The Prince and the Showgirl

  • PG
  • Laurence Olivier (1957)
  • UK
  • 111 min
The Prince and the Showgirl
Film Review
Reviewed By
3 out of 5

What should have been an explosive pairing of Hollywood's golden girl, Marilyn Monroe, and England's greatest theatre actor, Laurence Olivier, doesn't quite come off, largely owing to the vapidity of the vehicle chosen: a tired Terence Rattigan play, The Sleeping Prince, written for the Coronation and already dated before it hit the West End boards. Yet there's much to be thankful for, especially the presence of Monroe, lovingly lit in Technicolor by the great Jack Cardiff. As you would expect, Monroe sparkles, showing a terrific sense of comic timing in a performance of great skill and beauty certainly helped by that figure-hugging white evening dress she wears throughout. Olivier, who also directed, seems overawed, and hampers himself with a Balkan accent that's a cross between Garbo and Bela Lugosi. Richard Wattis and especially Sybil Thorndike are splendid, however, and Marilyn, whose company financed the project, is a dream.

Plot Summary

Romantic comedy starring Marilyn Monroe and Laurence Olivier. London, 1911. An American showgirl falls for the cold Prince Regent of a small European country, who is in town for George V's coronation. In her pursuit of the prince, she also tries to reconcile the differences between the prince and his son.

Cast and crew

Cast

Charles, Prince Regent
Laurence Olivier
Elsie Marina
Marilyn Monroe
Queen Dowager
Sybil Thorndike
Northbrooke
Richard Wattis
King Nicholas
Jeremy Spenser
Hoffman
Esmond Knight
Major Domo
Paul Hardwick
Maud
Rosamund Greenwood

Crew

Director
Laurence Olivier

Other Information

Language: 
English
Colour
Available on video and DVD
Certificate PG
Categories
Comedy

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