
Retakes! Never heard that. Time to watch the film again, to see if I can spot them.
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Interesting!
Perhaps someday we'll have a huge box set containing every known filming of every version of the play, similarly to the new '60s TV "Batman" box.
All we have to do is live long enough.
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Posted: |
Nov 17, 2014 - 4:41 PM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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There have been two American television versions: By NBC in 1963 as part of The Hallmark Hall of Fame series, with Julie Harris, James Donald, and John Williams in the lead roles, and George Schaefer as producer-director; By Showtime in 1983 with Peter O'Toole and Margot Kidder.
There have also been three TV versions in Britain (1948, 1973, and 1981); two TV versions in West Germany (1956 and 1980); and TV versions in East Germany (1957), Sweden (1968), the Netherlands (1976), and Hungary (1981).
And those are only the versions called "Pygmalion." I'm sure there are other more free-wheeling adaptations under other titles.
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