The Prince and the Showgirl

1957

Action / Comedy / Romance

7
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 55% · 10 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Spilled 55% · 5K ratings
IMDb Rating 6.4/10 10 9709 9.7K

london, england coronation prince love king monarch

Plot summary

An American showgirl becomes entangled in political intrigue when the Prince Regent of a foreign country attempts to seduce her.

Director

Laurence Olivier Photo
Laurence Olivier

Top cast

Aileen Lewis Photo
Aileen Lewis as Dignitary
Marilyn Monroe Photo
Marilyn Monroe as Elsie
Daphne Anderson Photo
Daphne Anderson as Fanny
Rosamund Greenwood Photo
Rosamund Greenwood as Maud
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
1.05 GB
1280*692
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 57 min
Seeds 1
1.95 GB
1920*1038
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 57 min
Seeds 8

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by verna-a 7 / 10

Go with the flow

If you are a Monroe fan you are in for an hour-and-a-half of sheer enjoyment watching the ingenuous, irrepressible, sexy/innocent personality that Marilyn played so well. It's hard to take your eyes off her as feelings,thoughts,and reactions to events flow over her features in a feast of method acting, if that's what it is. The little story is entertaining in a shallow sort of way - there's something going on with mitteleuropa politics and family tensions but it hardly matters as the engine of the story is the wide-eyed little commoner dumped into an aristocratic environment, and everything that transpires in the short time-frame of her visit. The joke there is that she is always being farewelled but doesn't quite go, and reappears, always in the same dress. There's a fairly familiar thread contrasting sophisticated and corrupt Europe with the honest, down-to-earth representative of the New World. However the European side does provide the excuse for some great costumes and sumptuous interiors, making the film glamorous to watch. Laurence Olivier is reptilian and repulsive as the Grand Duke, which is fine except that we are supposed to believe that the Monroe character has fallen for him. This is not too credible! The direction is tight and effective, so kudos to Olivier for that. Sybil Thorndike is great fun as the Dowager Queen. It's Monroe's film however. I'd happily watch it any number of times.
Reviewed by abelardo64 7 / 10

The Showgirl Reigns

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.
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