The Prince and the Showgirl (1957) User Reviews

The Showgirl Reigns

[abelardo64 · 7/10 · 12 March 2005]

I've seen enough of Laurence Olivier's work for the cinema to understand why, previous generations, considered him the greatest actor that ever lived. I was introduced to him in "The Boys From Brazil" so I didn't quite get it. Then in "Marathon Man" he was chilling. Only recently I've seen "Wuthering Heights" "Rebecca" "Hamlet" "Henry V" and "The Entertainer". He was unquestionably great. "The Prince and the Showgirl" presents an interesting picture of that famous "test of time" thing. The greatest actor that ever lived is, this time, not only acting with Marilyn Monroe but he's also directing her. Apparently they didn't get along. Olivier was, naturally, fed up with her lateness and her moods. He wasn't a model of diplomacy. He complained that her teeth looked yellow on the screen. That alone put her out of business for a couple of days. But now in 2005 we look at the film, forgetting all those amusing bit of nonsense and what do we see? The greatest living actor, acting, yes, acting up a storm. Doing justice to Rattingan's words and rhythms in the most respectful theatrical tradition. His performance, amusing as it is, seems completely embedded in 1957. Marilyn Monroe on the other hand travels with the times and her performance is as fresh and natural today as his is stuffy and calculated. She is glorious. Isn't funny, how time does what it does? I call it justice.

Marilyn Monroe outshines Laurence Olivier

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 28 September 2014]

Grand Duke Charles (Laurence Olivier) is the prince-regent of Carpathia, a fictional Balkan country which could be the cause of a worldwide war. He's in London with his pro-German minor son and the Dowager Queen to attend the coronation of King George V in 1911. British foreign officer Northbrook (Richard Wattis) is tasked with getting him whatever he wants. The Prince is completely taken by the actress Elsie Marina (Marilyn Monroe) at the Coconut Girl Club. Northbrook brings her to a supper for two.

Laurence Olivier is very stiff which is his character. He's a tiresome old geezer. He is utterly overshadowed by Marilyn Monroe in every scene. This is a very unlikeable romance. The two characters and actors have no chemistry whatsoever. When it comes, the romance feels forced and uncomfortable. Monroe is great when she's drunk acting. She's magical and the screen loves her. The difference between the two can't be any greater. She is fun and hilarious. The movie grinds down whenever she's not on the screen.

Go with the flow

[verna-a · 7/10 · 22 July 2012]

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.

A delight for any dedicated Marilyn Monroe fan!

[Cari-8 · 9 August 1999]

Olivier and Monroe...an unlikely combination, it would seem. Yet Olivier's blustering pomposity and Monroe's giddy naivete create a surprising chemistry. Sir Lawrence is ever the blue-blood in this well conceived comedy, the tale of a lovely, bubbly young American showgirl who is invited to spend the evening with the smitten Prince.

Monroe is absolutely wonderful--her performance is well thought out and very strong, using every ounce of her famed comedic skill . And she's beautiful as always...even in a pristine white, elegantly beaded evening gown she fairly radiates sensuality.

What truly holds the film together, though, are the outstanding performances by Richard Wattis (the unerringly English, ever mindful Majordomo Northbrook) and Sybil Thorndike (the Grand Duke's hilariously incomprehensible mother-in-law the Queen Dowager).

The movie is well filmed and well paced, with the exception of the coronation ceremony segment which could have been edited considerably. Overall, the story is a winner... a very charming tribute to the virtues of persistence! We learn that our Prince isn't nearly so cold and conniving as he'd like us to believe, and Miss Elsie Marina isn't nearly the wide-eyed ingenue we thought she was...

The showgirl outshines the prince

[hall895 · 7/10 · 2 June 2014]

Laurence Olivier is famous for being a great actor. Marilyn Monroe is famous for being Marilyn Monroe. But Monroe had some acting chops too and she shows them off to good effect in The Prince and the Showgirl. While Olivier turns in an oddly wooden, unnatural performance Monroe shines. OK, maybe playing a sexy showgirl wasn't a great stretch for her. But she does so well with the role, a role which required her to be more than just a sex object. Her character, Elsie, has to show some smarts too as she keeps up with the film's political machinations. Of course the political stuff is just a sideshow. The main attraction here is watching the showgirl sweep the stuffy prince off his feet without even really trying.

The story unfolds in London in 1911 with dignitaries having arrived for the royal coronation. Olivier plays the Prince Regent of a fictional Eastern European nation. He rules until his son comes of age and takes the throne. His son may not want to wait, plotting with the Germans to overthrow dear old Dad. The British government is anxious to curry favor with the father, who sides with them rather than the Germans. While he is in London the prince's every whim will be catered to, he gets whatever he wants. And what he wants, after a quick backstage theater visit, is a one night stand with Elsie. She is invited to the embassy for what she believes to be a party but she's the only one attending this "party" with the prince. She's been brought there for one reason. But Elsie will have none of it, rebuffing the prince's clumsy pass. The night goes on, she starts to fall for him a bit...but then the prince's plan to get her drunk backfires as she passes out. When she wakes in the morning all heck will be breaking loose.

