The title refers to, of course, the April 1956 wedding of US actress Grace Kelly and "Prince" Rainier Grimaldi of Monaco. MGM secured the rights to this mini-documentary; considering the worldwide interest in the marriage, this must have been a coup for the studio. The actual film is banal, blathering fandom. We learn Monaco (then) had 4,000 citizens (called "subjects"). By comparison, social media's "facebook" allows each user to add 5,000 friends. The tiny area is a "Principality" (of France). Everyone toils hard to make their Prince's wedding perfect. Not much attention is given to the real purpose for the Principality of Monaco. It's a place for wealthy European (and others) to sunbathe and deposit money into the local casinos...
The wealth of Monaco's royal family is obvious, and Ms. Kelly's presence as incoming "Princess" certainly pleased the profiteers. In the ensuing years, she was more of a draw there than at movie theaters. Kelly arrives for her wedding on a yacht, appropriately. The young movie star wears a white hat that looks very much like a flying saucer landed on her head. One can only picture Audrey Hepburn or Greta Garbo putting such a thing on their head, with any grace. Fortunately, Kelly's chapeau is short-lived. She looks her best when touring the palace, looking at "royal" portraits. The cameras are politely distant from the remote couple. Mainly, we learn that it's good to be rich because you can have very nice things...
But we knew that.
* The Wedding in Monaco (1956-04) Jean Masson ~ Grace Kelly, Prince Rainier
