Warner
Oscar Nominations: 12
Picture, produced by Jack L. Warner
Director: George Cukor
Screenplay (Adapted): Alan Jay Lerner
Actor: Rex Harrison
Supporting Actor: Stanley Holloway
Supporting Actress: Gladys Cooper
Cinematography (color): Harry Stradling
Art Direction-Set Decoration (color): Gene Allen and Cecil Beaton; George James Hopkins
Costume Design (color): Cecil Beaton
Film Editing: William Ziegler
Scoring of Music (Adaptation or Treatment): Andre Previn
Sound: George R. Groves
Oscar Awards: 8
Picture
Director
Cinematography
Art Direction-Set Decoration
Costume Design
Film Editing
Scoring
Sound
Oscar Context
“My Fair Lady” was not the most nominated film of the year; that honor was claimed by the rival musical, “Mary Poppins,” which received 13 nods and won 5, including Best Actress to Julie Andrews.
George Cukor, who won the Best Director Oscar at his fifth nomination, directed an opulent production in a grand manner, with fabulous costumes designed by Cecil Beaton. With the conspicuous omission of Audrey Hepburn in the lead role, its three British players, Rex Harrison, Stanley Holloway (as Alfred P. Doolittle), and Gladys Cooper (as Mrs. Higgins) were nominated, and Harrison deservedly won.
“My Fair Lady” won over another musical, “Mary Poppins,” the first of few Walt Disney productions”Beauty and the Beast” and “The Sixth Sense” are the other two–ever to be nominated for the Best Picture, although “My Fair Lady” was much less commercially successful than the Disney picture.
In 1964, the other three Best Picture nominees were: “Beckett,” “Dr. Strangelove,” and “Zorba the Greek.”