Breakinger A Brilliant Conflict

ChicDragon It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

KnotStronger This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Irishchatter As Marylin Monroe fan, I absolutely liked the movie but I did think they should've added more variety to the movie. For example they are always in the castle and just talking. Although the scenes where Lawerence and Monroe were all lovey dovey to one another, the comedy, Monroes singing and her dancing were just adorable. I mean cmon for a underrated movie, it wasn't that bad, I've seen much worse royal movies who do lose out on their charm. I would definitely recommend anyone watching it even if they haven't seen it yet! I give this movie a rating of 8/10!

dollywest I finally watched The Prince and the Showgirl in its entirety, albeit on television -- having been intrigued by the well-crafted, acted and directed My Week with Marilyn. This "clash" of "titans" -- mega-stars Laurence Olivier and Marilyn Monroe -- is revealing of "understanding media" (Cf. Marshall McLuhan). Monroe's luminous presence outshines Olivier's famed talent and experience (primarily from the stage). The screen requires other qualities, and no one will dispute the general consensus that Marilyn Monroe was the embodiment of those qualities, whoever she may have been when the cameras were not rolling, or however difficult she may have been to work with. (Billy Wilder explained her magic best in speaking of Some Like It Hot.) Unfortunately, Olivier was directing as well as acting, and he comes off poorly as both director and actor -- enough said. Nor is the material worthy of either -- without them, a pile of cardboard and claptrap -- with a nod it must be said to Sybil Thorndyke for valor. The Prince and the Showgirl remains a curiosity -- a glimpse at the greats when they were floating jetsam in a shipwreck. I much prefer to remember them through My Week with Marilyn, a moving tale, well told.

GusF Laurence Olivier's fourth film as a director and his first such non- Shakespearean film, it is based on the play "The Sleeping Prince" by Terence Rattigan. Olivier reprises his role as Prince Charles, Regent of Carpathia from the stage version while his then wife Vivien Leigh was replaced in the role of the actress Elsie Marina by Marilyn Monroe.While the prince grows more fond of the showgirl as the film goes on, the same could hardly be said of the actors off-screen. As is well known, Olivier had an extremely poor working relationship with Marilyn Monroe, who according to Jean Kent often arrived on set very late and "appeared dirty and dishevelled." Olivier himself allegedly described her as a "professional amateur." Kent also claimed that Wattis took "to drink because takes had to be done so many times" and the whole experience aged Olivier by 15 years. It is also rumoured to be the reason that Olivier practically gave up film directing, making only "Three Sisters" after this.Olivier is excellent as the stiff, pompous regent, who starts out as the archetypal German or Eastern European leader of the early 20th Century before gradually softening because of his relationship with Elsie. Let's be honest, Marilyn Monroe was a great film star but not a great actress. She is quite good but she thoroughly outacted by Olivier, Sybil Thorndike and Richard Wattis. I thought that she was miscast, frankly. She and Olivier are hardly a natural fit, are they? Perhaps reflecting the behind the scenes turmoil, her chemistry with Olivier is variable, occasionally excellent - particularly in the final scene - but mostly isn't up to scratch. The rest of the cast is very good, especially Sybil Thorndike (whose brother Russell appeared in all three of Olivier's Shakespearean films), Richard Wattis (as in the "St. Trinian's" films, playing a put-upon civil servant to perfection but in a completely different way), Esmond Knight (who likewise appeared in "Henry V", "Hamlet" and "Richard III"), Jeremy Spenser and Maxine Audley.While neither his acting nor directing are on the same level as in "Henry V" and "Hamlet", I thought that he did much better in both capacities here than in "Richard III". I think that the major problem with the film, however, is the pacing of the script. It moves far too slowly, particularly in the first hour. It doesn't translate from stage to screen as well as it could. I think that this was due to the fact that the screenplay was written by Rattigan himself. In his Shakespearean films, Olivier demonstrated that he was not afraid to trim and cut scenes or even excise major characters for the benefit of the film and I think that he should have been allowed to use his scissors on this one. It's about 20 to 25 minutes longer than it needs to be.In spite of these criticisms, however, it's a charming and often very witty film which looks beautiful and has great characterisation for the Regent. It also has some nice social commentary on early 20th Century politics, some of which is still applicable today.

treeline1 Marilyn Monroe stars as Elsie, a London chorus girl who catches the eye of a visiting Prince (Laurence Olivier). He's in town to attend King George's coronation along with his teenage son, the King of Carpathia, with whom he is at odds, politically. Elsie comes to share a midnight supper with the Prince and ends up resolving all the problems between father and son, thus insuring world peace.Yes, the movie really is that dumb. And annoying. I didn't care about any of the characters and, in fact, found the leads quite unlikable. Elsie is the stereotypical dumb blonde who is (of course) the smartest one in the story, Olivier's Prince is a pompous, lascivious bully, and the son is unpleasant, as well. I couldn't root for any of them and thought the plot was predictable, ridiculous, and most of all, tedious.