In 1956, two major stars, Marilyn Monroe and Sir Laurence Olivier, got together in London to make a movie. It was a comedy called "The Prince and the Showgirl," about the lonely Prince Regent of Carpathia, who meets a flirty American showgirl.
WERTHEIMER: Never heard of that movie? Well, there's a very good reason for it. It was a huge flop. This week, a new movie about the making of that movie opens nationwide. Michelle Williams plays Marilyn Monroe, and Kenneth Branagh plays Olivier. "My Week With Marilyn" tells the story of one week during the film shoot - the behind-the-scenes clashes, the misaligned acting styles, and the pursuit of personal ambitions.
showgirl full movie
ELIZABETH BLAIR, BYLINE: Marilyn Monroe, Laurence Olivier - huge stars, worlds apart. In 1956, Monroe's career as a sexy starlet was taking off. She'd recently made "Seven Year Itch," the movie that created one of the most iconic images of all time: Monroe in a white dress, standing on a subway grate.
BLAIR: Simon Curtis, director of "My Week With Marilyn," says Laurence Olivier had his own issues. His marriage to Vivien Leigh was in a rut. And at 49, he was worried about becoming a has-been, says Kenneth Branagh, who plays Olivier in the new movie.
BRANAGH: Marilyn would show up late, sometimes as late as three days late, and that created, often, comic frustration for Olivier. I don't know how funny he found it at the time but in the movie, it allows us to perhaps sympathize or empathize for a bit with his plight. He doesn't always deal with it well.
BLAIR: Here's the thing: "The Prince and the Showgirl" was meant to be a light comedy. Olivier plays a prince; Monroe plays a showgirl - nothing too deep as far as Olivier was concerned. But Monroe, and many other American actors at the time, were hooked on Strasberg's method acting.
BLAIR: In "My Week With Marilyn," you get the sense both Monroe and Olivier felt there was a lot riding on this movie; that somehow, it would be the game-changer their images needed. In the end, "The Prince and the Showgirl" made them look like just that.
BLAIR: Fortunately for them, both of their next movies got nominated for Oscars. Marilyn Monroe went on to do "Some Like It Hot," and Laurence Olivier was nominated for Best Actor in "The Entertainer."
With our diverse line-up of original, high-quality programming, our distribution partners across EMEA recognise the benefits of offering A+E Networks EMEA's distinctive, high quality brands on their platforms and services. We understand the opportunity to grow engagement with new audiences of all ages and through new partnerships with Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat, along with our podcasts and on-demand SVOD services, we ensure our programming and unique stories reach audiences across the full demographic spectrum. 2ff7e9595c
Comments