Deliberate mistake: When Eliza is about to be bathed, the mirror keeps turning around between shots to avoid reflecting the filming crew.
My Fair Lady (1964)
1 deliberate mistake
Directed by: George Cukor
Starring: Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Stanley Holloway
Visible crew/equipment: When Professor Higgins is having Eliza practice saying the letter H by blowing into a tube to make the flame waver, the paper she's holding is actually Rex Harrison's lines. Once the paper starts to burn and the camera angle changes, you can read them and it's practically all of his lines for the whole scene.
Landlady: ...and what things does she want? Her bird cage and her Chinese fan. But she says, never mind about sending any clothes.
Trivia: Rex Harrisson also played Henry Higgins on broadway. He wanted Julie Andrews for Eliza as well, since she had also played Eliza on broadway. (Julie didn't get the role obviously, but did play Mary Poppins that year, and won the Best Actress Oscar).
Question: Higgins presumably knows about the ball's high standards of dress for men and women. Why then is he the only man there who is not wearing white gloves (which are routine for such occasions)?
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Answer: Higgins is eccentric and a bit anti-social. He does not always follow social norms and protocol. He somewhat enjoys upsetting his snobbish peers, as well as his mother. He's also highly focused in the moment on passing off Eliza as a high-society lady.
raywest ★