The following day, coronation day, is a whirlwind of activity. Elsie finds herself caught up in things way beyond the realm of a simple showgirl. But she more than holds her own. Can she repair the relationship between father and son, perhaps preventing a revolution, maybe even stopping a world war? And, more to the point since this is meant to be a romantic film, can she get the prince to fall in love with her? The movie never really sizzles. Monroe is more than game but Olivier comes across as a bit of a cold fish. The chemistry between the pair never entirely convinces. The story moves rather slowly. At times the story doesn't really move at all and it never quite manages to hit the emotional heights. But somehow the movie still manages to be reasonably entertaining. By sheer force of personality Monroe makes the film work. She charms you, makes you love her and, when it's called for, she definitely makes you laugh. Monroe spices up what otherwise could have been a very drab movie. She may not be royalty but the showgirl is undoubtedly the star which allows this movie to shine.

Charming Tragi - Comedy, but a minor one

[theowinthrop · 7/10 · 14 December 2005]

This is one of those movies where the set pace of events are known to the audience, so that when it reaches it's conclusion we are aware that what we (the audience) might wish can happen for the two leads is not going to be possible.

It is 1911, and we are in London for the coronation week of King George V and his wife Queen Mary. If you have read THE GUNS OF AUGUST by Barbara Tuchman, this event was the last great occasion for the appearance of all the crowned heads of Europe prior to the destruction (in seven years) of three leading houses (Hohenzollern, Romanov, and Hapsburg) due to World War II. Despite the survival of several other monarchies in Scandanavia, the Benelux countries, and (in revival) in Spain, the three lost ones of 1918 are now joined by the lost ones of the Balkans. And it is the Balkans that is the spot that Laurence Olivier's Carpathia is located in.

In reality Carpathia is part of Hungary and Roumania. Part of it (Transylvania) is well known through the story of Dracula. But for the sake of this story, it is an independent kingdom like Roumania, Bulgaria, and Serbia at that time. Prince Charles, the Regent of Carpathia, is running the country until his son King Nicholas comes of age in 18 months. So sometime in 1913 Nicholas will start ruling in his own name, and he is pro-German. Charles is pro-English. This would be unimportant but Carpathia has the fourth best army in Europe, so if it shifts it's position it may cause an unbalanced international situation that may lead to a general war.

Charles (Laurence Olivier) and Nicholas (Jeremy Spenser) and Nicholas' grandmother the Queen Dowager (Sybil Thorndike) are attending it. Charles is being monitored by Foreign Office official Northbrook (Richard Wattis), who wants to make sure the Regent is happy on his visit. Charles attends a show, and decides that one of the minor actresses, Elsie Mariner (Marilyn Monroe) should be invited to the Carpathian Embassy for a late supper. Despite misgivings Northbrook arranges for Elsie to show up.

But Elsie (although welcomed by the amorous Charles) finds she has to watch as he spends time talking about a political problem at home - the capture of one of Nicholas' clique of pro-German friends who has been caught with some compromising documents that would hurt the King. Charles plans to squeeze the arrested man for all the information he can get about Nicholas' schemes, but admits to his telephone informant that he is more likely to have problems about the situation from President Taft and his meddlesome Americans than from anyone else. Elsie, who overhears this, is angered (she is an American). The result is a moment that most fans of Monroe don't recall. They remember that she sang Happy Birthday to President Kennedy once, but here she toasted President William Howard Taft with champagne.

Charles finds Elsie not like other women he has had one night stands with. First, he never gets to first base with her (she gets drunk and falls asleep, despite his varied attempts to get her into the right mood and position). Second, she does not leave as he hopes, but keeps getting stuck deeper and deeper into the embassy and the Royal Family's world (even attending the coronation at Westminster Abbey). She is there for the embassy ball, and she even has a second night where she is in control of the trysting. Charles married his late wife and did his duty for her and her country, but he finds he loves Elsie. But he is leaving at the start of the third day for Carpathia with his mother and son, and has another 18 months of duty before he is free. And Elsie has 18 months left to her play contract. They do say "au revoir" at the end, but will they get back together. For they can't until 1913, the start of the Second Balkan War, and one of the steps that brought World War I to fruition.

The film was based on a play, THE SLEEPING PRINCE by Terence Rattigan, one of the best dramatists of England in the 20th Century (THE WINSLOW BOY, THE BROWNING VERSION). A practitioner of what Shaw called "the well-made play", Rattigan made sure his plays were entertaining and intelligent, and his characters were realistic. But in the original play Elsie was not American, but English, and was played by Vivien Leigh. Olivier had thought of filming the play with Leigh, but her illness interfered. Monroe was available, and was big box-office. Olivier was to direct her, his first film direction assignment since RICHARD III. She gave so much difficulty to him, he did not direct another film until 1970 when he did Checkov's THE THREE SISTERS.

