The Prince and the Showgirl

The title of this film might well be "Watch Marilyn seduce Laurence Olivier". Marilyn had an amazing, nearly unique, quality of "sex appeal". Not that other actresses aren't beautiful or sexy, but Marilyn stands alone, as the greatest screen goddess. The way she moved, the way she talked, it's almost unbelievable how appealing she was. This movie seems designed to show off her abilities in this regard. As such, it is a movie that is worth watching, assuming that you are interested in watching a woman seducing a man.

In other respects, the movie is not a great film. The plot has almost no drama to it. The comedy is so "genteel" as to hardly merit a polite chuckle. Sir Laurence is fine as the stiff, un-romantic prince who tries to avoid falling for Marilyn's charms but there is little "fire" to his performance.

Ultimately the movie rests on Marilyn's remarkable talent for being "desirable". I rate this film just behind "The Seven Year Itch" but it does feature more screen time for Marilyn.

BTW: I see some real resemblance between MM in this film and Jessica Lange (circa "Tootsie").

If this movie would have been like its first 40 minutes, now we'd been talking about a masterpiece. Unfortunately, after the initial fireworks due to the perfect duet between an extraordinary actor as Laurence Olivier and the magnificent Marilyn Monroe, the movie loses its push, maybe because the story doesn't know where to go. Actually the movie is good only when there's Olivier and Marilyn together in a room: the rest is really pointless. It's a pity because the scenography, the music, the acting and the direction of Olivier were good. A lost opportunity.

Considering that all of the backstage talk on the making of 'The Prince and the Showgirl' tells us that a huge rift developed between Oliver and Monroe, their chemistry in this charming comedy is incredible and very apparent. Oliver has his stuffiest role since 'Pride and Prejudice' and does a standout job. Their would-be seduction scene early on, where a tipsy Monroe confronts him with a show of confidence amidst her giggles, is a highlight of the film and sets the tone for the kind of banter between them.

Marilyn never looked more elegant than she does here, costumed and coiffed to look incredibly beautiful. The others in the cast are all impressive in their supporting roles but the main drawback is a script that lumbers along, poorly paced and finally going nowhere. At least twenty minutes of footage could have been clipped to make the whole thing more watchable.

But if you enjoy seeing Marilyn play comedy, this is the one for you. Never has she shown such a flair for enjoying herself in a role. One would never suspect that rumors of unprofessional behavior and disputes with Oliver were even remotely true. The finished product has a glossy, elegant and thoroughly professional look--and as I said before, the only drawback is the script itself and a story too slight to make it totally absorbing. But Laurence Olivier and Marilyn Monroe are both excellent--and, surprisingly, Monroe even upstages him more than once.

If you are a Monroe fan you are in for an hour-and-a-half of sheer enjoyment watching the ingenuous, irrepressible, sexy/innocent personality that Marilyn played so well. It's hard to take your eyes off her as feelings,thoughts,and reactions to events flow over her features in a feast of method acting, if that's what it is. The little story is entertaining in a shallow sort of way - there's something going on with mitteleuropa politics and family tensions but it hardly matters as the engine of the story is the wide-eyed little commoner dumped into an aristocratic environment, and everything that transpires in the short time-frame of her visit. The joke there is that she is always being farewelled but doesn't quite go, and reappears, always in the same dress. There's a fairly familiar thread contrasting sophisticated and corrupt Europe with the honest, down-to-earth representative of the New World. However the European side does provide the excuse for some great costumes and sumptuous interiors, making the film glamorous to watch. Laurence Olivier is reptilian and repulsive as the Grand Duke, which is fine except that we are supposed to believe that the Monroe character has fallen for him. This is not too credible! The direction is tight and effective, so kudos to Olivier for that. Sybil Thorndike is great fun as the Dowager Queen. It's Monroe's film however. I'd happily watch it any number of times.

The Prince and the Showgirl is a film worth watching, even with its imperfections. I did think it was overlong by about 5-10 minutes, but my main flaw with the film was the performance of Laurence Olivier. I just think he did a better job directing than acting here.

I am not knocking his ability as an actor, on the contrary, in fact I think Olivier is a very gifted actor. But, his acting complete with a rather patchy accent is somewhat hammy and I don't think it helped that the character he plays here is one of the more artificial ones he has played in his career in terms of development and arc.

Even with its faults, The Prince and the Showgirls has a lot to recommend it. The photography is just lovely, while the costumes and interiors are just splendid. I also liked the melodious waltz-like score, the sparkling dialogue and sweet story while Olivier does direct quite well.

However, the scene-stealer is the lovely, infectious Marilyn Monroe. She manages to outshine Olivier not just in her acting and comic timing, but she looks amazing especially in that figure-hugging, scene-stealing white dress she wears throughout. Sybil Thorndike also steals scenes as the Queen Dowager.

Overall, a nice film and worth seeing for Monroe and dress alone. 8/10 Bethany Cox