Le prince et la danseuse

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.

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").

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.

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.

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.