Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison
Miss Hepburn, all is forgiven. Thirty years ago, especially if one was young and a really big fan of Mary Poppins, it seemed a great injustice when Hepburn was handed the plum part of Eliza Doolittle in the My Fair Lady movie instead of Julie Andrews, who in 1956 had created the role on Broadway. Well, the big surprise in seeing this painstakingly restored version (the deteriorating original negative has been patched and polished and the sound enhanced) of the 1964 film is the genuine feeling and comic flair, not to mention the sheer loveliness, that Hepburn brings to the role of the cockney flower girl turned lady. She's glorious, particularly in the movie's later scenes, even if it is Marni Nixon's voice coming out of her mouth during the musical numbers—with the exception of "Just You Wait, Henry Higgins," which Hepburn sang-spoke. (The restored video edition, due in stores Oct. 14, also includes Hepburn's own vocals on "Wouldn't It Be Loverly")
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