The Prince and the Showgirl (1957) was Marilyn Monroe's only British-made film and scores highly for curiosity value. There's something rather outrageous about this iconic American star playing a second-rate hoofer living in a theatrical boarding house in Brixton. Monroe herself is predictably good and touching as Elsie Marina, plucked from the chorus to entertain the Regent of Carpathia for the evening and ultimately smoothing his rough edges. There is, however, a rather uphill feeling all the way. The making of the movie was by all accounts a troubled experience... for everybody concerned. Monroe, increasingly unreliable and exasperating, had an unsympathetic director in Laurence Olivier, also playing the Regent Charles, who hardly had the patience for a star of her mercurial talents with her own ideas of professional behaviour. His own performance as the Balkan royal is hammy and mannered and there isn't even a damp squib of sexual chemistry between them. Terence Rattigan's script, based on his successful play, is far too wordy and stage-bound. But somehow Monroe effervesces through all this adversity, aided considerably by British character actor Richard Wattis and the great Sybil Thorndyke, who became her ally during the difficult filming. Not vintage Marilyn but fascinating all the same, and she looks fantastic. On the DVD: The Prince and the Showgirl is presented in 4:3 with an occasionally muffled, apparently mono, soundtrack, giving this DVD a rather dusty quality which is in keeping with the vintage British 1950s production values. Extras include a cast list, original trailer and newsreel footage of the announcement that Marilyn was to make the film with Olivier, referred to at that stage as The Sleeping Prince. --Piers Ford [show more]
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The Prince Regent of Carpathia (Laurence Olivier) is in town for the coronation of George V. Whilst there, he hopes to seduce an American showgirl (Marilyn Monroe) despite her initial lack of interest. However, by the time she has decided that he is the man for her, he has lost his enthusiasm, so she tries to regain his affections by acting as a mediator between him and his antagonistic son (Jeremy Spenser).
Please note this is a region 2 DVD and will require a region 2 (Europe) or region Free DVD Player in order to play A foreign prince is invited to London and while he is there he befriends a young chorus girl to whom he takes a strong fancy to the shock those around him Actors Laurence Olivier Marilyn Monroe Richard Wattis David Horne & Esmond KnightDirector Laurence OlivierCertificate PGYear 1957Screen Fullscreen 43Languages English - Dolby Digital (10) MonoAdditional Languages French ; ItalianSubtitles Arabic ; Dutch ; English ; English for the hearing impaired ; French ; German ; Italian ; Italian for the hearing impaired ; RomanianDuration 1 hour and 52 minutes (approx)
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