If there has ever been a perfect film, that's the one. A great story and a superb cast, it makes the musical 'classic' look like a children's movie. Howard is the real Higgins, witty and cynical, intellectual but cheerful, unabashedly snobbish, yet strangely endearing. But above all, there is Wendy Hiller, whose sole performance gives the movie its enduring charm. When I first saw the movie, I fell in love with her, literally. The next thing I knew, I was scouring video stores for any Wendy Hiller movie, and I was not disappointed. I think she is one of the greatest actresses of all time, second to none, probably except Giulietta Masina. It's a pity that her dedication to the theater did not allow her to make more movies. A long time after I first saw this film, its memorable moments are still fresh in my mind-and the dialogue: 'I'm a good girl, I'm'; 'I don't want to speak grammar, I want to speak like a lady'; 'If you say "I'm a good girl" again, father will take back home'; 'them she lived with would have killed her for a hat pin, let alone a hat'; and so much more. Who could have been wittier than Shaw?
