The prince and the showgirl

The Prince and the Showgirl (The Prince and the Showgirl) is a 1957 film directed by Laurence Olivier. Starring Marilyn Monroe and Laurence Olivier in the lead roles. It is based on the play The Sleeping Prince by Terence Rattigan.

Awarded the David di Donatello Targa d'Oro 1958 Award: Best Performance (Marilyn Monroe); and with the National Board of Review Award 1957: Best Supporting Actress (Sybil Thorndike).

Plot

London, June 1911. George V will be crowned on June 22, and many dignitaries invited to the ceremony begin to arrive. Among them is King Nicholas of Carpathia ( Jeremy Spenser ) and his father, Prince Regent Charles ( Laurence Olivier ). The British government knows the importance of the small kingdom in the European political game and wants to curry favor with its sovereign. To do this, they are placed in a luxurious hotel and assigned to the crown official, Northbrook (Richard Wattis ), for their attention and service.

According to his instructions, Northbrook takes Prince Charles to a performance of the musical revue The Coconut Girl. At intermission, the prince is taken backstage to greet the performers. There, he is especially interested in Elsie Marina ( Marilyn Monroe ), an American showgirl, and invites her to a dinner at her hotel.

Later, she arrives at the hotel, expecting to find a party, but soon realizes the prince's true intentions and decides to retire, but Northbrook convinces her to stay for dinner, promising he will find an excuse for her to leave. remove later. Once seated, dinner is interrupted several times by Northbrook, who tries to prevent the romantic development of the meeting.

After drinking several glasses of champagne, the prince attempts to seduce Elsie, but she rebuffs him, saying she's disappointed in his lack of romanticism. The prince then decides to change tack, finally managing to get a kiss from Elsie, but nothing more. The prince realizes that Elsie is intoxicated by alcohol and orders that a room be prepared for her, where she can spend the night. The next day Elsie wakes up to hear a conversation in the next room, and learns of the bad relations between father and son, and a possible plot by the young King Nicholas, to dethrone his father Prince Charles, supported by the Empire. German.

The day of the coronation arrives, and Elsie is invited to the ball by the Queen Mother Consort (Sybil Thorndike) as King Nicholas's chaperone. During the course of the ball she confesses to the young king her knowledge of the plans to dethrone his father and convinces him to abandon them in exchange for a free election by his father, to which the king finally agrees.

The next morning Elsie meets with father and son and manages to reconcile them. Prince Charles realizes that he has fallen in love with Elsie, and invites her to the kingdom of Carpacia, but she explains that she has to stay in London to fulfill her contract. Prince Nicholas insists on his offer and tells Elsie that he hopes she will come to Carpacia when her contract expires and he is released from her political obligations. We will have to wait for 18 more months to elapse.