‘My Fair Lady’ Gets a Face Lift : 30 Years Later, George Cukor’s Oscar-Winning Musical Is Restored. Isn’t It Loverly?

The newly refurbished version of George Cukor’s Oscar-winning musical, “My Fair Lady,” which opens at the Cineplex Odeon Century Plaza today, was restored by Robert Harris and James Katz, the team that reconstructed “Lawrence of Arabia.” There are no new scenes added to the film, but the restorers worked on the color scheme and soundtrack, using the most sophisticated technologies. The re-release celebrates the 30th anniversary of one of Hollywood’s most popular musicals, starring Rex Harrison as Professor Higgins and Audrey Hepburn as Eliza Doolittle, though few people know that it was in the making for two long, turbulent years.

You may think you’re familiar with “My Fair Lady,” but the following are 15 loverly tidbits you never knew:

1. The struggle to acquire the film rights for Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe’s mega-stage hit went on for years before Jack Warner struck a deal, paying an all-time record of $5.5 million.

2. In its time the most expensive musical ever made, “My Fair Lady” was budgeted at $12 million, which by completion rose to $17 million, a hugely extravagant figure for the 1960s.

3. A prestige musical, casting the film generated a great deal of publicity. Lerner hoped that Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews would re-create their successful stage roles, but Warner selected Audrey Hepburn, a respected and bankable star.

4. Hepburn became the second actress in Hollywood to be paid $1 million for a picture; the first was Elizabeth Taylor, for “Cleopatra.”

5. Neither director Cukor nor Harrison thought Hepburn was right. Harrison confessed: “I would much prefer to do it with Julie Andrews. Audrey had no voice and she didn’t sing, which was sad. Being Dutch, she also didn’t understand the Cockney accent. George was very patient, but she simply couldn’t do it, and in the end he gave up.”

6. Having sung in her movies (including “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”) before, Hepburn assumed she would do her songs--she didn’t know that Marni Nixon had already been secretly approached to do dubbing. Hepburn continued to work diligently on her singing, but her efforts resulted in smiles of embarrassment among the crew. No one wanted to tell her that her voice wasn’t right--even in the lower register. (Those who want to hear the real Hepburn singing will be able to on the anniversary laser disc to be released this fall, which features two songs dubbed in Hepburn’s own voice.)

7. Cukor’s first choice for Higgins was Peter O’Toole, the star of David Lean’s forthcoming “Lawrence of Arabia.” After seeing a rough cut in London, negotiations with O’Toole began but his manager made too many conditions. Cary Grant was also offered the part, despite Cukor’s reservations about his speech--”a little Cockney creeps in.” But Grant turned it down in a gentlemanly fashion: “It was Rex’s and only Rex’s part.”

8. Cukor wasn’t even the first choice as director: Both Lerner and Warner wanted Vincente Minnelli, who had directed many successful musicals, among them “Gigi.” When Minnelli made too many demands, the job went to Cukor.

9. Cukor resented that Hepburn was dependent on production designer Cecil Beaton, and could never forget that Beaton was hired before he had been, and was perceived as more vital to the film. The interaction between Cukor and Beaton got off to a bad start when the snobbish Beaton described the vulgar look of Hollywood’s movies as “the Himalayan mountains of bad taste.” For his part, Cukor poked fun at Beaton’s flamboyant appearance, wearing Edwardian suits and broad-brimmed Panama hats to the set, in sharp contrast to his ordinary gray slacks and open shirt. Harrison’s view of the conflict: “George was very anxious about the film’s look, but he let Cecil have his way. Otherwise, there would have been a constant clash of two very strong personalities. Once the visual conception was established, they weren’t on speaking terms.”

10. Warner’s comment on the first day of shooting, Friday, Aug. 13, 1963: “This is one time when we can’t afford to be superstitious.”

11. “Mary Poppins” led the Oscar race for films released in 1964 with 13 nominations; “My Fair Lady” followed with 12.

12. Except for Stanley Kubrick (“Dr. Strangelove”), it wasn’t a particularly strong year for directors; all but Cukor were first-time nominees. Cukor, age 66, won the Oscar for “Lady,” which marked his fifth nomination. Many believed it was Hollywood’s long overdue tribute to a distinguished career, which had included “The Women” and “The Philadelphia Story.”

13. The academy’s failure to nominate Hepburn was “hell” for her, she confided to friends; to escape the hectoring press, she flew to Lausanne, Switzerland.

14. It was Cukor’s idea that Hepburn replace the convalescing Patricia Neal, who had suffered a stroke, as presenter of the best actor Oscar. It created a mild furor in Hollywood, but gave Hepburn the best press of her career.

15. “My Fair Lady” settled in for an indefinite run at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, with its tenure ending in February 1966, after 68 weeks. In 25 weeks, with total grosses of $1.65 million, it set a house record at the Egyptian; worldwide, it grossed more than $50 million in its first year.