But the film has it's period charms and a literate script. It does capture the brittle social and diplomatic world of 1911 quite well. Olivier's Regent is not as great a part as Richard III or Hamlet or Othello, but he does have a grasp on the man's pride and sense of self-importance. Monroe does come across as intelligent regarding family matters (i.e. the Regent and his son, the King), as well as an understanding woman. Wattis shoulders the dignity of the foreign office ruffled by the crazy duties he has to shoulder that week. Sybil Thorndike, with her fears of anarchists, and belief that Elsie is a close friend of Sarah Bernhart, is in a peculiar portion of the universe. She carries off an eccentric royal type that is light years away from her aged, vicious crone in BRITTANIA MEWS. It was not a major film - certainly not in the same category as the three Olivier Shakespeare films, but it is a good minor one.

Monroe out-acts Olivier with ease

[brendangcarroll · 7/10 · 16 July 2009]

Just saw this again the other day after many years, and was impressed by Monroe's effortless upstaging of Olivier, who gives the most hammy, artificial performance of his career, unsurprising as he is directing himself.

If you want to see what star quality means, just watch their scenes together. He is desperately trying to ACT and eclipse her. All she has to do is just BE there in shot.

Whenever they are on screen, it is always her that one's eyes are drawn to and she gives such a natural performance throughout it almost seems as if she isn't acting at all. She also copes with some extremely tricky dialogue, giving the lie to her inability to remember lines. These are often done in a single take - one scene in particular, early in the film as she is leaving the house before Olivier arrives home, talking rapidly to Richard Wattis as they walk down the long staircase, is outstanding.

So, the film is worthwhile in showing Monroe as the great star she was - and revealing Olivier to only be capable of mere caricature (that fake German accent is so awful) without a strong director to rein him in.

Such Great Performance From Miss Monroe

[waelkatkhuda · 7/10 · 22 February 2017]

Among all of Marilyn's films this is the best performance and although she is best remembered today by here brilliant performance as sugar cane in ( Some like it hot 1959) she is doing much better here, she gives us a very simple performance which is too hard to play because u have to be both simple and very real and that is the hardest style of acting. This was my the first film i saw for MM back to 2008 and it attracted me from the start till the end. The film is based on a play called ( The Sleeping Prince ) starring Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh and i think that it was back to 1953 anyway Marilyn bought the rights and played the part of Vivien. The production of the film was very difficult and there was a lot of tension between Sir Laurance and Marilyn because first they were from two different schools and second she was regularly failed to show up in the set and when does she never arrived on time not to mention the endless retakes , to know more a bout the production on this film you should see a documentary film called -The prince and the showgirl and me- which was made in which was made buy Colin Clark ( you can see it in YouTube) , and if u don't like documentary films u can watch a movie made in 2011 starring Michelle William called ( My Week with Marilyn). At the end yes Marilyn was difficult to work with but she delivered one of here best performance on screen and she was nominated for Best Foreign Actress in BAFTA Awards .

Worth seeing to see the gorgeous Monroe outshine Olivier

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 2 April 2011]

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

Lost opportunity

[sirlion · 6/10 · 1 August 1999]

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.

The Coronation Scene

[BumpyRide · 5/10 · 10 September 2004]

This is an odd, quirky movie that I can't say I really enjoy. Like many of Marilyn's movies, they come off being unbalanced, but this is the first, and only movie made by her own production company. There are some good parts, and there are even more boring, and "Plug in the coffee pot to keep me awake" moments.

Still, if it's on TV, I'll tune in for one scene only. The coronation scene, which has no dialog, concentrates almost solely on Marilyn's emotions while she watches history being made. Through her, we are drawn through the scene, and at least I, experience a full range of emotions to almost being on the brink of tears at how beautiful this scene is. With a close up of her face, she fades away and a glorious circular stained glass window appears, then to another stained glass window of cliffs that transforms and becomes real, long enough to hear the sound of a ship's horn in the distance, to the "violence, violence, violence!" chant and the thundering canon which brings this wonderful scene to its conclusion.

That scene alone, with a few other glorious shots of Monroe make this movie worth watching.

A Comededy That Goes a Little Deeper

[walchonvonsentze · 10/10 · 28 February 2007]

It has been rightly stated in other comments on this page that "The Prince and the Showgirl" is not the best Marilyn Monroe movie ever made, especially considering such later pictures as "Some Like It Hot" and "The Misfits." It is also true that "The Prince and the Showgirl" is not Marilyn's best performance, given her outstanding acting as Sugar Kane and Roslyn Taber in the aforesaid movies. I do contend nonetheless that "The Prince and the Showgirl" is a delightful comedy in an interesting historic setting with hidden message underneath; a movie in which the supposedly empty-headed blonde looms a lot larger than her illustrious male costar/director. And I may add – though I am aware that this is a matter of taste entirely – that Marilyn was never sexier than when she played Elsie Marina. She's real eye candy.

