| re: PYGMALION endings over the years....Part two, 1937-1941 | |
| Posted by: showtunetrivia 10:30 am EST 03/09/21 | |
| In reply to: PYGMALION endings over the years....Part one, to 1937 - showtunetrivia 10:28 am EST 03/09/21 | |
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| So GBS's own 1938 screenplay had more Freddy (not much of a character in the 1916), edited any comments that could be construed as romantic on the part of ED or HH, and overall, shifted the focus from HH to ED. And, as I said above, implied a marriage with ED and Freddy. GBS's screenplay wasn't a proper shooting script, so other hands came in, notably Cecil Lewis and W.P. Lipscomb. GBS was reportedly adamant that none of his words could be altered, but he didn't mind if things got moved around. And he wasn't present during shooting. Tsk tsk. Pascal, however, brought romance in from the opening titles, which explained the myth of Galatea to the viewers...and by casting Leslie Howard,,fresh from playing the Scarlet Pimpernel--and what's more romantic than that? And he added to all that with sentimental music, close-ups, and dramatic cuts. And while GBS's ending was filmed, as was a so-called "compromise" ending--Pascal and the movie folks hated those. So they chucked them. Here's GBS's ending: HH outside his mother's,,with a kind of dream sequence showing the past and the future (ED--Freddy), then returning to the present. The movie has HH,,after ED coolly leaves him at his mom's, storming through the streets of London, back to his flat. And the now familiar scene of playing the recordings, ED's return, his intense surprise, and the immediate covering those feeling with the slippers line. The movie was an international smash and the screenplay won the Oscar for GBS, Lewis, and Lipscomb. GBS said it was an insult for the Academy to give him and award,,as they undoubtedly had no idea who he was. There are stories he refused it--not true, Mary Pickford saw it in a prominent spot on his mantle.(After his death,,however, his estate's caretakers obviously has no notion what the hell it was, and may have used it as a doorstop. It needed refurbishing.) August 1939--GBS knew he couldn't do a damn thing about the movie,,but he was concerned that it would have an effect on future stagings of the play. ("Ere, now, that ain't the way it ended when Leslie 'Oward did it!") So this ending has HH casually tell ED to order the ham, cheese, and buy him the gloves and tie. She says, buy them yourself and sweeps out. Same as before. But then... Mrs.H: I'm afraid you've spolit that girl, Henry. I should be worried about you and her if she were less fond of Col. Pickering. HH: Pickering? Nonsense. She's going to marry Freddy! Ha ha! Freddy! Ha ha ha ha! (Roars with laughter) This edition was published but didn't get much use, partly because the earlier edition was ubiquitous, and partly due to the war. In 1941, GBS published his definitive edition, incorporating five scenes from the film, a new preface, a note to stage technicians on how to incorporate those new more cinematic scenes ( or options around them), etc. Remember ED looking for that ring in the fireplace, how Stella Campbell had started clutching to her bosom, swooning? Now GBS has her retriving it, thinking,,then dashing it down on a table and storming upstairs to pack. No sentimental souvenirs here! And we have a further revised ending. After HH issues his casual order, instead of "Buy them yourself," we get: ED: Number eights are too small for you if you want them lined with lamb's wool. You have three new ties you have forgotten in the drawer of your washstand. Col. Pickering prefers double Gloucester to Stilton, and you don't notice the difference. I telephoned Mrs. Pearce this morning not to forget the ham. What you are to do without me, I cannot imagine. (Sweeps out) And we close as in the 1939 version. "Freddy! Ha ha ha ha!" This is what you see if you see PYGMALION, the version licensed by the estate. I haven't read the 1939 version, but I have read the 1916 and 1941...and I like the former better. It's more focused, it's more Shavian in tone. You get more philosophy from HH. (indeed, Lerner put back many lines from that edition that GBS had cut,,either for the screenplay or the 1939/41 versions. And they're good lines.) Also, unlike his other plays, this version was not performed before publication...and it shows. The 1916 may seem more static (there were huge technological developments between 1914 and 1941), but the later version seems clunky. At least to me. Laura |
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