“LUMINOUS MARILYN”

By Raymond Benson

The 1957 romantic comedy, The Prince and the Showgirl has likely received more press about what went on behind the scenes and the notorious animosity that existed between the two stars, Marilyn Monroe and Laurence Olivier. The latter was also producer and director of the picture, although the production company was the first title made by the newly-formed Marilyn Monroe Productions. The 2011 picture (was it that long ago?), My Week with Marilyn, featuring Michelle Williams and Kenneth Branagh, depicted the stormy relationship between Monroe and Olivier and how Monroe behaved rather, well, erratically and irrationally toward her director/co-star, other actors, the cinematographer, the costumer, and nearly everyone else on the set. The actress even brought something of a “support coach” with her every day in the form of Paula Strasberg, who, with her husband Lee, ran the Actors Studio.

Unless one had actually seen the real movie, The Prince and the Showgirl, one came away from My Week with Marilyn with the impression that Monroe was a mess, that Olivier hated her guts, and that the movie they made was a disaster.

The Prince and the Showgirl is actually a charming, well-acted, funny, and touching piece of work. This reviewer is happy to say that Marilyn Monroe is marvelous in the role of Elsie Marina, a chorus line showgirl of a musical playing in London’s West End in 1911, when the picture takes place. Monroe displays impressive comic timing and wit, does a pratfall or two with aplomb, and categorially holds her own against the likes of renowned thespian Olivier. He, too, is quite winning, even though his accent as a “Carpathian” prince regent (from the Balkans) sometimes causes one’s eyebrows to rise. But make no mistake—this movie belongs to Monroe, and this reviewer would easily cite her performance here ranked in her top five.

Funny how the bad rep of a movie and its making clouds what one really sees on the screen.

Granted, The Prince and the Showgirl was received with lukewarm praise upon its release. The BAFTAs honored it with several nominations, including Actor, “Foreign” Actress, Screenplay, and British Film. It received no Academy Award nominations. The film did very well in the UK, likely due to Olivier’s presence. Perhaps the picture’s indifferent reception in the USA was due to its rather slow pace, length (a few minutes under two hours), and the fact that the story takes place mostly in static one-room sequences of the Carpathian Embassy. That’s not surprising, because the movie is based on a stage play, The Sleeping Prince, by Terrence Rattigan, who also penned the screenplay. Perhaps Rattigan adhered too closely to the conventions of the stage. All of these things are indeed flaws in the motion picture.

Still… this is a worthwhile romantic comedy on the strength of the two leads, especially Monroe’s luminous performance. Not only does she look fantastic, as always, but she truly does light up the screen with charisma, warmth, and delight. Other standouts in the cast would include Richard Wattis, who nearly steals the movie as the frustrated foreign office suit who is charged with keeping the prince happy during his stay in London, Sybil Thorndike as the prince’s dowdy but often frank mother-in-law, and Jeremy Spenser as the prince’s son, King Nicolas, who to this reviewer resembles what Quentin Tarantino might have looked like at the age of sixteen.

The Warner Archive has released a region-free, beautifully rendered, restored presentation of the feature film in high definition. That 1950s-era Technicolor pops out, and the costumes are undeniably gorgeous. Unfortunately, the only supplement on the disk is the theatrical trailer.

The Prince and the Showgirl is enthusiastically recommended for fans of Marilyn Monroe. Fans of Olivier, who does what he can when someone so appealing is sharing the screen with him, will find it interesting. For this reviewer’s money, The Prince and the Showgirl is far more enjoyable than My Week with Marilyn, which now seems to be a rather sordid coda to this romantic comedy bauble.

Click here to order from the Cinema Retro Movie Store.