But one step at a time. The plot runs as follows: On the eve of World War I – at the 1912 coronation of King George V, to be precise – a British diplomat by the name of Northbrook (Richard Wattis) is charged with entertaining the pro-British ruler of the imaginary Balkan state of Carpathia, the Grand Duke Charles (Laurence Olivier). Carpathia is a fairly important regional power, which is why the British Foreign Office fears that the county might side with Germany if Charles's pro-German son Nicholas rose to power.

Northbrook takes the Grand Duke to see a light musical comedy, and it is in the theater that Charles is introduced to the attractive American-born actress Elsie Marina (Monroe), who, as we later learn, is of German descent. Charles wishes to lure Elsie into a one-night stand, but the American showgirl's lack of refined manners collides with the high-strung aristocrat's ideas of a smooth, short-lived love affair. In a sub-plot, Nicholas conspires with the Germans against his father.

As said earlier, the genteel humour is delightful, the Edwardian costumes are dazzling to look at, and Marilyn Monroe – overshadowing the unimaginative performance of Olivier – is simply white hot. There are a number of shots in that movie that would make great stills of Monroe, e.g. when she reads Charles's written invitation (she has her hair down and looks like a Vermeer beauty), when she enters the Carpathian embassy and admires at the gilded decorations, when she is engulfed in her marvellous reverie in Westminster Abbey etc. etc. Not only is she sexy in these moments, but there is really a sense of great (silent) acting, the emotions showing in her features. And the shots as such could almost be described as devotional pictures. Just stop the DVD for a sec at these moments and enjoy the tableaux.

Regrettably, Olivier's rendering of the Grand Duke seems rather wooden and dated by comparison. He speaks with an inauthentic German accent, and he moves in a stiff and military way to indicate the Grand Duke's arrogance and authoritarian stance, which he exhibits by tyrannizing his son, yelling at servants, and by having opposition leaders arrested and jailed without trial. Overall, Olivier does his best to show the Grand Duke as the archetypical ugly German.

I guess this is precisely where "The Prince and the Showgirl" goes "a little deeper" than most other plays in musical comedy, as Olivier's character once remarks about the play in which Elsie Marina appears. I don't know if Terrence Rattigan, on whose play and script the movie is based, intended this, but the allusions are quite obvious: "The Prince and the Showgirl" can be understood as a comment on McCarthyism, much like Arthur Miller's "The Crucible." Because when a powerful man in a 1957 movie has political opponents arrested without trial on charges of "un-Carpathian activity," that's a comment on the ongoing red scare in the US rather than on Imperial Germany. And to crown it all, it's the innocent American who criticizes the ugly German for the persecution of these un-American (McCarthy)/un-Carpathian (Grand Duke Charles) people, who conspire with a foreign power to overthrow the constitution. It's almost uncanny that Arthur Miller, whom Marilyn had wed just a few months before, was present when the movie was shot AND had to appear before the House Un-American Activities Committee immediately when he returned from England. Bear in mind that the Committee was originally intended to find German-American Nazi collaborators!

There is one other historical detail I as a German find almost hilarious in an American movie based on an Englishman's screenplay: As other commentators have observed, Olivier spices up his dry performance by using German swear words which were probably outdated in the 50s already ("Kreuzdonnerwetter noch mal" etc.). Asked by Elsie Marina why he always swore in German, the Grand Duke replies: "Because the Germans have the best oaths - and the best machine guns." Isn't that the truth – the Hun simply has the best machine guns. Funny only that the German Maschinengewehr 08 was more or less a direct copy of the English Maxim gun invented by the American-born engineer Sir Hiram S. Maxim. And by the time "The Great War" starts the Brits have a way more modern machine gun than the 08 in the shape of the famous Vickers gun – as do the Yankees when their forces enter WWI (Browning M1917 machine gun.)

In a nutshell, "The Prince and the Showgirl" is a fun movie to watch on the surface and provides highly interesting commentary on contemporary US history underneath. Marilyn Monroe sparkles, though her role doesn't challenge her in the same way as did her parts in "Some Like It Hot" and "The Misfits" – those parts really brought out her enormous artistic versatility, as did the 1952 picture "Don't Bother to Knock." The costumes, props, and decorations are splendid and contribute to a dense, decadent, somewhat fin de siècle atmosphere of this romantic comedy set in the Edwardian era. A must-see and clearly a 10, despite the shortcomings of Olivier's performance.

