review for Pygmalion on AllMovie

One of George Bernard Shaw's most popular and durable plays concerns the stuffy British professor of phonetics who, on a bet, tries to transform a flower girls' speaking style from lower-class Cockney to proper English, with all it implies. Pygmalion was first filmed in Great Britain in 1938 and became an instant classic. Featuring well-pitched performances from Leslie Howard and Wendy Hiller in the lead roles, this Anthony Asquith film has the exquisite timing and tenor of a sophisticated comedy of manners. Barely concealed beneath the story is a devastating satire of British class pretensions. This material was adapted as the musical My Fair Lady in the 1950s and the film of the same name in 1964. It also inspired numerous imitatations, such as Educating Rita.