If it was not for My Week With Marilyn with Michelle Williams, no one would be talking about The Prince and the Showgirl, Laurence Olivier’s 1957 film starring Marilyn Monroe as the showgirl and Olivier as the prince. On its face, the film is hardly memorable, with neither actor doing their finest work, which is not helped by a sub-standard story.
The film is based on screenwriter Terence Rattigan’s play The Sleeping Prince, which Olivier had actually performed on stage with his wife, Vivian Leigh. Olivier’s Prince Charles of Carpathia is in London for the 1911 coronation of King George V. He calls on Elsie Marina (Monroe) for supper (hey, this was made in ‘57, remember), but he bites off much more than he can chew as Elsie reveals herself to be a knowledgeable woman-of-the-world. The two fall in love and even attend the coronation together, which is a very moving experience for the two.
Olivier and Monroe acting together in a film is like two different worlds clashing together. Olivier was coming off the immense success of his Richard III, while Monroe was in the midst of the highest points of her career with 20th Century Fox. It’s interesting to note that it was the only film she released under her own production company, which seems to constrain Olivier. His Shakespeare films are among the most ambitious works to carry the great actor’s name, but here, he is held back. Technical wizardry is kept to a bare minimum, with process shots during the coronation parade looking particularly embarrassing. The film is also far too stagey, which seems to stall it and make it claustrophobic.
Monroe not only upstages Olivier’s character, but Olivier himself. Olivier acts behind a layer of a horrid accent, but Monroe is her typical, witty, dumb-blond self. Still, she looks like she feels a little uncomfortable with Olivier. The best part of the film is easily her acting in the church sequence during the coronation, though. A series of shots of the two looking at each other as Monroe lets the emotional moment wash over her. It’s a great moment.
Of course, in the end, the Prince must got back to Carpathia and Elsie must go back to her job as a showgirl. We get a hint that they might meet in the future, but that seems a little unlikely. This all seems a little too close to 1953’s Roman Holiday with Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck in reverse, but that is a much better film that is funnier and just more enjoyable.
Hopefully My Week With Marilyn sheds light on the making of the film, which might be more enjoyable that the film itself. Warner Bros. owns The Prince and the Showgirl, but the DVD is out of print. Even when My Weekend With Marilyn opens, Warner probably is not going to rush to make this available. It always airs on Turner Classic Movies, which is the best way to experience this little mediocre curiosity starring two of the 20th Century’s best actors.