Marilyn Monroe flew to England in 1956 to star in 'The Prince and the Showgirl' with Laurence Olivier. She played an American chorus girl in London who is invited to a "late night supper" by the Prince Regent of Carpathia (it's a euphemism for a one-night stand!).
As many biographies and books reveal, notably Colin Clark's 'The Prince, the Showgirl and Me', the film was beset by difficulties. Monroe was evidently unwell, constantly arrived late, kept forgetting her lines, and needed many 'takes' before she got things right. In turn, Olivier began to hate the whole enterprise (he was directing as well as acting in the film) and eventually could barely stand working with her. Yet when Marilyn did get it right, she simply glowed and lit up the screen, as will be seen in these two clips where she does a little dance and sings a little song.
It should be noted, contrary to some assertions, that it is indeed her own singing voice, post-synchronised at the studio on Friday, 16 November 1956. The song she sang was specially written by the film's composer, Richard Addinsell. Here is what Colin Clark wrote about the recording session in his book: "She listened intently to the sound editor's instructions and obeyed them to the letter. As a result she got through far more than we could have imagined and, I must say, did it extremely well. Post-syncing is a knack and MM picked it up immediately. Her face and her voice would appear on the screen and she would watch intently, two or three times. Then she would wave her hand and her face would appear without the voice. She put her words in so exactly that we couldn't tell, in the director's booth, that it wasn't pre-recorded. MM always enjoys music scenes and in the end we were all rather moved by this quiet, shy, firm voice." ... I hope this 'quote' from the movie's 3rd Assistant Director will end once and for all the claims that it isn't her singing!
(Clips uploaded with all due acknowledgements to the Warner Bros. DVD from which they are taken.) …...more
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