The Prince and the Showgirl (1957)

Director:

Laurence Olivier

Writers:

Terence Rattigan (play)
Terence Rattigan (screenplay)

Release Date:

13 June 1957 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

Some countries have a medal for Everything.

Plot:

When Grandduke Charles, the prince-regent of Carpatha, a fictitious Balkan country which could start a European war by switching alliances...

Plot Keywords:

Coronation | King | Prince Regent | Protocol | Lady In Waiting

Awards:

Nominated for 5 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Marilyn Monroe	...	Elsie Marina
Laurence Olivier	...	Charles, the Prince Regent
Sybil Thorndike	...	The Queen Dowager
Richard Wattis	...	Northbrook
Jeremy Spenser	...	King Nicolas
Esmond Knight	...	Hoffman
Paul Hardwick	...	Major Domo
Rosamund Greenwood	...	Maud
Aubrey Dexter	...	The Ambassador
Maxine Audley	...	Lady Sunningdale
Harold Goodwin	...	Call Boy
Andreas Malandrinos	...	Valet with Violin) (as Andreas Melandrinos)
Jean Kent	...	Masie Springfield
Daphne Anderson	...	Fanny
Gillian Owen	...	Maggie

Also Known As:

The Sleeping Prince (USA) (working title)
Der Prinz und die Tänzerin (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
El príncipe y la corista (Argentina) (Spain) [es]
Le prince et la danseuse (Belgium: French title) (Canada: French title) [fr]
A herceg és a táncosnö (Hungary) [hu]
De prins en de danseres (Belgium: Flemish title) [un]
El príncep i la corista (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
Il principe e la ballerina (Italy) [it]
Ksiaze i aktoreczka (Poland) [pl]
O Príncipe Encantado (Brazil) [pt]
O Príncipe e a Corista (Portugal) [pt]
O prigips kai i horeftria (Greece) [el]
Prinsen och balettflickan (Sweden) [sv]
Prinsen og korpigen (Denmark) [da]
Prinssi ja revyytyttö (Finland) [fi]
Printul si dansatoarea (Romania) [ro]

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

French | German | English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:G | Iceland:L | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) | Finland:S | Argentina:Atp

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

L.O.P.

Trivia:

The film was originally planned as a musical until Marilyn Monroe's then husband, Arthur Miller, persuaded her to drop the songs.

Quotes:

Charles, the Prince Regent: [of the theatre] So many doors. Like an audience with the Japanese emperor!

Movie Connections:

Featured in You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story (2008) (V)

The Coronation Scene

This is an odd, quirky movie that I can't say I really enjoy. Like many of Marilyn's movies, they come off being unbalanced, but this is the first, and only movie made by her own production company. There are some good parts, and there are even more boring, and "Plug in the coffee pot to keep me awake" moments.

Still, if it's on TV, I'll tune in for one scene only. The coronation scene, which has no dialog, concentrates almost solely on Marilyn's emotions while she watches history being made. Through her, we are drawn through the scene, and at least I, experience a full range of emotions to almost being on the brink of tears at how beautiful this scene is. With a close up of her face, she fades away and a glorious circular stained glass window appears, then to another stained glass window of cliffs that transforms and becomes real, long enough to hear the sound of a ship's horn in the distance, to the "violence, violence, violence!" chant and the thundering canon which brings this wonderful scene to its conclusion.

That scene alone, with a few other glorious shots of Monroe make this movie worth watching.