What a way to spend your honeymoon

[ianlouisiana · 6/10 · 16 August 2007]

Miss Monroe's personal troubles have been well - documented and hardly bear repetition here.However,it is clear that she was scarcely in control of her own life by the time she came to England in 1956 with her new husband the deeply uncharismatic Mr A.Miller on a kind of working honeymoon.To make Mr T.Rattigan's "The sleeping prince" into a movie Sir L.Olivier needed a star attraction and there was none bigger than "Marilyn",an entirely artificial media - created persona Miss Monroe hid behind. In an era riven with snobbery it was truly believed that Sir L. was "The Prince"slumming it with the dumb blonde American movie star who was extremely lucky to be on the same set with him. In reality the reverse was true.Sir L.was a huge ham at home only with the works of a playwright dead for 400 - odd years,and almost incapable of a believable portrayal of any man born since about 1600.His magnificent voice was a gift that he abused for the greater part of his movie career.Only in "Term of Trial" and "Bunny Lake is missing" did he connect with the 20th century in any meaningful way.He had more funny voices than Mr P.Sellers and wasn't as amusing.As the eponymous prince he took his cod - German impersonation out of the box and gave it an airing,applied his Brylcreem liberally and suffered nobly as Miss Monroe,superbly lit by Jack Cardiff,glowed ethereally in every scene.He gave every impression that it was just another day at the office for him whilst she portrayed awe and innocence and a degree of humanity that was clearly beyond her supposed superior. He may well have felt he was not being given due respect by her and her entourage,he was a "Sir" after all,and an obviously tense and anxious set is not liable to produce a light and frothy movie which is what "The Prince and the Showgirl" should have been. Instead he shows off abominably,overacts alarmingly and,in the love scenes has all the ardour of a monocled codfish. With the biggest movie star in the world and a great Shakespearean Actor on board it could have been a wonderfully entertaining experience,but the impression I came away with was that of a rather distant man unable to empathise or even cope with a talent vastly different to his own. But it is Miss Monroe for whom the movie will be remembered,not the man who went on to make "The Jazz Singer"

The Lightweight Wins by a Knockout

[JamesHitchcock · 4/10 · 25 June 2004]

It is interesting that a number of films set during the 1900s and early 1910s, both comedies such as 'The Assassination Bureau' and serious dramas such as 'The Riddle of the Sands' and the Robert Powell version of 'The 39 Steps', focus on diplomatic attempts to prevent the outbreak of a European war, even though we know that in real life such attempts were to end in failure. Perhaps this reflects a view that 1914 was the year that witnessed the modern age's loss of innocence and that the history of the twentieth century would have been immeasurably happier if the First World War had indeed been averted.

'The Prince and the Showgirl' is another comedy that looks back to the pre-1914 era as a lost golden age. It centers upon Grand Duke Charles, the Prince Regent of the Balkan state of Carpathia, who, while in London for the coronation of King George V, meets, and has a brief romance with, Elsie Marina, an American-born showgirl working in a London music-hall. Their association is encouraged by officials of the British Foreign Office, who are seeking to encourage the pro-British policies of the Carpathian government and to prevent a shift towards a pro-German stance which could threaten the peace of Europe.

Laurence Olivier is today- rightly- regarded as one of Britain's greatest heavyweight actors of the twentieth century, a man who (unlike some of his fellow theatrical knights) was at home in film roles as he was in the classical Shakespearean dramas in which he made his name. Marilyn Monroe is- perhaps wrongly- widely regarded as a lightweight Hollywood starlet whose main talent was looking decorative in a series of undemanding parts. When the two went head-to-head together, however, there was an unexpected result, with the lightweight beating the heavyweight by a knockout.

The above boxing metaphor was suggested by the numerous stories about the strained relations between Olivier and Monroe during the making of the film, supposedly caused by what he saw as the inadequacy of her performance. If those stories are true, I think that Lord Olivier should perhaps have looked more closely at the beam in his own eye than at the mote in hers. Although this is not Monroe's best film, there is nothing particularly wrong with her portrayal of Elsie, who comes across as a typical Monroe character- empty-headed and flirtatious, but basically decent. It was Olivier's Grand Duke who struck me as the main problem with the film.

Although Charles is supposedly the Hungarian-born ruler of a Balkan kingdom, he speaks English with the heavily guttural pseudo-Germanic accent normally associated with British actors playing Nazis of the 've haff vays und means' school. To strengthen the impression, he occasionally barks German interjections such as 'Himmel!', 'Dummkopf!' 'Schweinehund!' and even 'Donnerwetter!', an imprecation I have never heard a real German use. (The few extended examples of German dialogue in the film suggest that the Carpathians not only speak English with a German accent, but also speak German with an English one. To judge from Sybil Thorndyke's efforts, their French is even worse).

