The Prince and the Showgirl - Warner Bros 1957 distributed by Warner Home Video 2003

Principal Cast: Laurence Olivier; Marilyn Monroe;

produced and directed by Laurence Olivier

SYNOPSIS

This movie, adapted for the screen by Terrence Rattigan from his play “The Sleeping Prince” involves a romantic comedy of errors arising from the interest of a Grand Duke of the mythical country of Carpathia (Olivier) in a `common’ showgirl (Monroe) seen in a London music hall in 1911. The plot follows a series of coincidences and social demands that require the two principals to be drawn together to the point when they eventually fall in love. However their disparate backgrounds disallow permanency to occur - or maybe there IS hope.?

The principal performers are quite capable, with Monroe once again showing that she did possess genuine acting talent. They are well supported by a bevy of English character actors including Richard Wattis and Sybil Thorndike.

I do not wish to appear chauvinistic but I have to admit that, despite fashion of the time, that the gown worn by Marilyn does not fit her `screen goddess’ image.

The soundtrack - annoyingly - is in single channel mono.

Running time: 112 mins;

EXTRAS

? 30-chapter scene selection index

? Theatrical trailer

? Cast and crew details

? Newsreel promotion

? Language (French, Spanish, Italian) and subtitle menus (many more languages)

OVERALL

Being a fan of all the above performers, I was disappointed to find the storyline fanciful and the overall effect flat. The production values and sets are all of high standard but the whole production is lacking zest - much of this may well relate to the well-known dislike Olivier gained for Monroe’s lack of discipline during the shooting of this film.