Sherlock Holmes Vs. Henry Higgins in The World of Sherlock Holmes Forum

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Sherlock Holmes Vs. Henry Higgins

Author	Comment
davlghry	Sherlock Holmes Vs. Henry Higgins	Lead	[-]
Jan 13 10 10:24 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Whenever I see MY FAIR LADY, I always get the feeling that Professor Henry Higgins and Colonel Pickering owe a little something to Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. Of course the eras are basically the same, the London setting as well, two bachelor gentlemen in one flat, the Mrs. Hudson-like landlady, Higgins' intellectual superority and lack of need for the female of the species and Pickering's observational sidekick role. It's not an exact fit, of course, but I've always thought it was close enough to mention. It's not that hard to imagine Holmes and Higgins passing each other in the London fog.
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Wich2		#1	[-]
Jan 13 10 10:55 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	davl, no question. That's been commented on from the beginning. Best, -Craig
DonM435		#2	[-]
Jan 13 10 10:59 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	George Bernard Shaw is a supporting character in Nicholas Meyer's novel The West End Horror. In it, Shaw observes how Sherlock Holmes can tell the where a speaker lives from his speech. A footnote reminds us that Shaw later wrote Pygmalion and has Henry Higgins doing the same trick. (Bram Stoker, Oscar Wilde and probably a few others I've forgotten also make appearances in the book.)
Richard		#3	[-]
Jan 14 10 9:54 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Of course, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John H. Watson came first, by about three decades. Richard "There's only one thing that can kill the movies, and that's education." Will Rogers
amarok		#4	[-]
Jan 15 10 4:27 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Funny that this thread should just pop up -- Just last night I watched the SNL episode with Christopher Lee, and in one skit he plays Henry Higgins trying to correct Baba Wawa's speech. I've read Lee was supposed to be a drunk Holmes in another skit, but it was cut because they didn't have enough time.
jimwearne		#5	[-]
Feb 3 12 8:43 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Check out my book: "The Adventure of the Old Campaigners." It's available on Amazon both in print and kindle editions. It's about Watson, Pickering, Holmes, Higgins and Eliza Doolittle.You will like it! Jim Wearne
Elisabeth		#6	[-]
Feb 9 12 6:36 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I DID check it out, Jim, and I'm anxiously awaiting its arrival. Thank you for telling us about it. "E" Your Signature ... "....I do hope he won't upset Henry..."
jplibby		#7	[-]
Feb 10 12 10:14 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	DonM435 wrote: George Bernard Shaw is a supporting character in Nicholas Meyer's novel The West End Horror. In it, Shaw observes how Sherlock Holmes can tell the where a speaker lives from his speech. A footnote reminds us that Shaw later wrote Pygmalion and has Henry Higgins doing the same trick. (Bram Stoker, Oscar Wilde and probably a few others I've forgotten also make appearances in the book.) Gilbert and Sullivan and (I think) Dame Ellen Terry also join in the fun. I'm certain Shaw modeled Higgins and Pickering on Holmes and Watson. Years ago, I lent my paperback copy to someone who promptly lost it. He insisted he gave it back to me. I finally learned never to loan him anything. Incidentally, when I got a VHS tape of the 1938 Pygmalion several years ago, I realized that Lerner and Leowe had based My Fair Lady on that screenplay more than the original play. Many of the cuts and changes in the dialogue are identical! The movie also has the Embassy Ball scene, which substitutes for the offstage party in the play. Last Edited By: jplibby Feb 10 12 10:23 PM. Edited 3 times.
Andy	Homage?	#8	[-]
Feb 11 12 2:18 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Greetings, British Literature is full of tandem characters. Jeeves has Wooster (or vice versa), Charters has Caldicott, Lord Peter Wimsey has Bunter, Hercule Poirot has Captain Hastings, Starsky has Hutch - no, no, they're not British. Classic tales all, there is the same "buddy story" going. One character is the foil for the other, and sincere friendships are portrayed. I read somewhere that readers' "...attraction to Holmes begins with Watson." That is true with so many works. Many of us can more readily identify with the foil as opposed to the chief protagonist. Regards, Andy in Vancouver.
DonM435		#9	[-]
Feb 19 12 4:38 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	jplibby wrote: ... Incidentally, when I got a VHS tape of the 1938 Pygmalion several years ago, I realized that Lerner and Leowe had based My Fair Lady on that screenplay more than the original play. Many of the cuts and changes in the dialogue are identical! The movie also has the Embassy Ball scene, which substitutes for the offstage party in the play. Right. Much as I like Rex Harrison's Higgins, I think that Leslie Howard was even better.
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Wich2		#10	[-]
Feb 19 12 5:52 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	>1938 Pygmalion ... Lerner and Leowe had based My Fair Lady on that screenplay more than the original play< Both Shavian!
DonM435		#11	[-]
Feb 19 12 10:24 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Yep. Shaw had a hand in the Oscar-winning screenplay.
jplibby		#12	[-]
Feb 22 12 12:01 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Wich2 wrote: >1938 Pygmalion ... Lerner and Leowe had based My Fair Lady on that screenplay more than the original play< Both Shavian! Yes, I know. I was just startled by the similarities between the movie and the musical. Same ending too (which differs from the original play).
jplibby		#13	[-]
Feb 22 12 12:03 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	DonM435 wrote: jplibby wrote: ... Incidentally, when I got a VHS tape of the 1938 Pygmalion several years ago, I realized that Lerner and Leowe had based My Fair Lady on that screenplay more than the original play. Many of the cuts and changes in the dialogue are identical! The movie also has the Embassy Ball scene, which substitutes for the offstage party in the play. Right. Much as I like Rex Harrison's Higgins, I think that Leslie Howard was even better. Leslie Howard is an excellent Higgins. Interesting the Shaw originally wanted Charles Laughton; I think Laughton also would have been wonderful, but very different.
Rick		#14	[-]
Feb 22 12 12:06 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	And for the musical, Lerner and Loewe originally wanted Cyril Ritchard, who would have been great. Probably more overtly comic than Harrison, and certainly less of a romantic possibility for Eliza.
jplibby		#15	[-]
Feb 22 12 12:35 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Rick wrote: And for the musical, Lerner and Loewe originally wanted Cyril Ritchard, who would have been great. Probably more overtly comic than Harrison, and certainly less of a romantic possibility for Eliza. Now that, I didn't know. But I think Cyril Ritchard starred in the national tour. I think my mom saw him in the show. Dad saw the touring company too, but with a different cast (this was years before Mom and Dad even met). At the moment I can't recall who Dad saw in the show. My college drama teacher (who had played Higgins in Pygmalion many, many times) passed (!) on the opportunity to audition for the Broadway production when they were looking for replacements! As it happened, his good friend Edward Mulhare was cast. Edit: Now I remember. Dad saw Brian Aherne in the show. Last Edited By: jplibby Feb 22 12 7:17 PM. Edited 1 times.
Wich2		#16	[-]
Feb 23 12 12:03 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I could see Aherne being great as the "leading man" version of Higgins. Ritchard would be fruitier (ever see his "Big Bad Wolf?") - but in a way, that might make him more Sherlockian!
jplibby		#17	[-]
Feb 23 12 11:12 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Here are some photos of the program for the National Tour starring Brian Aherne and Anne Rogers: http://www.ebay.com/itm/w...orig_cvip=true&rt=nc
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Sherlock Holmes Vs. Henry Higgins

Sherlock Holmes Vs. Henry Higgins