Given that his persona is uncomfortably close to the standard cinematic version of an SS officer (an association that must have seemed even more apparent in 1957 than it does today) and that his preferred method of solving the political problems of Carpathia is to imprison without trial as many opposition politicians as possible, Charles is not exactly love's young dream. His emotional coldness and obsession with formality and protocol suggest a caricature more than a real person. Caricature may be appropriate in certain types of comedy, especially satire, but in romantic comedy it seems misplaced, as the romances of real, or real-seeming, individuals are more interesting than those of cartoon characters. Moreover, for romantic comedy to work we need to be able to believe in both parties to the romance, not just one. While Monroe tries to make Elsie a real and likable person, Olivier seems content to draw upon a combination of two stock comic characters, the 'funny foreigner' and the 'stuffy aristocrat'. Although older man/younger woman love-stories were as common in the cinema of the fifties as they are today, this one seems particularly incongruous. Monroe was already in her thirties when the film was made, but the naïve and innocent Elsie seems much younger, whereas the middle-aged Charles seems a man old before his time, an impression created as much by his stiffness of manner and bearing as by his grey hair. The gap in the ages of Charles and Elsie seems considerably greater than the nineteen-year gap in the ages of the actors.

Halliwell's Film Guide praises the film for its 'good production values', that publication's normal shorthand for 'expensive sets and costumes'. Certainly, those elements are impressive, although Elsie's hairstyle and figure-hugging dress seem to reflect the fashions of 1957 more than they do those of 1911. There is, however, little else in the film that impresses. Perhaps Olivier himself was less than impressed by the film, as it was his first experience of directing other than his three famous Shakespeare adaptations, and it was to be his last until he directed a version of Chekhov's 'The Three Sisters' thirteen years later. My lasting impression will be of an unconvincing romance between two ill-matched characters and of an uncharacteristically poor performance from a great actor. 4/10

Marilyn Monroe is sex-appeal incarnate here

[cglassey · 17 November 1998]

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").

Marilyn Monroe radiates her usual charm in Laurence Olivier's The Prince and the Showgirl

[tavm · 6/10 · 23 August 2012]

So now after several weeks having previously watched My Week with Marilyn, I finally got to watch the movie that was showcased in that partial bio-pic: The Prince and the Showgirl. Laurence Olivier plays The Regent and Ms. Monroe played Elsie, the American stage performer who enchants him. To tell the truth, I thought the dialogue went a little fast for me to truly understand what was going on but as the picture kept going on, I did find some of each of the leading performances quite funny and charming especially Monroe's. And Dame Sybil Thorndike as The Queen Dowager was also quite amusing in her exchanges with Marilyn especially when Ms. Thorndike mistakenly thought she knew French! So on summary, I thought The Prince and the Showgirl pretty good as a romantic comedy of the time with Monroe at her most charming and Olivier's direction also taking it's own sweet time near the end when the coronation scenes were being depicted.

No Labor of Love, Just a Labor

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 27 September 2006]

The Carpathian royal family is in town like all the other royalty in Europe for the coronation of George V of Great Britain. In this case it consists of the young king, Jeremy Spencer, his grandmother the dowager queen Sybil Thorndike, and the king's father and Prince Regent Laurence Olivier. Olivier was only the consort to his late wife the queen and he is regent until Spencer comes of age which will be in several months. But the young man is getting inpatient.

In fact he's already in communication with Germany which his pro-British father doesn't like. A little youthful rebellion in high places can have some dangerous consequences.

But Olivier is also distracted by a growing infatuation for Marilyn Monroe who is appearing in a minor part in a musical comedy. She's of course our showgirl.

A most miscast showgirl. Olivier had starred in the play in London with his wife Vivien Leigh and was going to do the film with her when her delicate health flared up again and she backed out. How the tiny and proper British Vivien gave way to the buxom Marilyn Monroe is a mystery. My guess is that when Leigh bowed out, Olivier and author Terrence Rattigan made the decision to change the leading lady to an American to broaden the appeal in the American market.

One of Marilyn's fellow Fox blonds like Betty Grable who was a natural fit in these period pictures would have been better. Marilyn looks so very out of place here.

The film was agony for Olivier to direct. In addition to Marilyn's eccentricities he had to put up with her drama coach Paula Strassberg and her interference. He threw Strassberg off the set when she presumed to direct him.

Still it's not a terribly bad film, just not a really good one.

The sleeping prince

[jotix100 · 7/10 · 29 August 2010]

Terence Rattigan's play "The Sleeping Prince" was a delightful comedy that came to Broadway in 1956, but closed after only a short run. Audiences did not respond to the play in New York, as well as it was received in London. It was directed by Michael Redgrave, who also played the title role. Barbara Bel Geddes and Cathleen Nesbitt were featured in the cast. The West End cast featured Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh as the Regent and the showgirl with Michael Redgrave directing.

