Der Prinz und die Tänzerin

Olivier and Monroe...an unlikely combination, it would seem. Yet Olivier's blustering pomposity and Monroe's giddy naivete create a surprising chemistry. Sir Lawrence is ever the blue-blood in this well conceived comedy, the tale of a lovely, bubbly young American showgirl who is invited to spend the evening with the smitten Prince.

Monroe is absolutely wonderful--her performance is well thought out and very strong, using every ounce of her famed comedic skill . And she's beautiful as always...even in a pristine white, elegantly beaded evening gown she fairly radiates sensuality.

What truly holds the film together, though, are the outstanding performances by Richard Wattis (the unerringly English, ever mindful Majordomo Northbrook) and Sybil Thorndike (the Grand Duke's hilariously incomprehensible mother-in-law the Queen Dowager).

The movie is well filmed and well paced, with the exception of the coronation ceremony segment which could have been edited considerably. Overall, the story is a winner... a very charming tribute to the virtues of persistence! We learn that our Prince isn't nearly so cold and conniving as he'd like us to believe, and Miss Elsie Marina isn't nearly the wide-eyed ingenue we thought she was...

The Prince and the Showgirl is a film worth watching, even with its imperfections. I did think it was overlong by about 5-10 minutes, but my main flaw with the film was the performance of Laurence Olivier. I just think he did a better job directing than acting here.

I am not knocking his ability as an actor, on the contrary, in fact I think Olivier is a very gifted actor. But, his acting complete with a rather patchy accent is somewhat hammy and I don't think it helped that the character he plays here is one of the more artificial ones he has played in his career in terms of development and arc.

Even with its faults, The Prince and the Showgirls has a lot to recommend it. The photography is just lovely, while the costumes and interiors are just splendid. I also liked the melodious waltz-like score, the sparkling dialogue and sweet story while Olivier does direct quite well.

However, the scene-stealer is the lovely, infectious Marilyn Monroe. She manages to outshine Olivier not just in her acting and comic timing, but she looks amazing especially in that figure-hugging, scene-stealing white dress she wears throughout. Sybil Thorndike also steals scenes as the Queen Dowager.

Overall, a nice film and worth seeing for Monroe and dress alone. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Just saw this again the other day after many years, and was impressed by Monroe's effortless upstaging of Olivier, who gives the most hammy, artificial performance of his career, unsurprising as he is directing himself.

If you want to see what star quality means, just watch their scenes together. He is desperately trying to ACT and eclipse her. All she has to do is just BE there in shot.

Whenever they are on screen, it is always her that one's eyes are drawn to and she gives such a natural performance throughout it almost seems as if she isn't acting at all. She also copes with some extremely tricky dialogue, giving the lie to her inability to remember lines. These are often done in a single take - one scene in particular, early in the film as she is leaving the house before Olivier arrives home, talking rapidly to Richard Wattis as they walk down the long staircase, is outstanding.

So, the film is worthwhile in showing Monroe as the great star she was - and revealing Olivier to only be capable of mere caricature (that fake German accent is so awful) without a strong director to rein him in.

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.

If this movie would have been like its first 40 minutes, now we'd been talking about a masterpiece. Unfortunately, after the initial fireworks due to the perfect duet between an extraordinary actor as Laurence Olivier and the magnificent Marilyn Monroe, the movie loses its push, maybe because the story doesn't know where to go. Actually the movie is good only when there's Olivier and Marilyn together in a room: the rest is really pointless. It's a pity because the scenography, the music, the acting and the direction of Olivier were good. A lost opportunity.