The Prince and the Showgirl

SYNOPSIS

What should have been an explosive pairing of Hollywood's golden girl, Marilyn Monroe, and England's greatest theatre actor, Laurence Olivier, doesn't quite come off, largely owing to the vapidity of the vehicle chosen: a tired Terence Rattigan play, The Sleeping Prince, written for the Coronation and already dated before it hit the West End boards. Yet there's much to be thankful for, especially the presence of Monroe, lovingly lit in Technicolor by the great Jack Cardiff. As you would expect, Monroe sparkles, showing a terrific sense of comic timing in a performance of great skill and beauty certainly helped by that figure-hugging white evening dress she wears throughout. Olivier, who also directed, seems overawed, and hampers himself with a Balkan accent that's a cross between Garbo and Bela Lugosi. Richard Wattis is splendid, however, and Marilyn, whose company financed the project, is a dream.