The play takes place in London in 1911 as King George V was going to be crowned. Among the distinguished guests attending were the royal family from Carpathia, which included the queen dowager, her son-in-law, the Regent, and the future king of that country, Nicholas. Their embassy is the setting for the action. The Regent, who has an appreciative eye for showgirls, picks on Elsie Marina, an American girl working in the West End, to be his companion for a night of fun, and perhaps sex. Alas, he gets companionship, and perhaps more than he was expecting from the down to earth girl with more common sense than he was expecting.

The film version of the play was undertaken by Laurence Olivier, who directed as well as starred in it as the Regent. The casting of Marilyn Monroe, at the peak of her career was probably a sort of gamble. After all, Ms. Monroe was going to go one on one with one of the pillars of the English theater. Instead of a mismatch, the film offered a good opportunity for Marilyn Monroe to prove she was worth the opportunity.

The chemistry seems to be right between the two stars. Sybil Thorndike was perfect as the Queen Dowager form Carpathia, an obscure country in the Balkans. Richard Wattis also contributed to the production with his Northbrook, the indispensable man to the Regent.

Cinderella's prince can talk!

[serebry92 · 7/10 · 25 July 2013]

From Terence Rattigan's " The sleeping prince" . Came to London in 1911 ti preside to the in coronation of George V , the archduke of Carpathia wants to be escort for the night , he finds an American showgirl. Olivier's acting is flawless and Monroe strikes. Question : which of the two stars has take advantage on the other? If " The prince and the showgirl" is already watchable today , it's because of Marilyn Monroe , because at one time of the story that little split comes out as if Olivier , from that moment was too busy to play an aristocratic better than a true one. If he had act like he had in front of him a similar beauty , there was nothing else to do than turn the guard down and give up: Marilyn enlightened up the scene , just with her being an alive presence , she was with her life to dissolve the cold of the perfection of his partner.

Underrated! A Classic surprisingly funny and sophisticated

[ClassicMovieGuydotCom · 9/10 · 12 October 2014]

I have watched most every Marilyn Monroe movie and this is on my opinion a very underrated classic! I love that this film was done in COLOR so that it could bring out all of the pomp and regalia of palace life.

So many things could be said about this movie...it is so funny. A chorus girl completely out of place trying to remember protocols and positions but clever enough to know that she does not want to leave the embassy grounds as she may never get the opportunity to return again.

Laurence Olivier is wonderful as a dry and stiff ruler who really has a hard time with scandals, popular opinion, and his future but wants occasional one night stands without any complications...oh boy did he mess that one up!

This movie has so many good parts, so many good lines, and of course Marilyn outsmarts them all. How in the world people citied rate thus movie so low is beyond me.

1. Beautiful colors and cinematography bring this film to life in a spectacular way 2. A wonderful and sophisticated plot which gets crazier and more improbable as the show goes on 3. Certainly one of Marilyn's best performances...she is sexy, funny, conniving, and amazingly clever in this one...you will love how she learns that she can manipulate people to break the tension that was leading to war and uncertainty.

9 out of 10. Could of been higher but the ending is a bit of a let down, but all in all this is a great show and not one to be overlooked!!!

I wanted to dislike the film but couldn't.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 12 September 2011]

I wanted to dislike this movie but couldn't. It is a silly but sweet little film that's worth a look.

Marilyn Monroe was a gorgeous lady in this film. However, I have never understood all the attention her films have received, as she generally played a parody of herself. This isn't an insult--I just can't see taking most of her films very seriously. Here in "The Prince and the Showgirl", my opinion about her isn't about to change--though she is given a bit more to do with this image than usual. She is very pretty but also plays a lady nothing like you really would have found back in 1911. She plays, in essence herself--of at least the image of herself. Ditsy...but sweet and possessing a certain wisdom.

As for the Prince (Laurence Olivier), he did a very nice imitation of a combination of Kaiser Wilhelm II and Bela Lugosi with a migraine. It was certainly NOT subtle and much of the time he seemed really irritated (perhaps this was somehow related to Olivier's real feelings about acting with Ms. Monroe--see IMDb's trivia for more on this). All I know is that he seemed to overplay it a bit--despite his reputation as one of the great actors of his age. As a result, Monroe's performance, while familiar, seems more interesting to watch and overwhelms his acting.

The film is set during the coronation of George V of Britain--early in the 20th century. Of all the delegations of royalty from throughout Europe who have come to London, this one involves the Prince-Regent of Carpathia. He meets the members of a local acting troop on a night on the town and not surprisingly he is smitten with Monroe's 'charms'. So, he invites her to dinner and tries to seduce her, though the seemingly earthy and scatter-brained Monroe isn't as naive as she looks and she resists his smooth advances. I like the scene where he's pitching woo--and she's talking about his need to use a different hair product! It's all kind of cute and a bit slight. And so, even while she is tipsy, she is able to hold her own...until she passes out and is carried from the room.

