“Pygmalion” (1938), Thursday night’s TCM premiere at 8 p.m. EST, has long been in the shadow of George Cukor’s lumbering musical remake, the overshown “My Fair Lady,” which follows at 10. Which is a shame, since “Pygmalion” is a great, vividly rendered film while “My Fair Lady” is basically a transcription of the famous stage show by Lerner and Loewe that preserves Rex Harrison’s legendary performance as the misogynist linguist Henry Higgins. It follows George Bernard Shaw’s play so faithfully that it’s hard to watch the black-and-white “Pygmalion” without anticipating cues for songs that never arrive. But it’s really worth the effort. Leslie Howard, who was nominated for Best Actor as Higgins, gives his best-ever performance (he also co-directed, quite ably, with Anthony Asquith). It’s a revelation for anyone most familiar with the actor for his most famous role, as the boring lust object Ashley Wilkes in “Gone With the Wind” the following year. The sublime Wendy Hiller, also Oscar nominated as Eliza, blows away Audrey Hepburn in the remake. “Pygmalion” was released in the U.S. by MGM and it was among the 10 nominees for Oscar’s Best Picture, beaten by “You Can’t Take It With You,” directed by academy president Frank Capra. The sole Oscar won by “Pygmalion” was for its screenplay, shared by four writers including Shaw. As the IMDB entry puts it, “Shaw was not present at the ceremony. When presenter Lloyd C. Douglas announced that ‘Pygmalion’ has won the Oscar he joked ‘Mr. Shaw’s story now is as original as it was three thousand years ago.’ Shaw’s reaction to the award was not enthusiastic as he is quoted as saying ‘It’s an insult for them to offer me any honour, as if they had never heard of me before – and it’s very likely they never have. They might as well send some honour to George for being King of England.’ Although popular legend says Shaw never received the Oscar, when Mary Pickford visited him she reported that he was on his mantle. When Shaw died in 1950 his home at Ayot St Lawrence became a museum. By this time his Oscar statuette was so tarnished, the curator believed it had no value and used it as a door stop. It has since been repaired and is now on displayed at the museum.” As for “My Fair Lady,” Emma Thompson is reportedly writing a remake that will use more material from Shaw’s play. Keira Knightley is attached to play Eliza. I’d prefer Emily Blunt and Hugh Grant.