Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #25093 in DVD
• Released on: 2002-01-08
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: Chinese, English, French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 117 minutes

Amazon.com
Destined to remain a curio in the careers of Marilyn Monroe and Laurence Olivier, The Prince and the Showgirl is a good movie that might have been great. While's she's wonderful as a saucy showgirl with a knack for foreign relations, Monroe's off-screen notoriety in 1957 made this a directorial nightmare for Olivier, who never bursts out of his stiff-collared finery as the Carpathian Prince Regent, who's smitten by Marilyn's innocent, unpolished candor. Of course, she's actually smarter than the monocled monarch, at least in her sensible handling of his stuffed-shirt diplomacy, so it's easy to forgive Terence Rattigan's script (from his play The Sleeping Prince) for favoring pomp over circumstance. The comedy percolates without bubbling over in this tale of opposites attracting, but it's a top-drawer production anyway, blessed by Jack Cardiff's gorgeous Technicolor cinematography and by the charm of costars who successfully concealed their off-screen anxieties. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

Not so great movie
This is a movie that was a waste of time for everyone. Marilyn is strained in her role and Sir Lawrence Olivier acts as though he would rather be having a root canal. Very, very dull.

The Prince and the Showgirl
This is a lighthearted movie about a mid-European prince & an American showgirl in 1912 London during coronation season. No, the showgirl doesn't get the prince at the end. Shadows of impending World War I are already looming. Tunes in this film are captivating. Laurence Olivier, Sybil Thorndike ham it up beautifully, Richard Wattis is fabulous as the languid Foreign Office official assigned to this mission. Marilyn Monroe because she was so much a creation of the screen & somewhat overdone fits into her part mostly. Still, it's hardly believable Westminster Abbey would permit such a well-endowed female into the coronation ceremony in a dress that leaves little to the imagination. People have wondered how Oliver, a great classic actor could agree to appear with the likes of Monroe - but Oliver carries it off beautifully. There are times therefore when Monroe's star quality is definitely dimmed. This film is like a cake with lots of light icing, very palatable and easy to digest.

Monroe Acts Olivier Off The Screen
This film was a particular highlight in Marilyn Monroe's career. It was the first - and unfortunately, only - film made by her production company Marilyn Monroe Productions and was also the first time she had made a film abroad. The film is set in London and Monroe stars opposite the great Laurence Olivier - who also directed the film - in one of her best comic roles. She plays a chorus girl named Elsie Marina who is spotted one night by the Prince Regent of Carpathia who is in London on political business. Monroe sparkles as ever and outshines Olivier in a genuinely adorable and funny performance. She plays up her "dumb blonde" image for most of the film, but towards the end the audience is completely assured of her intelligence and how she may have been judged unfairly by the chauvinistic Prince Regent. The film was nominated for five BAFTAs and is an underrated classic.