The next morning, Marilyn is pulled into several odd plots involving the Carpathian royal families. First, she overhears the young King plotting to repose his father, the Prince-Regent. Then, the rather flighty mother-in-law of the Prince-Regent decides she likes Marilyn and makes her a lady in waiting---and takes her to the coronation! Things certainly are getting complicated for her. And, I must add, I really liked the mother-in-law--she was a great kooky character and had some very clever lines. In fact, she was my favorite person in the film. Finally, she starts to make suggestions to various members of the family--and leaves this screwed up family a lot healthier. In the process, the stodgy Prince-Regent eventually falls for her.

This is sort of a reworking of a traditional fairy tale--though in the end, the lady simply chooses to walk away--a smart ending but one that undoubtedly bothered the romantics out there that wanted to see royalty wed a commoner--which never could have happened. Clever, cute, though not especially deep or believable. It's a nice fantasy film that worked well for Monroe. I just couldn't help, however, seeing Olivier as, well, as bit silly. Worth seeing.

By the way, as in many of Monroe's films she appears to have been sewn into her dresses. This was standard practice in many of her films to heighten her curves and sex appeal...and there is no way she could slip in and out of these dresses even with WD-40!

Despite flashy leads, charmless

[moonspinner55 · 4/10 · 7 March 2006]

Laurence Olivier directed this adaptation of Terence Rattigan's play "The Sleeping Prince" about an American showgirl performing abroad in 1912, wooed by a stuffy prince. Marilyn Monroe-watchers will be disappointed by MM's lack of sparkle here; she certainly looks lovely but seemingly has no connection to this part, and no chemistry whatsoever with mannered Olivier as the starched, though not entirely humorless, royal. The sluggish pacing and overlength are deterrents, although the beginning of the movie is quite bright and the thoughtful, serious finish almost gives the dreary film some actual meaning. ** from ****

Avoided watching for years, much to my regret

[Deb2theC · 8/10 · 24 May 2015]

I want to clarify the fact that I avoided watching this show for years because I had Laurence Olivier up on such a pedestal (I actually thought of him as the best actor in the world for years!) I thought it must be awful. I watched this film for the first time today and it absolutely delighted me. I can understand why Sir O, would have been driven crazy by Marilyn's much over-discussed behavior during the making of this film and his direction of it. He was to the nth degree a classically trained actor. She, most definitely, was the exact opposite. That does not detract at all from a naturally born actor. Her shenanigans throughout her marriages, movie-making and personal life are documented well enough for us all to know they are probably true enough. I actually found the differences in their styles completely understandable and that they fit the differences in their particular stations "in life" totally fit their respective roles. It was quite believable and also entirely delightful. I also believe that if Sir O. were able to come back from the grave and could see his film now with a more objective eye, rather than one of mere "ownership; which I think he must have had at the time it was produced, he might even be able to see how truly wonderful it is. The interplay between the two characters seemed entirely believable, playful and at times even loving. The way she treated his son, the King, was also lovely AND loving! I found this film in it's entirety a delight and would recommend it highly for either a Laurence Olivier fan or a big Marilyn fan. In either case, they were equally talented; just in entirely different ways. She couldn't have ever done Shakespeare well, as he did. He could never have played the lead in her many successful well-known comedies. They were perfectly suited for each of these roles--him playing the part of a bombast so well, and she playing the role of a loving coquette.

Lightweight Scenic Comedy

[DKosty123 · 6/10 · 6 August 2017]

I must say, Pinewood Studios in the UK often does some interesting back drop scenes in films, and this one is no exception. The Coronation Scene and the stained glass sequences in the Abbey are top notch visuals. In fact the camera work of the scenic 1911 period film is really excellent kind of. This is the kind of film that has lots of scenery to watch and the images are worth seeing.

Lawrence Olivier is credited as Director and Producer here. There are scenes stocked with 100's if not 1000's of extras in the background. Monroe owned the production company but it is obvious that Pinewood let the company use their resources ca rte blanch.

Whatever you have to say about Olivier's Direction, the images on the film are extraordinary. Noteworthy for Monroe fans are the advantages taken of getting her figure into the film frames too. While she is in one of her not skinny periods, her image on camera does not suffer when she has on great clothes and jewels for sure.

The story is not badly done, and Monroe plays dumb and smart in different scenes. Her and Lawrence do quite a few scenes together in this one. The coronation has little or no dialogue which is not just effective but takes advantage of a Monroe who was very difficult to work with.

This is not a film for intellect, or even plot, and some of the comedy is amusing but only works somewhat effectively. Monroes camera angles work very very well. It is worth trying to see a big talent Olivier try to star, direct, and produce the vehicle and bring it out of a shipwrecked state into a good film. They almost succeed.

What an awkward movie....

[michelle71 · 5/10 · 18 November 2020]

The chemistry between Monroe and Olivier seemed false from beginning to end. It's the first movie I see with Olivier and I can't say I'm a fan. Some scenes were incredibly drawn out. The story was charming though (showgirl prevents a European war!). And I always like a nice ball scene.